"I should go back, I've got an assignment from professor Oobleck due for tomorrow. Probably shouldn't have put it off for so long..." Ruby murmurs dejectedly and moves to gather her bag from the feet of the bench she and Cinder have been sitting on. The sun will soon set and she hasn't paid any mind to the passage of time while talking with her new friend. She didn't plan to spend so much time on it, or none at all really since she only came out here to stretch her legs and eat a snack without Weiss reminding her about the essay for tomorrow. That she was joined by the woman was unexpected though not unpleasant.
She has a way of putting Ruby at ease, to help her out of self imposed shell whenever she doesn't feel like spending time around people. The girl honestly tries to make friends and become a more open, less awkward person but she also needs her solitude at times. Not that she dislikes company, not at all! She loves spending time with her friends but sometimes she feels overwhelmed by- well everything. It's a time for herself when she doesn't need to deal with anything or anyone else.
The intrusion of the older student into these moments was not planned but eventually she found herself enjoying the company as it isn't intrusive, the visiting student seemingly perfectly reading her mood and then acting accordingly, sharing silence when needed or providing an ear for the younger girl to confide in. Ruby is almost positive that her senior seeks her out on purpose as there is no way she just so happens to find her almost every time.
It's... nice to think that she wants to spend time with her. Ruby certainly likes doing so.
"Oh? Shouldn't you have done it earlier then?" She asks teasingly, drawing out a blush of embarrassment on young Rose's cheeks. Because yes she should have and Cinder pointing it out makes her feel strange inside, bothered and self-conscious, it doesn't happen when other people do it. "Actually..." the woman moves her hand from the bench to move an unruly curl behind her ear, idly brushing it against Ruby's thigh in process. "Maybe I could help you? I'm rather good with history, so I should be able to. Even if our schools teach a bit different material. What do you say?" She finishes with a smile that while pleasant, has a devious edge to it.
Ruby bites on her lip and squirms uncomfortably. It's a strange thing to both want to say yes and run away to the certainty of her team. She's not used to this, being treated like this.
"I don't want to be a bother." She answers uncertainly after few moments. Leaving the final decision to the older student.
"You're never a bother." Ruby ducks her head in attempt to hide the flush crawling up her cheeks, it's all so confusing. She's never reacted this way to anyone else and over what? Over a proposal of help with her homework? She has done it with Weiss, Blake and even Ren, why does this feel so different?
"Um, okay then, thanks. Library?" The raven-haired beauty looks thoughtful for a moment before nodding and standing up. She doesn't offer to carry Ruby's bag, as she often does, and the girl is grateful for it. She's embarrassed as it is and her doing that yet again would only add to it. It's probably the reason Cinder decided not to offer, she seems to like pushing her but not overtly so.
"Come along then, let's not waste time." The woman waits for the cloaked girl to gather her things and leads the way, always half a step in front of Ruby and still close enough to occasionally brush hands with her. It's something she does often when they're alone. And while it keeps the girl on edge whenever it happens, she doesn't mind. It's not the uncomfortable sort of closeness she would feel if it was- say Blake walking so close to her. It's almost nice, even if it makes her a tad bit nervous whenever she feels the warm skin brush against her own. "Say, how do you find history?"
Ruby winces at the memory of being caught sleeping in history class.
"It's ah... interesting. Sometimes. When we're not learning stuff like names and dates and places you know?" Meaning it's dreadfully boring most of the time. It's still better than back at Signal, with Oobleck (the man is simply consumed by his subject, managing to spill some of his enthusiasm over to his students, sometimes anyway), less memorizing and more deduction but still. Does she really need that stuff to be a huntress?
"And what do you think of history itself, not the lessons?" Her friend asks with a teasing smile. Oh wait, she was talking about history as in- right, of course. Stupid of her not to catch up. Feeling embarrassed, Ruby turns her eyes away from Cinder in search of anything else to look at.
Windows, good. There are things outside windows to look at. Like trees. Oh so interesting trees.
"I don't know. I think it's kinda depressing. All the wars and Grimm and stuff. I'd like to make the future better, not focus on the past." Ruby is well aware of how corny it sounds. Still, it's how she feels.
"Make your own history?" The girl smiles sheepishly at the amusement apparent in her company's voice. She looks back at Cinder, now that her face has cooled off a bit.
"I guess. I just want to help people, I mean professor Oobleck keeps telling us that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it but- I'm just a huntress. Not a... queen or anything like that." The woman's usual, teasing smirk vanishes as she says it, giving way to a more pensive expression.
"And do you think that makes you any less powerful? Huntsmen have sway, imagine threatening not to go out into the wilds, or refusing to protect villages. How long do you think it would take for you to get what you wanted?" A shadow of a grimace flashes across her face.
"But- but that's terrible!" The girl cries out, horrified at the mere suggestion.
"The world is terrible Ruby. None better if we don't realize it. If you spend your life giving you will end up giving everything in the end."
They remain silent until they reach the library, where Ruby throws herself into work. Trying to transfer Cinder's flowing narration onto paper, it helps, if only a little bit, in distracting her from the pit that has grown in her stomach.
But there is nothing to distract her from old nightmares when she lies to sleep that night.