Day broke, and I was very sorely tempted to stay in bed, but Yang wouldn't have it. She'd have torn into me over being unwilling to face the day and meet new people, and besides, I had an initiation ceremony to complete! I begrudgingly got up and hid in my cloak to adjust to the intense brightness as best as I could, and knowing my sis, she'd brush it off as me being shy as usual. Sadly, I couldn't find a good way to feed myself for the day and I felt the Thirst continue to boil within me.
The locker room wasn't quite to my liking, considering the many antics going on in there, not to mention Yang trying to get me to "come out of my shell", but I pulled through. While I did get a couple of weird looks, at least no one drew attention to my pale skin this time. I thought it made my blood problem a little more manageable.
I followed Yang to the cliff tops where the trial would take place, and after readying myself on a springboard, Professor Goodwitch and Ozpin took us through a crash course on how the event would go: we would be put to the test in the Emerald Forest and given teammates, forming partnerships with the first person we met after landing.
"What?!" I yelped, horrified.
If we didn't mesh well, that would've been bad enough, but nooo! I had to deal with that and the thought that I might lose myself to the Thirst! I'd be expelled if anyone found out that I drained my own teammate!
Oz gave us our mission: to find a relic alongside whoever I partnered up with and head back to the cliff, destroying whatever stood in our way. Now there was an opportunity: if there were Grimm in the forest, maybe I'd be able to sustain myself off of them! No one would have to get hurt, and I'd be able to keep myself sane.
With that in mind, I was shot into the air after Yang and sent flying. I noticed Jaune tumbling awkwardly for a moment afterwards before preparing for the worst.
Midway through my flight path, I came across a small Nevermore and crashed into it. I couldn't believe my luck! Holding the Grimm still as it tried thrashing free, I took a bite and tried to feed from it. However, there were two little problems. Firstly, I found the taste to be utterly disgusting, like one of those algae smoothie health fads I heard about! Second, there was nothing I could actually drink in the bird's body! It was just the same thing that made up the rest, living darkness with no nutritional value whatsoever! Well, Grimm were off the menu, then…
But then I realized I still had, you know, falling to take care of. I didn't have a lot of options, and I considered using Crescent Rose to slow my descent, but I couldn't afford to waste precious ammo, even if they were only blanks. While my Semblance let me move really quickly through the air, I couldn't just fly my way out of…!
"Fly… that's it!"
A pang of realization rushed through my head, and at a whim I took on my bat shape and spread my wings. It was enough to parachute me to a nearby tree branch, and I clung on before returning to my normalish appearance and landing on the ground. Now I had other priorities.
"Yang!" I shouted, trying to find my sister. "YAAAANG!"
Yang was my best bet if I was going to keep the Thirst under control. I couldn't bring myself to hurt my own family even if I wanted to. But as I headed deeper into the woods, I began trying to weigh out my other options for a possible partner.
Jaune, maybe? He was kind enough to me on the first day, and he made me laugh a bit, but I ruled him out because I doubted he was a good fighter.
What about Blake? She seemed a little better in the combat department, and we hit it off right away… But then again she was still basically a stranger to me at the time and she was a little rude to Yang, but she apologized and I didn't blame her for being defensive.
So, yeah… Yang, Jaune, or maybe even Blake would have done, but was the universe gonna be kind to me this time?
Nope!
It was Weiss. Of all the people I could've grouped up with, it had to be Weiss. Great…
Still, rules were rules. We shared an awkward moment of silence before she just left me. I don't know what she was thinking, pretending to be this stickler for the status quo, when she just up and left me there! I begged for her to come back, if only because it was the way the trial was supposed to go.
After a while, she did come back… only after she noticed Jaune was there. Why did she just leave him there? Was he somehow not worth her time when I was the one she liked less? Didn't she know I could kill her if she pushed one too many of my buttons?!
Whatever it was, it didn't make sense to me.
Weiss and I walked through the undergrowth in search of the relic, and my mind was occupied with thoughts of what I should do now that this was happening. Worse, I still haven't worked out a solid meal plan.
"What's the holdup?" Weiss noticed that I was lagging behind her. "I will not let my mission be delayed by someone as slow as you!"
"Look, I was in the hospital two nights ago," I countered. "I'm not exactly at top form and worse, I'm starving."
"You're willing to endanger my grades because you're hungry?! Hospital or no hospital, you're in no position to claim-"
I used my Semblance to keep up with her, rendering her speechless.
"I'm not in my prime, but that doesn't mean I'm as weak or slow as you think. I might not know how to deal with people like you, but I know a thing or two about monsters. Just lose a bit of that vitriol, and we'll be done in no time!"
I vanished in the bushes to scout ahead, and along the way I stumbled upon a small pack of Beowolves. While I was still discouraged by the sunlight, my new abilities and my past experience fighting large packs of Grimm allowed me to carve through them like they were warm butter. I don't know what Weiss felt when I did this, but I'm certain she heard the beasts' death howls and saw the black dust scattering in the air.
Then she found me as I watched the last of the wolves disappear.
"Ruby?" she asked. "How did you…?"
"Kill them all?" I finished her sentence. "I do it all the time. Well, semi-regularly, at least…"
"Ugh, children… Even if you think you're all that and more, it's a miracle you're still alive, you know that?"
I was a little insulted considering I wasn't really a living person anymore.
"Not quite…"
We kept going, but as it turned out, trusting Weiss to tell us where to go turned out to be a terrible idea. How could someone so rich in Lien be so poor in common sense? I could feel her ramblings chipping away at my sanity, and I just wanted her to do something right for a change!
"You have no idea where we're going, do you, Weiss?" I asked.
"I know exactly where we're going!" she refuted. "We're going… to… the forest temple!"
I gave her a frustrated hiss at how obviously she was dodging the question.
"Oh, stop it! It's not like you know where we're going either!"
"At least I know when I'm wrong!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're a big, stupid jerk and I hate you!"
"Just keep moving!"
"You know what? From the first day we met you've done nothing but throw insult after insult at me! I tried to be nice, I tried to be patient, but I can't take being stuck with such a rude, judgmental, and bossy partner!"
"Bossy? I'm bossy?! Don't say things like that!"
"See?! There it is! You're too proud or too gutless to admit you're anything less than perfect!"
"I know I'm not perfect, okay?! But as imperfect as I am, you're nowhere near being even remotely close to anything but a whiny, half-wit child!"
I thought my brain might explode from all of the pressure building up! I just wanted her to stop talking so I could clear my head and figure out what to do! I looked her in the eyes and fired back.
"YOU DON'T THINK I DON'T FEEL LIKE THAT?! EVER SINCE THAT NIGHT IN VALE, I'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH THE REALITY THAT I'VE BECOME A MONSTER! AND ALL YOU'VE DONE IS-!"
Then I noticed that her eyes had glazed over and her face relaxed, with all the glare having been drained from them, and my rage turned into confusion.
"-rub it… in my… face?"
She was standing there with her now-dull eyes gazing into the void, and it looked as though she wasn't paying attention to anything else at all. Curious, I waved my hand in front of her face and snapped my fingers to try to get her attention, but to no avail. She was definitely out of it.
"Weiss?" I tried to get her attention. "Are you there?"
"Yes, Mistress," she replied with a dull monotone. "I am right here."
Wait… "Mistress"? Was she… Did I…? Did I just mesmerize her? Like Torchwick did to Professor Goodwitch?
"Weiss… Um, raise your right hand?"
My partner obeyed and raised her right hand while still addressing me as her mistress, but I was still unsure of if she was faking it or if I accidentally discovered another vampiric ability. I had to try something a little more… extreme. Something the high and mighty Schnee heiress wouldn't do on her own.
"Now, uh… show me your breasts?"
A little shameless, I know, but I couldn't think of anything else to prove that she wasn't faking it. If she was aware, she'd probably have called me a pervert and slapped me in the face. But here she was, displaying her cleavage to me with zero hesitation.
I couldn't believe it. Did I just turn a proud member of the Schnee family into a mindless servant? This accomplishment made me feel confident, powerful, and almost sexy in a way.
Then I felt the Thirst kick in stronger than ever, and the temptation to drain Weiss's blood returned. I could've just done it here and now. No one was watching, and my prey had laid helpless before my command. It was the perfect opportunity to get some sweet, juicy revenge.
"Weiss, present your throat to me," I ordered her with a fanged, hungry grin on my face.
"As you command, Mistress."
She moved her ponytail to expose her neck, and I salivated at the thought of finally repaying her unkindness. Whatever rational thoughts were running through my head were being subsumed by the Thirst, made worse by my own hatred of Weiss's snobby attitude. I was being driven to madness by my predatory instincts, and I admit, I enjoyed it. I leaned in, fangs ready to sink into the rich girl's flesh, and I prepared for the moment of truth.
"No!" I stopped myself. "You're trying to do this without spreading your curse! You can't just let Torchwick win!"
With some effort and a lot of pain, I fought back the Thirst and kept myself from biting my partner. What was I about to do? What was I thinking?
"Weiss, stop tempting me," I ashamedly commanded my servant.
That same old "Yes, Mistress" drone came out and she readjusted her hair to its old position. I liked the new Weiss, I really did, but I couldn't just leave her like this forever.
"So, are you gonna wake up or…?"
"This humble servant is under your power, Mistress. I cannot, will not return to my prior state without your direct prompting."
"…Will you remember everything I did? Everything I made you do?"
"Yes, Mistress. That is, unless you command that I forget while in my prior state."
With my mind made up, I ordered her to wake up with no memory of what she did in her mesmerized condition upon hearing the sound of my fingers snapping (cliche, I know, but what works works, I guess). She was baffled when she returned to her senses.
"What just happened? The last thing I remember was losing my temper, but… why do I feel so calm now?"
"You were spacing out, Weiss," I lied. "You just had some time to clear your head."
"And you protected me? Even after everything I said? I'll at least give you a break for keeping me safe while I was out of it."
"…Yeah. Keeping you safe."