It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds. They stared at each other, eyes dilating. Ruby's heart pounded in her chest. And then he turned, and walked away. "Wha- wait!" she called after Ozpin, but he didn't seem to hear her.

"Ruby!" she heard Yang call. She looked back to her friends, and again to where Ozpin had gone. "C'mon, we're going to be late for our next class!"

She turned away, following her friends. "Yeah, sorry." She lingered at the back of the group as they continued down the hall. Tugging on her sleeve, she sneaked another peek at the final form of her tattoo. Clark Ozpin. She made a nonplussed noise to herself.

At lunch, she moved as if in a trance, pushing food into her mouth without paying attention to what it was. Clark Ozpin. She chewed slowly. He's...definitely a lot older than me. Is it possible for tattoos to make a mistake? That sounded mean. She didn't even really feel that way. He's nice, I guess. And he's pretty smart, guess you'd have to be to be the headmaster of a hunting school. Outside of that, she didn't know anything about him. He liked hot chocolate, but that didn't really say much. What does he even do in his free time? Does he have free time? How much time do adults even spend working? Does he like old people games, like cricket?

Weiss snapped her fingers in front of Ruby's face. "Remnant to Ruby, you've been scraping your fork against an empty plate for the last minute," she informed.

"Oh." She set the utensil down. "Sorry."

"I know you're excited about discovering your soulmate, but that's no reason to just lose your head over it."

"Right." But she remained with her head in the clouds, turning everything over in her mind once, twice, thrice. As they were walking back to their dorm after classes, her scroll vibrated in her skirt pocket, and she was brought back to reality. She opened it up, and her eyes widened, a slight chill rushing up her spine. "Uh, hang on, I'll have to catch up with you guys later." Her voice sounded distant, like it didn't even belong to her.

"What's up?" Yang's voice sounded like an echo in her own mind.

"Professor Ozpin has asked to see me in his office." She returned her scroll to her pocket.

"Aahhh, that sucks." She slouched, groaning in sympathy.

"I wonder what you did to deserve a scolding from the headmaster," Weiss commented.

"I'm sure it's nothing major," Blake told the others. "We'll see you later, alright?" She entered the dorm.

"Yeah, see ya," Ruby said, the others following Blake. She hesitated for a moment, then started making her way back to the main building.

Everything was thrown into relief in the afternoon light, warm where the sun reached, cool elsewhere. As she walked, she thought. It's gotta be about the tattoos, why else would he call me now to speak with him? She climbed the various staircases, and reached the main tower. What's he going to say? Is he going to ask me out on a date? Is he going to say he'll seek permission from Dad to court me, or something? On and on, until she reached a dark wood door, intricately carved. She took a deep breath, and knocked.

"Come in," she heard his voice say from the other side. She opened the door a crack, and slipped through the gap. "Ah, Miss Rose." He sat at his desk, writing on some documents. "Please, have a seat." He gestured at the lone chair set before his work space. "I'll be with you in a moment."

She wound the corner of her cloak up in her hands, and walked across the large open space, sitting where indicated. She sat up straight, and watched and waited as he finished up his paperwork. Eventually he set his pen down, and sat back in his chair. He took a sip from his ever-near mug. He simply looked at her, his eyes piercing behind his glasses. "So," he began.

"So," she returned.

"I think there are some things the two of us should discuss." He placed his hot chocolate back on his desk, and steepled his fingers. "As I'm sure you've noticed, it would seem that our tattoos have chosen each other for a soulmate."

"I guess."

"Tell me, what do you make of this development?"

"Uh." She scratched at her collarbone. "I dunno. It was kind of a shock, to be honest. I mean, I never would've imagined someone like you as my soulmate."

He nodded. "I feel the same way." He rose from his chair, and went to stand by the large window, gazing out at the world below, hands folded behind his back. "Since neither of us are what we were hoping for in a soulmate, I recommend that we ignore our tattoos."

She took a moment to process it. "What?"

"I know it's a hard lesson to learn while you're still so young, but the truth is that there are many people in the world who don't marry their soulmate, or otherwise romantically involve themselves with each other. There are many people who marry someone else, someone more suited to their tastes, and lead perfectly happy, full lives." He turned back around to face her. "Personally, I think you are perfectly capable of finding another partner to pursue. You're a lovely young lady, and have the whole world at your feet."

"Um."

He walked around the desk towards her. He leaned back against it, arms crossed over his chest. "As such, we can be glad to put this tattoo nonsense behind us, and continue our lives as if nothing happened."

She frowned. "But-"

"Good afternoon, Miss Rose. I wish you well." He extended his hand towards her, standing. She took it, and opened her mouth again, but he shushed her. He pulled her to her feet, and started guiding her to the door. "Do give my regards to your sister and fellow teammates. You're all doing spectacular so far in your training."

"Wait a minute, I-" But he had pushed her out over the threshold, and closed the door behind her, the wind of the movement rustling her skirt. She looked the door up and down, raised her hand as if to knock, then lowered it again. She looked down at the ground, and started to walk away. Then something tugged on her from behind, and she nearly lost her balance. Looking back, her cape had caught in the door. "Darn it," she cursed, and started pulling on it. She leaned all her weight back, yanking, and eventually the fabric popped free, and she fell backwards down the stairs. When she settled, her whole body ached, and stars danced in front of her eyes.

Shaking her head to clear it, she clambered back to her feet. She made the long trek back to her dorm. Yang lay on her bed, and looked up from her magazine when Ruby entered. "So, what did Ozpin want with you?" she asked.

"He uh... he just wanted to talk to me about my grades," Ruby told her.

"You're not falling behind, are you?"

"No, but you know how teachers are." She climbed up to her bed, flopping on top of it.

"Well, we were planning on leaving soon to get dinner."

"Fine."

"Did you find out who your soulmate is?" Weiss asked from her seat at the small table in their room, notebooks and textbooks piled on top of it.

She sighed. "Not yet."

"Well, it can't be long, not now that your tattoo's orange," Yang encouraged, and turned her attention back to her magazine. "You'll probably run into them at dinner, or tomorrow."

"Maybe." She turned her face away from them, into the pillow. Wasn't really much of a talk. She'd said just one sentence, and then he concluded that they should ignore their tattoos. She frowned. Ignore their tattoos? Ignore the fact that they're soulmates? That sounded the same as being told that True Love wasn't real, or that fairies didn't control the weather. With a huff she looked up, staring at the wall, and hugged the pillow to her chest. She may not know much about things, but she was certain that Love was real.

The next time I see him, I'll have another talk with him, she decided. And this time, she would say all that she wanted to say to him.