"And you built it yourself?" The older student asks, her voice tinted with incredulity.
"Well I went over the plans with my uncle but I made them, and Crescent Rose itself too, no help there!" Ruby replies proudly. And having her weapon built by herself is a reason to feel pride too, it's one of the most advanced in the academy after all.
"Impressive, I can build weapons, as any hunter should- but this is actually beyond my capabilities." Ruby's cheeks go up in flames at that little remark, dammit cheeks! They've betrayed her yet again!
The girl glances away from her disassembled weapon to look at her company, and immediately snaps her eyes back to Crescent Rose when she sees the knowing smile on her lips. She feels like opening a window to let in a bit of cool air, but then she'd have to stand up, away from the woman she's currently brushing her shoulder against. She'd probably boil on the inside if she tried getting into the same position when sitting back down.
How have they ended up like this? Ruby's not sure.
They were talking shop about weapons and grimm, about Beacon and Haven, normal things as far as Ruby's concerned. The young huntress is not sure when but at some point Cinder expressed interest in her weapon. And well, the girl's aware of her... intense interest in weapons. But she will oppose anyone saying she's a weapon freak. Calling her that is an insult to the real freaks out there. There is a fine line between a passion and obsession, and whatever Yang says, she hasn't crossed it yet.
One of the ways her interest manifests in, is that whenever the opportunity presents itself, she can't help but go on what her sister calls rants. They're not rants! The fact that people rarely understand much when she talks about weapons is entirely their own fault for not paying attention in physics. As everyone should, it's fun. Figuring out the correct size of a dust shell, the alloy of the bullet, the dust type itself. She could talk about rifling-barrel length relation for hours on end!
It's rare to meet someone actually interested in the topic though. And she might be a bit... much, when she meets such a person.
Cinder doesn't seem to mind this however. Her eyes focused and alive, seemingly taking in every little action of Ruby's. Kind of like Ren with his attentive quiet, but- different. The teen can't pin down the right word for it. One that would convey how the teen's breath catches when given something as small as a smile.
So of course she took the opportunity and started rambling on and off about Crescent Rose, at least she can do it without stuttering as it's a field she actually feels confident in as opposed to this- whatever it is that they're doing. They're friends but... not really. Weiss and Blake are Ruby's friends. Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Nora are her friends. She knows what it's like to have a friend. And it's... similar, certainly. But the blood rushing to her face whenever She smiles is not a part of friendship, neither is the fire Cinder's idle touches kindle in her body.
Certainly not the sleepless nights.
"So uh, where are yours?" She asks, wringing her hands nervously. "I haven't seen you carrying any."
"Oh I always have them on me." Huh, like what, knives? "It's just they're not, shall we say... usual." She looks to the table and points at one of the rounds for Ruby's scythe. "May I?" The woman asks pointing at it.
"Uh, sure." Ruby replies. She was curious before but now she's intrigued, confused, but intrigued all the same.
She watches intently as Cinder picks the piece up and holds it up between herself and Ruby. And then, with the smallest of groans, the bullet lightly pops out of the casing, as if pressured from the inside- Ruby's eyes go wide as the realization hits her. Is she dust weaving? That's- that's amazing! Only the best huntsmen can get away with using it. And seeing as the older student is a senior, she must be good. Really good. Better than Weiss for certain, it's entirely possible that she's better than any other student Ruby's met. The kind of dedication required to achieve this sort of mastery, to not only not detonate the round but also make the bullet gently slide out of it?
The girl looks back to Crescent Rose, suddenly feeling a lot less secure in her standing.
"Now now dear, none of that." Says Cinder as she gently takes Ruby's hands between her pleasantly warm own. "I could hardly build or use that scythe of yours either." Ruby can feel the ball of anxiousness uncoiling in her stomach, all the while being replaced with something... else. Warm and strange in a way that seems familiar but the girl can't put her finger on how.
For once, it's a smile that crawls up her face instead of heat as she looks back to Cinder.