Winter's Summer
"Everyone is entitled to their sorrow, for the heart has no metrics or form of measure. And all of it.. irreplaceable."
"HEY, HEY! WATCH THE ANTLEAAAAARGH!"
"Give it a break will you? Your whining is really annoying."
"LOOK WHO'S WHINIAAAAAAAAAGH! STOP THAT!"
"Then shush."
Malcolm grumbled, mumbling several choice swear words, before shrugging violently, earning a yelp from the woman on his shoulders. She retaliated by pulling his antlers again.
The ensuing scream echoed around the entire valley.
The three of them had passed the freezing mountain ranges of Atlas and into the warmer hillsides of the south. Dead pines gave way to green grass and foliage, the snow dwindled to mere specks of white here and there and the skies are clear of clouds and storms. A vast improvement from their first encounter three days ago - a monstrous snowstorm that nearly killed their red cloaked companion. Despite her flitting brush with death, Ruby seemed unperturbed. In fact, it almost feels like she doesn't..
.. care.
The Huntress was an enigma to him. She would be cheerful at times, talking about various culinary delights she missed in her years in the wilderness, tugging on Malcolm's antlers and playing in the snow. But other times she would be silent, silver eyes unfocused, caressing her weapon menacingly. Her melancholy is more apparent at night, before the campfire. All of his jokes and questions were rebuffed coldly. She even went so far as to shoot the campfire to end his futile attempts at starting a conversation.
And whenever they saw Grimm.. well..
"Ey, Princess, look up." Malcolm said.
Travis and Ruby glanced up to see a Nevermore circling above. Ruby jumped off of Malcolm's back with a kick, earning an oomph from the deer faunus, and unlocked that ridiculously huge scythe of hers. Impaling the tip on the ground to dampen the recoil, she aimed at the massive bird.
Blang! Blang!
With each shot she was pushed back a few paces. The rounds remained airborne for a second before striking the Grimm. It squawked as its left wings were torn apart and started on a chaotic spiral. Its descent ends with a bone crunching crash at the next valley. Ruby hummed a tune and started walking towards her dying prey.
"What a woman, eh?" Malcolm whistled. "As crazy as the Grimm she kills, but scarier."
"I wonder what's behind that eyepatch of hers."
"A hole, I'd reckon." Malcolm sniggered. He stretched to his full height, arms extended, and Travis heard bones popping. "I'm just glad she's off my back. Speaking of which.."
The deer faunus lifted Travis by the scruff of his shirt.
"You owe me one. Big time."
"Agh, I said I'm sorry already! Put me down!"
"We're stopping by Bron's. Full castle ice combo. On your tab?"
"Are you out of your mind?! I'm gonna be broke for the rest of the year!"
"Not as broke as my back, you're not."
They hear an agitated screech followed by another gunshot. By the time the echoing faded, Ruby had climbed back deftly upon her throne on Malcolm's head.
"For the love of Dust, at least stop holding it so damneAAAAAAGH!"
"You're a big boy, I'm sure you can handle it." Ruby mocked.
"We're almost at the Sanctuary. We should get there by sundown."
An acknowledging grunt was all he received from the brunette. Travis sighed.
They lay around the campfire. Night has fallen and Malcolm was already fast asleep, snoring louder than a Boarbatusk. Travis was writing in the recon log and Ruby was polishing her scythe with a manic grin that he was sure would give him nightmares later on.
"First thing's first. There's not a lot of humans in Sanctuary. We're mostly faunus workers who worked in the mines for dust companies, SDC in particular."
No response.
"You won't get a warm welcome if that's what you're expecting. We turn away most humans excepting the ones with skills we need, like smithing and maintenance. We live exclusively underground, but sometimes we go to the surface to tend to the summer crops and hunt."
"What were you doing up north?" she suddenly asked.
"I'm surprised it took you this long to ask."
"Just answer."
"Scavenging. Rumors were that there were science outposts up north where they record the weather and such. We did find a couple but they've been cleared up and abandoned. There's nothing left up there."
"Why would they send two people just for a rumor?"
"We're desperate. This year's harvest is the worst in the last decade and with the constant stream of people coming in, we need to find a new way to survive. Roy deemed the possibility of finding a winter stash's worth of supplies worth the risk of going to Grimm infested territory. Oh, Roy's the leader of Sanctuary. Everyone looks up to him. He's a cunning bastard and a scary enemy, but he's got a good heart."
"You talk about him like you know him."
"He's my brother."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
Pause.
"Even if you found a stash, how are you going to carry it back?"
Travis chuckled.
"You rode him all day."
Ruby looked on in surprise.
"He can complain his butt off, but Malcolm's a genuinely strong guy. Back in Sanctuary he could lift a scout ship bare handed."
Ruby whistled.
"He doesn't sound like it, but he's a got a heart as big as his antlers and an appetite to match. I was surprised he let you have his cookies at all."
"He had a giant scythe pointed at his face."
"He could've lied about it. People don't typically bring cookies to recovery missions."
".. True. Not a very pretty mouth though."
"There's that." Travis agreed. "But swearing aside, he's a genuinely good guy."
"I know." Ruby said.
"You do?" Travis frowned.
Ruby nodded.
"So why do you tease him so much?"
"Cause it's fun. I picked it up from my sister?"
"Is she.. still around?"
Pause.
"No."
"Sorry."
"It wasn't your fault."
Pause.
The wood was burning out, but neither of them moved to replenish it. An owl hooted.
"Hey, there's a rip on your cloak." Travis pointed out.
"Huh? Where?"
He placed his finger on it. Ruby raised the damaged part of the fabric and inspected it.
"We have cloth makers back in Sanctuary, but you'd probably have to wait for a while before-"
"Don't need it." Ruby said without lifting her gaze from her torn cloak. She opened a small satchel on her waist belt and took out a red roll of thread. She drew out a small needle and started weaving the thread to her cloak.
Travis watched on impassively.
"You can sew."
It wasn't a question.
"It's been ripped so many times it's kind of a routine by now." she murmured, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.
Now that she's mentioned it, Travis can see multiple scars and sewn rips on the fabric.
"We can have it replaced if you want."
"It's my mother's."
"Oh."
Her silver eyes glinted in the waning glow of the fire. He continued writing his report. By the time Travis finished writing finished, the rip was halfway fixed.
"Roy and I lost our parents, too." he started.
"Who said mine were dead?"
"I could guess. Am I right?"
Pause.
Ruby stopped sewing. A cloud hid the moon's radiance. The owl stopped hooting.
"Well, it's late. I'm sure you can finish that another time. We should-"
"It happened west of here." Ruby muttered. "I was born and raised in Atlas, before moving to Vale."
Travis remained silent, intrigued by the sudden influx of information from the usually distant Huntress.
"I loved the snow. I climbed the pine trees and wandered the forests. It would drive my mother crazy but I enjoyed every second of it. Back then the Grimm were just scary bedtime stories that keep me awake at night. I even had an ursa bear for a doll."
"One day I was looking for a flower to give my dad when he came back from his travels in Vytal. It was Edelweiss. They only grow on the the mountains, though so I had to travel further than I ever had. I found one, but I realized I didn't know where I was. Soon enough, I was completely lost. It was getting dark and I was scared. I remember crying in a small hollow, shivering when day turned to night. My teeth chattered, my arms felt frozen and my legs were stiff. When I thought things couldn't get any worse, I hear a Beowolf's hunting howl."
"They were on to me in minutes. I was quick on my feet; I had to be for all the exploring I did, but not even close to being fast enough to outrun Grimm. Snow started falling. I yelled for help, knowing it doesn't matter to the Grimm. They could smell my fear, smell my terror, and they were baying for my blood."
"I stumbled. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? A lot of people die that way. They panic too much and glanced back one too many times, and they tripped. I was one of those idiots. I fell and twisted my ankle. By then the snowstorm had turned to a full scale blizzard and the Grimm surrounded me everywhere, red eyes gleaming in the shadows. One of them lunged to tear me apart and then.."
"My mother was there. By Dust, was she mad at me. She had her halberd nailed to the ground, glowing red. But in that one moment, I didn't care. She could ground me for the rest of my life, I was just so happy. I cried in relief. I was saved. "
"I didn't pay attention how she got there so fast. She was nearly spent all her aura running throughout the forest, and by the time she found me she could barely stand on her feet."
"It didn't matter, though. She fought long and hard, halberd swinging, limbs flying. There must have been dozens of them, horrid things. She kept me behind her throughout the fight."
"But even she had her limits. By the time she got to the last few wolves, she was on her knees, clutching her halberd, breathing heavily. The cold took what little strength she had left and she collapsed. I was never so scared in my life, not for mine, but hers. I tugged at her, trying to get her up before the Beowolves get us.
"She grabbed me and used up the last of her semblance to get us away from them. She unfastened her cloak and told me to hold it close. She said how happy I made her, how proud she was of me and started crying. I cried with her. She let me go. I thought we were going to die."
"By the time I realized what she was doing, she was too far for me to reach for her. She drew the wolves away from me. I was too weak to do anything. My father and sister found me with a search party the next day. My sister said I had tears frozen to my cheeks and I nearly died if not for the cloak my mother left me.
"They found her at the bottom of a nearby cliff, along with the few remaining Grimm. Dust knows how, but she lured them to jumping to their deaths with her."
The fire crackled. He could see emotions welling up from within her, a soft red glow radiating from her figure.
"Her name was Summer. Summer Rose."
The last of the light dwindled and plunged them both in darkness.
"I don't know what to say." Travis
Silence.
"Then don't."
The moon reappeared from the cloud layer, producing just enough light for Travis to see the outline of Ruby's face, and he thought he had never seen anyone so beautiful. The black cloth covering her eye didn't detract from her allure, it served only to amplify it. She was like a glass statue, exquisite and fragile, but it belies the inner strength and will she possesed. Yet one could only take so much before cracking. Her scars, both physical and emotional were barred for him to see.
And at that moment, he promised he'd never let anything happen to her. Even if it costs him his life.
"Thank you."
"What?"
"Thank you, Travis. For saving me back there."
"It's.. nothing."
"It's always something."
"It's what anybody would've done."
"Not Malcolm, apparently."
They both laughed.
"You're a pretty good storyteller."
"My sister used to read to me."
"She's a good sister."
"She was."
Pause.
"We should sleep."
"Sure."
Ruby brushed snow off her body and wrapped her cloak around her. She started climbing the nearest tree, a sight Travis has gotten used to in the last few days.
"I'm glad I saved you, Ruby."
"Me, too."
Pause.
"Good night."
"Good night."
A/N: If Ruby seems out of character, that's because she's changed. It's been a whole decade since she attended Beacon. She's not the bubbly, positive bundle of joy she once was. But pieces of her old personality still shows through the cookies and the piggyback ride.
Review guys! They keep me up!
-Deathwhisperer.