The wind whipped her hair around and stung her cheeks. The hooves of her horse pounded on the soft dirt beneath her, gouging it with abandon in the same manner she road.
Ruby clutched tightly to the reigns, adrenaline, fear, anticipation and a sense of something indescribable burning within her. It made her clench up and grit her teeth.
"The two of you have nothing to do with this fight," Qrow shouted, "So do us all a favour and stay out of it!"
"Stay out of it?" Ruby shouted back, the suggestion setting off alarms in her head. Not a chance.
"If you get killed on my watch, I'm going to be in a lot of trouble! And guess what; I don't like trouble!" Qrow snapped back, and Ruby turned her head away from him. She didn't agree, not in the least, but she didn't need to tell Qrow that. She was skilled enough to take on some Grimm. After all, she'd beaten Weiss in sparring almost five consecutive times.
When the village finally came into view again, Ruby's pot of emotions boiled some more. It wasn't a large settlement by any means, but it was sizeable, with an outer wall of wood and steel fastenings. The most noticeable thing at first was the double gates that hung shattered on their bent hinges, black creatures of Grimm milling about them. The sounds of battle and terror carried up to them on their rise, which the three of them quickly left behind.
"Draw back- back into the buildings! Go, go!" A man shouted, voice hardly discernable over all the excess noise, but Ruby heard it.
"Damnit." Qrow spat, and Ruby guessed he heard it to. Weiss looked at them both in concern. "Alright. I'm going to cut our way through there! You two stay on my ass like fleas!"
Ruby and Weiss both nodded.
One large beowulf seemed to notice them coming when they were only a dozen yards away. It stood up on its hind legs and turned to them, issuing a roar that made Ruby's blood boil and gave her skin goose bumps all at the same time.
"My horse, watch it!" Qrow shouted, and then he was gone from the back of the beast, leaving no trace of himself behind. Ruby quickly moved her horse over and snagged up the reigns of Qrow's. It seemed discontented and snorted, but otherwise fell into line with no issues.
"Where did he go?" Weiss asked.
"He flew!" Ruby shouted back, and Weiss didn't answer. They both watched as a black bird shape flew towards the Grimm creature, turned into Qrow in the span of a second, who immediately cut the thing down with one great cleave of his massive great-sword.
"Oh." Ruby heard Weiss gasp.
The Grimm that were pressing into the village slowed, some of them apparently taking note of the new arrival. They both watched as Qrow relieved some more beowulves in close perimeter of their heads, their bodies dissolving into grey mist. The dark creatures all collectively roared at him, turning on him at once.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby called out in alarm, concern gripping her. They were only a few yards away, and they both halted their horses.
"What do we do?" Weiss asked, her voice high pitched and frantic.
"Uhm." Ruby answered, not at all sure. Her earlier gusto had seemed to die down.
Qrow nimbly dodged the lunge of a large ursa, a great bear-like Grimm. His sword came around from the left in a wide arc and dug deep into its back, likely severing the beast's spinal cord. It dissipated almost right after the strike had landed.
Ruby leapt off her horse and drew Thorn. "We help!" She shouted, running after her uncle. She didn't check to see if Weiss was with her. Fear coursed through her veins, but so did worry for her uncle, and her anger helped steel her nerves.
"Wait, it's still saveable! Reinforcements have come! Charge, attack!" Came a shouted yell, and a chorus of battle cries rung out from behind the small army of Grimm. Ruby joined her uncle's side, who was busy fending off two beowulves from both the right and left.
Ruby dashed in with a primal growl, sticking the beowulf on the right in the gut with her sword, which dug deep down to the hilt. The creature shrieked, and then began to turn corporeal. It exploded into black dust at the same time Qrow dispatched the creature on his left.
"Ruby, be careful!" Qrow growled, and Ruby immediately jumped back, only to barely dodge the reaching paw of a furred arm, which Qrow promptly cut off at the elbow.
"I'm trying!" Ruby answered back, dodging a snapping mouth and whacking down hard on the creature's snout. She struck right through the bone and into the lower jaw. She yanked Thorn out and before the Grimm could react and stabbed it in the throat. It gurgled and growled before dying and dissipating.
Arrows suddenly rained from the sky, sticking multiple Grimm and causing them either to die on the spot or to lurch awkwardly in pain. Roars and howls erupted in a violent choir even as more arrows came to silence them.
Weiss suddenly appeared, reaching for the Grimm that had circled around Ruby and Qrow. Ruby heard the sizzling sounds of their degrading behind her, and a wicked grin formed on her face.
A shout suddenly sounded above all others, and sent a chill down Ruby's spine.
"They're coming in from the back! Help!"
Cries of blood curdling fear assaulted the already shout ridden battle field, and the three of them hastened their efforts. All around them Grimm fell, either by their blades are by the arrows of the bowman from inside the village.
Ruby ground her teeth and prayed they weren't late.
Eric had been having a splendid day. He was new to the militiaman job, but it was pretty easy. Just sit around and watch some pretty scenery all day, even if it did get kind of bland and uninteresting fast. Still, it was easy money and easy work.
At least, that was the plan.
Now he stood backed up against the inn, short sword and shield in shaking hands. A beowulf loomed above him, its horrific maw grimacing and frothing. Crimson eyes stared down at him, hungry and insane.
"Please... Not like this, not like this!" He cried and soiled himself at the same time.
A solid shaft of wood came swooping in at the thing's neck, and the crack of bone signalled the snapping of necks. Relief spread through Eric, and he looked at his savoir; a middle aged woman with a broom. He was about to express his ashamed thanks when another Grimm suddenly stood up behind her, growling and snapping its jaws.
"Oh... No!" Eric shouted, a primal roar of rage and denial ripping from his usually quite enough throat. He lunged for the creature, shield raised; it raised its clawed hand to strike the broom woman down... And fell in two before completely vanishing in a cloud of inky black.
"Wha... Who?" Eric managed, and saw a man with a great, silver blade standing where the horrific monster used to be, wearing unusually formal attire for the occasion. "W-who..."
"Don't worry about it, kid. Ruby, Weiss! Go with these two into the inn, stay there! I and the rest of this sad militia will take care of it from here!"
Two girls rushed past him, into the inn behind. Eric was frozen still, confused, elated, and terrified.
"Go." The strange man reiterated, and Eric felt like he didn't want to face another Grimm. With a salute, he grabbed the wrist of broom woman and pulled her into the inn with him, following the two girls.
He had been having a splendid day. Not so much anymore.
The inside of the inn was quite a gruesome sight. Men with bandages wrapped around their various limbs sat in wooden chairs, groaning and sniffing. There was a constant buzz of small chatter and quiet crying that filled the central room. The atmosphere seemed to clash between relief and suffering.
Weiss shuddered. She'd gone down below, to where the woman, children and old folks had hidden. The cellar seemed like it would be gloomy on any given day. What she'd seen had left a horrific imprint in her mind. Mothers holding babes in swathing cloths had stared at her with either fear or vacancy. Children cried for their fathers, or clung to the skirts of their mum's with violent urgency.
What remained the same was the fear and suffering throughout. It sent chills down her spine.
Before her now, however, Ruby paced the wooden floor, rubbing her knuckles. The tables in the inn were all pushed to the windows, creating a large space for walking.
Weiss took stationary place on the serving counter, watching Ruby. The brunette looked shaken, and Weiss could understand why. Oddly enough, after the killing of a few Grimm, Weiss had lost her reluctance for battle. Now she was calm and collected, if not harrowed by the sights around her.
Weiss huffed, growing tired of seeing Ruby wear tracks in the floor. "Ruby, could you please just sit down?"
"I want to be out there too!" She exclaimed, turning on her heel to fix Weiss with a stare.
Weiss rolled her eyes. "It's a Grimm attack, Ruby. Qrow is a trained huntsman. He could likely handle this on his own."
Ruby glared, opened her mouth and snapped it shut, and sat down hard in the middle of the floor all at the same time. "I still want to be there." She grumbled, and Weiss sighed.
"I know. I do, too. But it's better that we be here."
Ruby nodded, looking around the room. Men with chest-plates and long bows lined up like dominos behind all the tables, arrows trained on the windows. Aside from Eric and the broom woman, Weiss and Ruby seemed to be the only ones with major proficiency in melee weapons.
"This could have been really bad." Ruby said, moving up and sitting down beside Weiss. She kept her voice low.
Weiss nodded, the same thought having already occurred to her. "I guess it's lucky that you and Summer were looking when you were. Any later and I fear what the results may have been."
"It's scary." Ruby mumbled, a slight tremble in her voice. Weiss looked at her with concern. "If I'd been any later... They all could have died, Weiss. Just like that."
Weiss felt as if an ominous presence of solemnity had phased into the room. "And now no one is being hurt. Life goes on, we saved the day."
"Yeah." Ruby sighed, and Weiss grabbed one of Ruby's pale hands and squeezed it.
"You did good. We, did good."
Ruby smiled at her, and Weiss smiled back.
Outside the sounds of battle continued, and no matter how hard Weiss tried, she couldn't ignore that she too wanted to be part of the fight. However, Qrow seemed well equipped to handle it himself.
Sure enough, once the sounds quieted an hour later, Qrow came into the inn with hardly a scratch, wearing a cocky smile. "The workout was great. The damage done to the town, not so much. But they'll do fine." He announced, to which Weiss and Ruby both sighed in relief.
Eric, the man who'd been saved by Qrow earlier, rushed up to him. "Sir, please, sir, thank you! I-"
Qrow interrupted him by holding a finger up to his lips. "I was doing my job. There are casualties and I'm sure as hell not doing a head count. Your job."
"Right! Uhm. Right!" With that Eric rushed off, and most of the bowmen followed.
Qrow sat down next to Ruby and Weiss, sighing. "That was rough. The Grimm were everywhere, and if I know anything about Grimm attacks, they usually act more like a siege. They're gonna keep coming for awhile."
Weiss slipped off the counter, Ruby following in her example. "Can they handle the rest?"
Qrow looked at her in silence, obviously thinking. "Maybe. Hopefully. I don't know. It's going to be rough, but..."
"We could stay and protect them for a bit." Ruby suggested enthusiastically.
"We have a schedule to keep up with. It's called Vale." Qrow said, and Ruby scowled.
"But they're- you know... Just look at them!" Ruby protested.
Qrow sighed and knelt down to her height, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Listen, kiddo. I would love to stay behind and help as well, but there are much bigger things at stake here."
"Like what? Why is it so important that we get to Vale super fast?" Ruby asked, and Weiss watched with shock and surprise as tears welled in the corners of her silver eyes.
"Ruby, you have got to let that go. Ozpin, he'll fill you in on the details when you're ready to know."
"That's a really cliché thing to say!"
"Ruby, you tire me out." Qrow grumbled, and Weiss half smiled despite herself. At least she wasn't the only one.
Ruby angrily wiped her tears away and sighed. "Fine, okay. We'll go, then."
"I'm sorry, kiddo." At Ruby's silent nod, the best acknowledgement Weiss expected Ruby would give him right now, Qrow stood up. "Alright, you two go head back to get the wagon. We're- Wait, where are the horses?"
Weiss looked at Ruby, and the word fell out of their mouths in unison.
"Uhm."
Ruby and Weiss sat side by side on the wagon bench, leading it and the team of four horses to the village. The sun was beginning to set, lighting the sky ablaze in flaming colors.
"You know, I kinda can't wait to get to Vale." Ruby said happily, and Weiss marvelled silently at Ruby's apparent ability to bounce back from a dark spot.
"Neither can I. The chill up here isn't much enjoyable on the open road."
"Yeah, you're telling me. At least you grew up here." Ruby snorted, and Weiss hummed. "You know... You were good out there, Weiss."
Weiss sat straighter. "Of course I was. You're not the only one who was trained to hold a blade."
Ruby laughed, quietly. "Yeah, well, I was just saying. It was cool to see you fight."
Weiss checked for any hidden jokes before softening up, which was basically her sitting lazily once again.
"Thank you, Ruby."
When they made it back to the village, Qrow was waiting outside with a group of militiamen, some bags and a few crates.
"This should get us to Vale, as long as you two don't lose the horse team and force us to carry the damn stuff." Qrow said, and Ruby giggled.
"Thanks again for your help... If you hadn't shown up, I don't know if we would have survived."
"Don't thank me." Qrow said. "Thank her. She's the one who found out you guys were being attacked in the first place." He pointed at Ruby, and the man, Eric, gave her a salute.
"My thanks, fair lady!" He said, with what he thought must have been a winning grin.
Ruby giggled and flushed, shrugging her shoulders. "Aw, well, you know. It was nothing much."
He bowed to her, and they both were now blushing and awkwardly spouting praises and admissions to one another. This continued until both Weiss and Qrow grew tired of the affair.
"Alright, stop gushing over yourself, knight in shining armour."
"Ruby, you're hopeless."
Both Eric and Ruby stood and sat straighter, looking away from Qrow and Weiss. The other two sighed, and Qrow began directing the militia to load the wagon.
Eventually the three of them were on the road again, leaving the town behind. Ruby was in the back of the wagon, waving and shouting to the men, and to Weiss' annoyance, Eric. She thought the man was a buffoon.
"It's absolutely ridiculous. She's blowing this way out of proportions." Weiss grumbled to Qrow, who shook his head.
"Nah, she's got every right to be proud. She probably saved an entire settlement."
"Either of us would have and could have done the same thing. I'm just offended by the fact that neither you nor I got any of the recognition deserved."
Qrow chuckled, "I like you, Weiss, you're not too bad. However, you have a major ego issue."
Weiss scowled darkly, crossing her arms and staring daggers into the ground that rolled beneath her. Secretly, she was embarrassed by his admission. "You and I did just as much work."
"True. But tell me, out of all three of us, which one here really needs to be the hero? I couldn't care less. You're a princess with a semblance that'll change the tides of historical battles to come, and Ruby?"
Weiss thought about it for a moment. "She's just a girl... A normal, seemingly plain girl."
"Of course, we both know she's got something special in her, a spark that no one else has. Sure, we could be wrong. But neither of us needs the character building to achieve the standards she'll have to meet that she does."
Weiss' annoyance simmered down, replaced with a worry for her friend. "What if she's not as important as she seems?"
Qrow shrugged. "Then she'll be a great huntress, regardless. But she may be more than that. You're her partner, Weiss. Ruby has shown that she's something above just special, I'm sure of it."
Weiss was silent, trying to put it all into perspective. "Why was I chosen to be her partner?"
Qrow chuckled again. "Because, Weiss. You're the next thing to her in terms of potential. And you're royalty, if not a pain as well. The point is, Ruby needs you to push her to new levels and keep her going. And you need her to do the same."
Weiss stared at him, considering his words. It made sense. There was definitely a rivalry between them after their bout. One that Weiss wasn't going to forget, regardless of her care for Ruby.
"I shouldn't be telling you any of this, really. Ozpin and Ironwood would rather I tell you that you were paired simply because." Qrow looked Weiss in the eye, "I, however, have an issue with authority and would much rather handle this on my own. After all, I was put in charge of this mission. I'll handle it however I see fit."
"You sound like you're trying to justify it."
Qrow laughed, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Maybe I am, princess."
He pulled out his flask and uncorked it, taking a swig. "Want some?"
"I'll pass."
"Suit yourself."
Eventually Ruby came up to sit in the middle of them, looking utterly radiant and happy. Qrow seemed to soften around her, Weiss noticed, and placed an elbow on the top of Ruby's head. She didn't seem to mind, giggling at first and then humming happily.
Weiss felt a strange fondness grow in her heart, then, not only for Ruby, but for Qrow, too.
Her thoughts went back to the ravaged village, and oddly enough, Weiss found that she had enjoyed the events of today, if she was to disregard the travesties.
Perhaps she wouldn't mind traversing the countryside with these two dolts after all.
There. New chapter, not an author's note. That thing was hardly intelligible, geez. I wrote it at like, 4am, hyped up on alcohol and emotions. 'Scuse my horrible English.
Anyhow, I was left with a guest review asking about why Ruby was so easily able to defeat Weiss. I've got my reasons for it, no worries. They make sense to me, in a I-know-everything-in-the-story-anyways kind of way.
You'll see.
Anyhow, leave a fololololow, favourite, or a review. I really love constructive criticism, you know? It helps.
Have a good one, guys. Love ya's! Next chapter should be somewhere between now and ten days.