AN:Sorry for not having a Christmas special! However, here's the second chapter of the Dusty Thief! Enjoy!
Ruby was having a very peculiar dream. She was in a magical land of chocolate and milk, with cookie trees all around. She was in her chibi form eating some cookies, when suddenly, an equally cute chibi-like cloaked figure took off with her cookies. With a cute battlecry, she chased after the thief, who was grinning like a madman. As soon as Ruby caught the thief, he did something that would totally make the girl blush redder than her cape: he kissed her as she tackled him.
Then, Weiss happened.
"RUBY ROSE! WAKE UP!" she screamed, and Ruby fell out of her bed.
"Ow… What's going on?" she asked groggily, then looked around the room.
"Well… as you can see…" Weiss's voice was laced with irritation and anger as she held up her now empty picture frame. Then, she exploded. "WE WERE ROBBED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!"
"My earrings are gone!" Yang was distraught, looking at the spot where they once were, a golden outline blinked into existence, flashing (almost like Nora, Weiss thought on the side). Ruby looked at her nightstand to find that a pair of her silver crosses that held her trademark cloak in place were too, missing. She wasn't too upset about that as she had several spares, however…
"Ruby… take a look at this." Blake handed the young huntress the cookie jar, and opened it. The chime was there.
The cookies were not.
Meanwhile in another dorm room, team JNPR woke with a start as an inhuman scream tore through the walls. Jaune, a blond haired boy wearing a blue one-piece yelped and tumbled out of his bed, landing on his rear end. Phyrra, an extremely bright red haired individual, froze in fear, her emerald green eyes darting back and forth. Ren, a black haired male with a strange pink streak in his hair jumped out of his bed in a fighting stance, his eyes scanning the room. However, Nora, an orange haired female, yawned and stretched her arms.
"W-what was that?" Jaune asked, "It sounded like a Nevermore dying…"
"I think we can all agree that inhuman screech could kill a Nevermore… but luckily, it isn't in here," Ren relaxed as the words left his lips, knowing that the threat wasn't in their room.
Meanwhile, back at team RWBY's dorm, several things have been turned over.
The desk.
The nightstand.
A dresser.
"Ruby! Your cookies won't turn up somewhere on the ground!" Weiss said as she was holding down Ruby's legs. Yang had her sister in a full nelson as Blake tied a restrictive ribbon around the poor girl. As soon as all things were said and done, we now have a tied up Ruby Rose in what appears to be a makeshift straightjacket made of a bedsheet and Blake's ribbon. The girl was looking around frantically, her eyes scream insanity as foam oozed out of her mouth.
"Um… is that normal?" Weiss asked, looking rather uneasy at the psychopathical cookie eater.
"You should see what happened when someone actually ate her cookies in front of her… the poor sap got launched through the ceiling and kicked into a table, then thrown into a dumpster..." Yang shuttered. Both Weiss and Blake looked at the blonde blankly.
"It was you, wasn't-"
"SHUT UP!" Yang was in the corner of the room, her knees up to her chest. Comical tears rolled down her face like a river. "I don't want to talk about that day again…"
Blake rolled her eyes as she picked up the bawling brawler, and left the room, Weiss following suit, leaving a animalistic Ruby tied up on the bed struggling to get out of her binds.
Not one soul passed by that room to get to breakfast.
Not one.
"So… uh, Blake… where's Ruby?" Jaune asked while finishing his sausage.
"She's back in our dorm room tied up because her cookies have been stolen… not to mention several other things," Weiss muttered as she played hockey with a grape, her eyes solem.
Blake made a quick nod towards the heiress. "She had her favorite painting stolen."
"Oh…"
Suddenly, a familiar jerk and his cronies walked past the table, Blake's cat-like hearing catching snippets of their conversation.
"...Dude, you should report it…"
"Can't believe… stolen right under my nose!"
"Easy Cardin…"
Blake turned to face her team and team JNPR. "Well, guys," Blake said, "we have a thief prowling the school grounds…"
I sighed. Man, finding a place in a school where almost every space was used as a hideout to store your loot was nigh-near impossible. Luckily, there was an old dorm room, abandoned in haste. It appeared that a female student died in the room some years ago due to sickness, and people, including staff, avoided it due to the myth that it was haunted by her ghost, who seeked vengeance on all those who dares to disturb her.
Well, it's my temporary haunt now.
I set down the small bounty I had gathered last night in the closet, brushing some cobwebs out of the way. I take out one of the cookies I snagged from the team Ruby was in, and bit down into the sweet, chocolaty treat. My god… tears poured down my face, my body in blissful ecstasy.
Holy crap.
These cookies are like ambrosia… sweet nectar of the gods! I swear, I'd marry anyone who could make these cookies so well! They must be the kindest, sweetest, most innocent and lovable person on the planet!
Meanwhile
Back at team RWBY's dorm, Ruby sneezed. 'Huh… must be catching a cold...' she thought as she continues to try to get out of her binds.
As I finished the treat, I heard a buzzing sound in my back pocket. I grab the scroll out of the said storage, and open it. I smiled as I saw my sister's face, her brown eyes filled with wonder. I press a button, and picked up the call.
"Hello?" I asked into the phone.
"Hey, big bro!"
My body relaxed as I heard her voice. "Hey, Alexis… how have you been?"
"Good! Great! I've just finished my robot!" Alexis exclaimed with a cheerful tone in the speaker, "Where are you?"
"Beacon," I deadpanned.
"WHAT?! How'd you get into Beacon?!"
I laughed. "You know me, just find a box and hitch a ride."
Alexis then started to laugh with me, when suddenly, I heard something slide open on the other side of the line.
"Hey, kid…" a voice grumbled on my sister's side.
"Oh! Uncle Styx! You're back!" Alexis said, "Want to talk with Arsene?"
"Not really."
"Come on…"
"Bah! Fine… you'll probably bug me if I don't…"
I roll my eyes. "Hello, Styx, how was your night out of the town?"
"You know… climbing walls, hiding under tables, getting the rent paid," Styx said, "sharpening my dagger. How bout you, Arsene?"
"For me? Well, I could list all of the things off that I'm going to do, but then yet again, you'll just get bored," I smirked as I heard the barely audible curses that Uncle Styx muttered under his breath.
"Heard you're at Beacon. Get laid yet?"
WHAAAA-
I hit my head on the floor with a hefty thunk. I growl slightly as I pick up my scroll again, Styx laughing his ass off.
"That. Was. Not. Cool."
"Yea, it was. How long are you gonna stay?" Styx asked in the speaker.
"Dunno, Sticky, but the Schnee heiress is here, and there's loot to be taken."
"Just remember, kiddo," Styx said, his tone similar to a mentor's, "it's not about how much you steal-"
"It's what you steal and how you steal it, yea, I know. Master thief motto."
Styx sighed, "Well, guess I better let you do your thing. Stay safe out there."
I nod. "You too-"
"I mean it, use a-"
"STYX!" Alexis scolded in the background, "GIVE ME THE PHONE!"
I smirked as I heard Styx grumble in defeat as he gave the phone to Alexis.
"Sorry about him…" Alexis apologised.
"It's alright… I'm going to get some sleep, I have a big night today."
"Went on a spree again?"
"Hai…" I answered, using my sister's favorite language. I forgot the name, but I have to admit, the way it rolls off my tongue just seemed… nicer.
"Well, goodnight, big bro!"
"And good morning to you... Bye…" I hung up, then looked over at the bed. I sighed, then got into the jumble of blankets and pillows, and closed my eyes. I was asleep within five seconds of hitting the fluff.
As team RWBY got back to their dorm room to start working on the essay assigned by Oobleck (it was about the Vaccouvan Murder Spree), Yang, Blake, and Weiss opened the door to see Ruby halfway out of her binds.
"Hey sis, you calmed down yet?" Yang asked, inspecting her sister's disposition.
"Yea… yea…" Ruby said solemnly, her stomach growling. Weiss produced a plate of food while Blake began to untie Ruby so she could eat her lunch. As our favorite red riding hood wolfed down the food, Blake filled the team leader in with some notes on Oobleck's lecture.
"So, some vigilante went on a killing spree against the Mistril Mob in Vacco?" Ruby asked with a full mouth, her eyes scanning the page.
"Right," Blake continued, "the killer, only known as the "Letterman", went around town, attacking mobsters at random in bars and other venues. He wore animal masks, either Grimm or normal. The mass killings were very brutal, not one human or faunus mobster would live."
"And he was never caught?"
"They had a suspect, but he escaped the hospital as he was recovering from a bullet to the head."
Ruby turned to look at Yang with shock. "He survived? Could anyone survive a dust bullet to the head?!"
Yang shrugged. "Wasn't in the center of the brain, just nicked the frontal lobe. Doctors say he was muttering about 'phones' and 'dating services' and some more nonsense."
"Huh… the more you know..." Ruby muttered as she looked out the window, noting the approaching storm clouds and the new patch of roses that the gardeners planted just this morning, their glossy scarlet petals clashed with the emerald green grass. She sighed, then continued on her homework until the hour hand hit nine.
Little did she know that while she was falling asleep, a particular ghost rose from his deathly slumber to gain possession of… well, possessions that were not his.
Yet.
I yawned. Man, that was the best day of sleep that I have ever gotten! Although I would have to pay the devil one-hundred souls for it trying to get back on the normal sleep schedule, it was very much worth it. As I tightened my shoelaces and popped up my hood, I look back into my room from the window sill, gazing at its abandoned beds and closets. Man, it's almost creepy knowing that someone died in here, but from what I heard from uncle Styx, there was way more scary stuff out there that could not be explained. Shivering slightly, I open the window out into the stormy night, my dark clothing already fading into the poor weather. Kinda glad that my outfit was waterproofed; sure helped a lot during some of my other heists.
And it keeps me nice and dry, too.
As I shimmied across the ledge, trying not to look down too much, I overheard some interesting conversations…
"Come on Velv! You know these panties would look nice on you~" a girl teased. I was glad that the curtains were drawn, because I probably wouldn't be able to control myself: stealing a girl's panties from under her was probably one of the greatest achievements any male teenage thief can do.
"S-s-shut up! It's not like I'm going to show them willy nilly, Coco!" another girl yelled, probably Velvet.
"You know, I think they look fine, Velvet." What? A boy? In the same room as two girls talking about panties?!
A long, awkward pause, then, I heard a huff.
"You're an ass, Fox. Just because you're blind doesn't mean you can make fun of us," Coco said.
Oh. So he's blind. Sucks to be him... As I continued my treacherous walk on the ledge towards the next room, I heard sniveling of males, plotting under the stench of sweat and cheap deodorant.
This one might be good.
"I'm telling you Cardin! We should get Jaune and his team to go into Sanguine Sammy's room!" a boy snickered. "Then you can get your revenge by scaring him!" This is good and bad for me.
Good, because thanks to the sorry excuse for an Ursa cub for the information. Now I can plan my counter attack against your horrid plan for some crappy revenge.
Bad, because thanks to sorry excuse for an Ursa cub. Now I have to plan my counter attack against your horrid plan for some crappy revenge.
As I continued down a few more dorms, I came acrossed one with its curtains open and unlocked. I grin under my facemask as I slide the panel open, and stepped inside. As I scanned the room, looking for loot, I noticed someone was stirring…
Merde!
I quickly hid under the bed as the blond male got up from his bed.
"Hn… what?" he mumbled as he looked at his open window. I curse silently at my own stupidity and carelessness. However, with my amazing luck and probably the guy's stupidity, the blond just got up and closed the window, not even questioning why or how the window was opened. The teen then shuffled back into his bed, closed his eyes, and went back to a blissful snoring. I mentally sighed with relief… until I felt something wet slide down my face.
The orange haired girl above me was drooling on my beautiful face.
Oh by the thief's handbook, why me?!
Hiding my disgust, I crawled out from under the bed, and scanned the room for some loot to pilfer, occasionally glancing at the four team members in the room that were sleeping soundly.
A jar of red sap, probably from Forever Fall.
A gold medallion of a lotus flower, sitting next to the asian-looking boy.
Some armor polish next to the blond that could of caught me.
A copper necklace with a emerald in the middle.
Not a whole lot, but enough for tonight. I closed my eyes and let the darkness sink in. Then, with a small hint of an aura boost, my hands blurred, grabbing the jar, the medallion, the necklace and the polish in one sweep. Man, I love my semblance. As I crept back towards the window, something moved in the corner of the room. I quickly turned to try and get a good look, however, there was nothing but some floating dust particles. Me and my god damned imagination… I glanced back towards the unsuspecting victims, gave them a silent thanks, and climbed out the window into the storm.