Regardless of that little stunt that Ruby performed and after she decapitated the beowolf in a most spectacular fashion, Ozpin was watching through his scroll as she ran through the forest, her insanity gone and sprinting through the woods towards the clearing that contained the area where the temple ruins were.
He saw as a white clad figure was a small distance away from her, and she was sprinting straight for them. To him, he just hoped that the white clad girl was- at the very least- nice to the girl. Otherwise, there would be hell to pay; most of it dished out by him and Glynda.
There was something about Ruby- including the loss of sanity she suffered- that sparked a sort of fatherly protectiveness in him. Maybe it was because he never knew his parents? No, that wasn't it. Maybe it was the fact that Glynda felt a sort of familial love for her for her own reasons, and he felt that he felt the same, regardless of the reasons being lost to him?
Again, regardless of whatever is wrong with Ruby, protectiveness meant just that; he would destroy anyone who harms Ruby.
He should know, after all, what it's like lose things, but he figured that Ruby had lost more than he could ever do in such a short life.
(^^^^^^)
Ruby skidded to a halt, but kept her hood up as not to see who it was that she ran into. She avoided eye contact at all costs, hoping that if she didn't see who it was, then she wouldn't have to be on a team. It turns out that all of the other people she had seen before were already paired up, and so she and a select few of other initiates were the only ones left without partners.
The white haired, blue eyed person blinked once before watching in utter shock and anger as the person in red and black leather and a cloak walked right past her, avoiding eye contact at all costs as if she were a plague. Ruby walked with a faster pace; ignoring the cries for attention the white clad girl was giving her. She could tell without seeing who it was or what they looked like that they were given everything they wanted on a silver platter and she took it all without having to do anything to get it. Ruby's expectations of surviving the encounter- as brief as it was- with the white clad girl were exceptionally low once she heard a huff of indignance and barrelling footsteps eager to catch up to her.
Ruby could feel her right shoulder being grabbed and her being spun a complete 180 to where she was going, coming face to feet with the white person.
"Who do you think you are ignoring me!?" the white person huffed and stomped on the ground while Ruby just closed her eyes and awaited the beating or berating- or both- from the prissy girl.
Instead, she just continued ranting. "No, better yet, who do you think I am!?" Ruby started to whine, which went unnoticed by the white-haired person, who continued to shout in her face. Ruby continued to stare at the ground and look at the person's shoes, which she noted were combat boots, only white. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" the person shouted.
Ruby whispered her answer out, but it was loud enough for the person to hear. "I-I-I-I don't w-Want to." She involuntarily flinched, expecting a punch or the likes, but it never came.
"What? Why?" the girl had calmed down after hearing how scared Ruby was, but still continued with her harsh tone. She stared expectantly, awaiting an answer form the red girl in front of her, who had her hood up and was avoiding eye contact as much as possible.
Ruby whispered her answer, continuing to stare at the girl's shoes, noting how clean they were, considering they were in a forest. "It's B-Because you're a person and p-p-people are mean." Ruby turned around and left the shocked girl behind, who closed her now open mouth to trail after the scared little red girl.
(^^^^^^)
Weiss noted the red cloak and one thought came to mind; Reaper. Of course, she didn't care who it was, she only cared what they brought with them. If this girl- as scared as she was- could live up to her legends, she could become a powerful ally. Her father- if he was a bit stupid and ignorant, as well as racist and egotistical- told her one of the most important lessons there ever could be for Weiss Schnee: "Schnees can get what they want, when they want. It doesn't matter who that person is, or what that thing is, they can have it if they take it. Allies are no different."
Weiss wanted to have this girl as a teammate, and God willing, she would take her as a teammate whether the girl wanted it to happen or not. Ruby became aware of Weiss following her and spun around, whimpering as she looked down to the girl's feet to not become teammates and whimpered as she spoke. "W-Why are you following me?"
Weiss noted how she always looked down at her feet and smirked slightly; she will get what she wants. "Because I want you to be my teammate, and I don't take kindly to being ignored." To get her point across, she unsheathed her sword and pointed it right at the girl in front of her.
She tried to threaten the girl, and it seemed it worked, as she got a scared yelp and a face full of rose petals a second later. Brushing them out of her face, she smirked and went in the general direction that the petals made a trail to. After walking for about five more minutes, she came across what her threatening did; a shivering little girl hidden behind a tree with only her hood showing where she was.
Her sword out in her hands, Weiss remembered what her father told her after that. "If they don't give you what you want, use violence. Use whatever means necessary to get what you want." She figured that if she struck her sword with enough velocity and strength through the sleeve of the girl's jacket, she could pin her to a tree and make her Weiss' partner. A bit drastic, but her father had ingrained it in her to get what she wants with whatever means necessary, and so she was poised to charge.
Crouched down with her rapier, Myrtenaster, at her side, she used her glyphs to launch herself over there, closing the gap between the two in less than a second. Ruby lay with her hands over her head, whimpering and sniffling until she was sent through the air, stuck into a tree with her left hand pinned against it and her right dangling uselessly. Crescent Rose, her scythe, was folded up in its compact form and because it was holstered against her back- which was currently pressed against a tree- it pressed against her wounds and even through the bandages, it was painful.
She released a yelp of pain and desperately clawed at her left arm, trying to release it while turning her head from what she was doing to the approaching white haired girl, still avoiding eye contact.
Weiss arrived at her destination and watched on with a slight bit of guilt and sorrow as Ruby was shaking all over, clutching at her arm and trying to free herself from the position she was in. She was too scared for her insanity to kick in and save her, and so she was left dangling with the tough leather of her jacket keeping her up without tearing.
"Now, I want you to be my teammate, and I'm not going to ask." Weiss said sternly, inwardly scolding herself when she saw Ruby wince at the words and try even more to release herself from the clutches of the white haired girl.
She reasoned with herself that it was for the good of what she wanted, whereas everything else she did was for, as her father said, "The good of the company." It doesn't matter who this girl is or what her reasons for not wanting to team up with Weiss are, even if the explanation she got earlier was a terrible one, all that mattered was what Weiss wanted; or, at least, that's what her father always told her. Now where was her mother in all of this? Well, you see, her mother was the kind one who understood most of the things that Weiss was being taught were not the right things and not how someone should live their life, but soon forgot those thoughts when her husband corrected her by saying that "Schnees are not weak, and everything that is 'normal' as you say, is for weak people."
"P-p-p-p-p-p..." Ruby couldn't get the words out, and swallowed, trying to gain her words back, just enough to ask her to let her go. "P-please...l-let m-m-me g-go..."
Weiss leaned in invading Ruby's personal space and only a metre of two away from her face.
"Be my partner then."
"I-I-I can't!" Ruby said. "I-I-I don't want to!" Weiss leaned back and raised her hand, watching as Ruby flinched and tried to claw at her arm again. She grabbed her sword and swiftly pulled it out, but as soon as she did, she raised it to Ruby's throat as she stood up and tried to run, causing her to freeze up and stare at the rapier to her neck, still not looking Weiss in the eye.
"You are going to be my teammate." Weiss said threateningly, annoyed that she couldn't get what she wanted. To emphasise her point, she placed it so the point was just touching the skin; not too far as not to cause a mark or draw blood, but far enough on the neck to make itself known.
"N-n-no, I-I-I-I- D-don't w-want t-to..." Ruby said, whispering as not to hurt herself talking her usual quiet voice. Tears started falling down her cheeks and she felt uneasiness about this situation, which she then thought that today would be the day she died; trying to get into Beacon, if only for the protection it served.
Weiss raised the other hand and pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing and moving back, allowing Ruby just enough room to run away, tears streaming down her cheeks and rose petals slightly following her, even though she wasn't using her speed.
(^^^^^^)
Ruby ran as far away from the mean white-haired girl as she could, falling over a plethora of twigs and sticks, and landing her on her stomach, a stick piercing her side and black blood dribbling slightly for her scraped knees beneath her un-torn trousers. She picked herself up and curled into a foetal position, crying into her arms.
She continued crying, ignoring the fact that she was on initiation, a forest full of Grimm and teachers were probably watching. She didn't care anymore. Never once had Ruby given up on anything, but right now, she was thinking about giving up on her life.
She curled up next to a log, ignoring the pain that was shooting from where her weapon was digging into her back.
"Why...Why do people h-h-hate me? What d-did I ever do?"
(^^^^^^)
Weiss felt utterly terrible. She would admit that what she did was completely un-needed and totally over the top. She watched as Ruby ran away, hood still on and tears streaming from her eyes, arm up to her face stifling loud sobs and feet working over-time to get away from her.
She contemplated just walking away and leaving the girl to find a partner, but the guilt of leaving her to wallow in unexpected sadness and fear was too much for her and she slowly followed Ruby, losing sight of the admittedly fast girl but nonetheless walking in her general direction. After about another five minutes of walking and no Grimm in sight, she came across a small log, with the tell-tale signs of someone hiding behind it showing. She contemplated calling out to the person, having not known their names yet, but the person she was searching for spoke to no one in particular, sobbing and stuttering as she did so.
"Why...Why do people h-h-hate me? What d-did I ever do?" came the muffled voice of Ruby, who was curled up behind the log and crying softly.
Wait... hate? Weiss didn't hate her, she just wanted her to be her partner is all. What Weiss wanted, she got, but- now she can see- that her mother was correct with one of her sayings. She could remember the conversation they had one night when her mother wanted to tell Weiss a story.
"Okay, here we go. There is a Reaper out there, and they've been tortured all their life. I met them once, you know, this so called 'criminal'. All their life they've been tortured, and the slightest movement from anyone who's not a teacher or even an adult that they know would give her a panic attack, or even a heart attack."
She remembered that conversation she had with her mother, frowning as she thought on what she said. She was only thirteen, but that still meant that she should have been old enough to come up with something better than that to ask her.
"Mother, why do they torture them?"
"Her, Weiss: Reaper is a girl. They torture her because she was born, because she was the last of something great and they don't want to admit that."
Weiss slowed her walking to the log, remembering the conversation as if she were taking part of it right now.
"Mother, you say you met her; when?"
"Ah, now you're asking me to test my memory dear Weiss. I believe it was a long time ago, when I was walking through the woods to gather some special berries for your father's medicine. I took three guards with me and we walked past trees and through swamps, over small hills and even through shallow water until we arrived at a clearing. Inside that clearing was a red hooded little girl, about eleven or so, with an arm of metal; the guard next to me recognized her instantly as the criminal wanted in all of Vale and Atlas, and drew his sword."
"What happened next?"
"Patience, Weiss. He drew his sword, but before he could do anything, he was ripped in two by a beowolf who had quickly dispatched of the other two in front of me. I was left alone and without my weapon, but before it could do anything, its head flew clean off of its shoulders. Reaper was a sight to behold that day; she had a scythe as big as a tree over her shoulder, and I'm not exaggerating either. You know the tree we have in our small garden out front?"
Ah, yes. Even to this day she could still remember that small, eight foot tree. The way it would show its beautiful blossoms to the world in summer and spring, but winter would wither away. It still looked beautiful even then.
"...Yes, what about it?"
"That is how big the scythe was, my dear; Maybe even bigger. Anyway, after expressing my gratitude and picking my flowers, Reaper stopped me for some reason, saying that these flowers were sacred to her and that they should only be used to help people she was friends with, of which there were none. Do you know what I did?"
"...Did you tell her who you were and threaten her like father does?"
"No, Weiss. I befriended her. She had never once had a friend in all her life, and through out it she told me that she was beaten, tortured and battered to near death more times than she could count, and all because of what she was. I visited her many times in that forest, you know? Only taking those I needed to go with and those I could trust with me. I would see her nearly weekly, and the only times I couldn't go and see her was when I was ill on your fourteenth birthday."
"Mother, what's she like?"
"Well, she has this cute little child-like face, one that would make even you, my little ice princess, smile at seeing. She's extremely nervous around people. And rightly so after everything's she's been through."
"So why, mother, do people think she's dangerous?"
"...She has two different sides to her, Weiss. She has that skittish, weapon crazed orphan and then there's the other side to her. That side is horrifying, but, thankfully, I've never seen it. Reaper told me of it, and considering she doesn't even know what a lie is, I could tell she was telling the truth."
"Mother, you said that she's hunted for what she is. What is she and what makes her so...so her.?"
Weiss stopped walking when she reached the log, for there was another person already there, clad in black and wearing a bow. She swore she could see a look of sadness stretch upon her face, and stood there, lost in memory as she was before, the conversation continuing as if nothing had stopped it in the first place.
"Weiss, you must understand that there are a great many things out there that no one would like to see. Your father, for example, hates all Faunus because of one group. You, well, I don't know if you like or hate them, but let me tell you this; not all Faunus are evil, and some just want love and affection...Reaper was one of them."
"You mean Reaper is a Faunus, mother?"
"Yes, Weiss, but a very special type of Faunus. She's the last of her kind, and because of it, she can't even turn to her own people because of it. She gets hunted and assaulted for no other reason than birth. Now, tell me, since you're so smart Weiss; what Faunus species do you know that are extinct?"
"Well, there's the snake Faunus, then the owl Faunus, and the lion Faunus. If she is none of them then there are two more species extinct: The lizard Faunus and the wolf Faunus."
"Yes, now, tell me; which of those are considered royalty amongst their fellow Faunus? More specifically; the cat Faunus?"
"Well, the wolf Faunus is the only one considered royalty and to have a sort of leader/subordinate relationship with the cat Faunus."
"Very well done, Weiss; it seems those Faunus Rights and History lessons I got you were worth it."
"Thank you mother, but why did you ask?"
Weiss watched as the black person bent down and ever so softly lifted the red girl into her arms, cradling her as she cried into her shoulder, as a mother would do a child; or as a follower would do for their hurt leader.
Her mother ignored the question and continued with her story. "Reaper was probably the sweetest and most caring person you could ever meet; it was funny to see her worry over me after the day I missed seeing her. Her eyes would light up with worry and she would practically knock me down to see if I had any injuries. But there was something off with her and I could see it a mile off."
"What was that, mother?" Weiss was now listening intently, scurrying over and sitting in her mother's lap, listening to every word about the Reaper that flowed from her mouth.
"One day, when I went to see her, she was tired all the time and later, when I questioned her about it, she showed me where she was beaten to a near pulp and some of her bones were broken. That wasn't what was off though; it was the colour of her blood that was strange."
"What colour was it, mother?"
"It was black, my dear Weiss. It was as black as night. She claimed she had it since birth, and that was another reason she was hated."
"Mother, you still didn't tell me what type of Faunus she is."
Weiss started to back away slowly as the figure with the bow looked into the Reaper's eyes and smiled a little when she saw the Reaper smile back. She watched on as the figure put her hand under the Reaper's hood and moved it back and forth in a rubbing motion. For a second the Reaper froze, but quickly melted into the figure's arms, releasing a small growl of pleasure and warmth. That growl sounded like one a dog would do, or maybe some other canine...
"Ah, I didn't, did I? Weiss...Reaper is a wolf Faunus, the last of her kind. I know, at first when I learnt it, I was really worried and scared, but after seeing that the girl was simply alone and frightened of the world and its inhabitants, I quickly realized that Reaper being the last of its kind was lonely."
"Mother...you didn't tell me what that thing was that was so scary about Reaper."
"You've heard of those who are insane or mad, haven't you Weiss?" After Weiss nodded quietly, still trying to get over the shock of a lone wolf Faunus (Pun intended), her mother continued. "Well, that insanity is nothing compared to what Reaper has; you might as well call all of those 'insane' people sane, compared to the condition she has. According to her, it's like your subconscious is dragged to the very pits of your soul and swallowed by a thick paste of madness, and all you can see is what your body is doing. She can control what she does, but the madness influences everything; she'll laugh at anything that is deemed serious and comical. She has a mile wide grin that could scare a creature of Grimm to wet itself and run away; apparently her eyes change colour, but I have yet to see any of this."
"Mother, what colour are her eyes, anyway?"
Weiss took one last glance over her shoulder, now knowing that Reaper has a partner and saw, for the first time, the girl's eyes.
"Silver."