The Shadow of Fire
Chapter 8: Christmas Eve and true love
"What did you just do?! What is "Checkmate?!" you infernal girl!"
3 days later...
Beacon Team RWBY Dorm Room
7:30 AM
December 24th, Christmas Eve
Ruby's adjustment to Beacon as a Faunus wasn't entirely pleasant, but as simple as it would have been for anyone else.
As she had suspected, things seemed good at the start. Her friends stayed by her side at all times, even taking the extra step to do something spectacular in the young Faunus's opinion.
As Ruby attempted to eat a bowl of cereal with her new sharpened teeth, which proved to be extremely difficult, the remaining trio of the team approached a large ominous door that was just to the left of Weiss's bed. The towering door was a few inches shorter than the entry ways oak door, but it ran chills down the trio's spines. This was the team RWBY community closet, or "the point of no return" as Headmaster Ozpin called it during his last mandatory monthly check of the dorm rooms. The door acted as a portal in Weiss's opinion, for if one was brave enough, or stupid enough, to enter the addition to the dorm room, they would find themselves trapped in a sea of books, Lein safes, bags, hangers, ammunition, and a vast variety of other goods. Once you were in, there was very little hope for escape, for time seemed to speed faster on the inside of the dark chamber.
After about twenty to thirty minutes of being inside, Ruby had begun to worry. The last time anyone entered it was Jaune, and he had gotten lost on the inside for twenty seven minutes. He came out traumatized, swearing up and down that the room was made of pure Aura, designed to expand if one was to enter. If the trio of the most powerful Huntresses in training had gotten stuck in the sea of items, there was nothing anyone could do.
Suddenly, the doors silver and gold handle spun with a viscous attitude, depositing its victims. Weiss exited first with a torn up night gown and a bruised lip. Blake had taken much of the damage and had damaged much of her combat attire, it would defiantly need sewing. And finally, Yang exited the dark nightmare that was the closet. Her hair was messed up completely and her arms looked like they had been sliced at by Crescent Rose.
"Ruby... Remember that box of pool toys from that contest we won a while back?" Yang asked, rubbing her arms quickly to ease the pain. "Well I think they came to life or something, because we got attacked by the rubber palm tree and the dolphin."
"Those coconuts..." Weiss mumbled under her breath, rubbing her aching head.
"Yes, so it is my suggestion to you that if you enter, stay away from the coupon boxes and tennis equipment, the toys have taken refuge there." Blake said with a straight face, regardless of how odd it sounded to hear from the most serious person in the group.
"So why did you go in again? Ozpin said we should leave it alone till the Aura makes it condense and become safer, remember?" Ruby reminded the team, who all nodded in agreement.
"Well, we found that job chart that Yang lost a few weeks ago. So we are going to make an escort list." Weiss said simply, pulling out a red marker from a silver box attached to the side of the white board chart.
"Because..."
"We are each going to help you stay safe with your new looks, bullies are in all of your classes and we want our leader safe and sound." Blake added on to Weiss's words.
"That's a good song..." Yang muttered under her breath. "So yeah, we are going to keep ya safe lil sis!"
The trio began dividing up the hours in the day for escorting times, taking time from their own classes to be able to protect Ruby. Their professors had agreed to this as well, stating that Ruby needs to be in her classes with at least one teammate. Their professors had decided due to the recent events that they could make up the homework that they would miss later. After all, the remaining team RWBY members were only helping their friend. The majority of students had gotten the week off for the holiday, and with that came an option for classes if anyone wanted to get a better grade or just to get some work done early. Ruby sure needed help in classes and with that in mind, the rest of the team decided to join in, taking a few classes a day with Ruby to make her safe and sound.
Weiss decided to handle the mornings with Professor Ports class and Professor Peaches class. Yang would handle Grimm anatomy with Mr. Stone and Doctor Firefalls health class. And finally, Blake would handle the last two classes of Ruby's day, weapons design with Ms. Remington and Dust usage with Doctor Dianthia.
The first two days had gone well for the young teen, each class actually enjoyable and easy to understand, probably due to the extra hearing in her head, her eyes helped see things better as well.
Lunch was never an issue, her friends on team JNPR still sat with her, Nora constantly tugging and petting Ruby's ears during meals. Cardin's gang attempted to bother the teen but one angry threat and a flash of her teeth scared team CRDL off. Oddly enough, Velvet of all people even showed up to show support, even sitting with the team at Weiss's request. Ruby knew what Weiss was doing. If the previous Faunus hating heiress wanted to make amends and be nice, she had to open up to the species.
It was this day though, Christmas Eve, the day before Santa would arrive for the youngest teen, when her life would take an interesting turn.
Weiss and Ruby sat in Professor Ports Grimm Studies class, Ruby actually paying attention to the story loving old man.
"Now! Can anyone tell me how the Nevermore managed to get that far down the train stations rail system, even after I had managed to chop off its right talon?" Port asked his confused group of students, his eyes scanning the room for any sign of life in his students.
Ruby raised her hand slowly; even Weiss seemed confused by the question at hand. Although she was probably thinking about Ruby and Weiss's talk they had planned. They were going to talk tonight at midnight for some reason, Weiss saying that it was very important to happen at that time during one of their walks through the park.
"Miss Rose?! Do you have an answer already?" Port shouted out, an amazed look adorned his face.
"Some Nevermore have the ability to shrink their size by pulling inward on their limbs. Since you cut its leg off, its ability became more powerful since it didn't need to use any effort to shrink the leg." Ruby said proudly, a smile plastering her face.
Port clapped his hands together slowly. "Excellent! You are a brilliant and creative young woman Miss Rose!" Port commented, praising the young teen. "Now class, we will be taking a final exam over what you have learned over the last few days, this test is going to be worth 45 percent of your grade. So pay close attention to the questions and the wording." Port explained as he passed out test to all the students but Weiss. "Miss Schnee, if you would like a copy for study material, I can give you one. You're not required to take the test at this time."
"No thank you, I will prefer to get the testing material done after the break, so I'm able to still help Ruby and not be too ahead." Weiss explained, despite how incorrect that statement was.
"As you wish my dear. Now! All pens prepared? Good, keep eyes on your own papers. Begin."
Ruby began the test and, oddly enough, found it to be one of the easiest tests that she had ever taken. She was nearly as fast as Weiss at understanding the questions, and she could already tell that she had gotten over a 79 percent correct on the test, a new record.
Weiss simply stared at Ruby as the young girl worked. Thanks to the ribbon that Orion had bought her, Ruby looked like a mini Blake, except much more adorable and cuter in Weiss's opinion.
Weiss felt her stomach rumble slightly as she watched Ruby, trying to recall the last time that she had anything eat.
"Ruby?" Weiss asked, a twitch of Ruby's ears under her bow told the heiress that Ruby was listening.
"What?" Ruby whispered back, not looking at the girl as she worked.
"I'm going to go get something to eat okay?" Weiss said, a small nod of Ruby head gave her the answer she was hoping for. "Okay, don't worry, you've got this."
Weiss stood up and walked over to Ports desk, explained her situation and walked out with Port, the man exclaiming that he needed to get his own lunch in early from the teachers' lounge.
As the duo left the room Ruby noticed a few whispers around her, the newly added ears picking up on the conversations.
"Hey, you heard about what happened to Ruby?" One student whispered to another.
"What? She got a bow?"
"No man, she's got those animal ears now."
"What? But... How?"
"She got shot or something, had to use a lot of Dust to fix her. Made her an animal or whatever."
Ruby placed her pen down on her desk, having heard enough of the talk already. The young girl turned to face the pair behind her. "It's pronounced Faunus, and I can hear everything you say. Now, unless you want me to skin you both alive and use your skin as a new cloak, I suggest you two shut up." Ruby hissed out. "People are trying to work."
The duo furiously nodded their heads, returning to their own papers. With a nod of approval, Ruby spun back around to finish her work.
Cardin stood up in the back off the class, having already finished his papers thanks to a chest sheet that his friends managed to steal. The well built Hunter walked down the steps to Ports desk, where he would deposit the papers and go on with his day. As the oldest boy stepped down one of the upper steps, he tipped over the ledge, falling down a few isles before falling into Ruby, somehow knocking off her bow.
"Oh! I... I'm so sorry Ruby!" Cardin said quickly, handing her the bow off the floor. "Sorry for what happened at lunch too, I feel... Bad about it."
Ruby smiled up at Cardin. "Not a problem Cardin, thanks. Happens to me all the time." Ruby said as she took the bow, placing it next to her before getting back to work.
Cardin proceeded down the steps, placing his paper on the massive oak desk and exiting the room through the back exit, one that very few students use, let alone know about.
Cardin gave a small whistle after he closed the door shut, three shadows approached him slowly, one clearly holding a box of some sort.
Cardin's teammates stepped up, all wearing their battle armor and combat attire.
"You got the wasps?" Cardin asked, grinning wickedly. This plan was coming together.
"Got it boss. You get some sap on her?" Sky replied back to his team's leader, and equally evil grin adorned his face.
"Done, a bit of the stuffs on her right hand." Cardin confirmed to his faithful teammate.
"Good. Let's do this boss."
Back in Ports room...
Ruby giggled slightly as she circled answer "C" for question number 49, just one more question to go and she would just have a few more classes to go before it was time to party.
Ruby glanced down to the last question in all bold, her eyes carefully reading each individual word a few times each.
Question Number 50:
What does a Nevermore's diet consist of if its home and breeding location is on Mt. Stoneworth in the Emerald forest?
A: Any species of animals in the area, includes humans and Faunus.
B: Deer and bears.
C: Deathstalker's and Beowulf's.
D: Trick question, no Nevermore lives in its breeding habitat.
Ruby twirled her red inked pen around her left hand with her fingers, biting her lip at the question. She knew that Grimm don't eat each other so "C" was out of the question. Answer "B" seemed a bit shady, not too specific for her liking and probably not Professor Ports as well. That left only "A" and "D" so if Ruby was to recall, the Nevermore's main diet was... Wait... What's that buzzing sound?
Ruby could have sworn that she was hearing a buzzing noise, while faint as it was, a buzzing was coming from somewhere nearby. Ruby scratched her right ear with her right hand and paused as she felt a strange liquid like substance connect with her face. Ruby pulled away from her right hand and stared at it.
Is that sap?
The buzzing noise seemed louder now, as if it was right above her.
Suddenly a small wasp landed on her right hand, about as large as her thumb, its eyes looking directly into Ruby's.
Uh oh.
Right after the first one landed, more began to follow suit. One became two, two became four, and on and on.
Ruby gulped as she took a direct look at their bodies. Their long, thin legs, dark black body color, small mosquito-like mouths... Rapier Wasps.
The other students must have not heard them buzzing around, no one knowing the danger that she was in.
Ruby tightly closed her eyes as one walked up to the center of her palm, its body shook violently before Ruby. The young teen knew what this meant, it was about to sting her, the poison from one of their stingers could kill a fully grown DeathStalker in a mere 20 minutes. For Ruby, it would be over before it started.
The bug froze suddenly before jabbing its stinger down into the girl's palm.
Or not.
Ruby blinked a few times as the bug slammed its form against her palm repeatedly, seemingly frustrated in a way. The wasp walked around in a circle before flying off into the hallway, the others following suit.
But where was its stinger?
Ruby cringed as she thought back to what just happened, those wasps didn't sting her… but why?
"What...?" Ruby mumbled to herself before turning her attention back to her test. The teen let out a deep breath as she realized just how close to death she just was. Sure, that is the downside to being a Hunter, but this made her heart race fast. What would the team do if she got stung? What would they do if they found out that this happened in the first place? The team was already being over dramatic about the whole Faunus thing, this would make it much worse. Ruby looked down at her paper and thought for a minute, blocking those thoughts out momentarily, marking answer "D" as her response before exiting the room.
What happens in the room, stays in the room.
Weiss reached forward for the door handle just as Ruby opened the door. Weiss held a small plate of strawberries and a few chocolate chip cookies. "Ruby? Did you already finish?" Weiss asked, in awe that Ruby had been able to finish the test without even asking for help even once.
Ruby smiled wide. "Yep! I checked my answers and all!" Ruby chirped proudly, sending a warm look to the heiress.
"Well, I was planning on giving you these later but..." Weiss mumbled, a small blush dotting her cheeks. "Here, you deserve it." Weiss said, holding out the plate of cookies and strawberries out to the Faunus.
Ruby's tail wagged excitedly, her eyes widening as if they were trying to smile. "REALLY!" Ruby exclaimed, jumping up and down with joy.
"Erm..." Weiss said slowly, raising an eyebrow at the younger girl. The one thing Weiss would never be able to understand was Ruby's love for strawberries and cookies.
Ruby slowly took hold of the plate and held it close to her chest. "Thanks Weiss!" Ruby said happily, sending a warm smile back at Weiss.
"No problem, it's the least I could do for all your hard work on getting your grades up." Weiss said simply, the most logical explanation for her actions if it weren't for the warm feeling in her heart. "Why don't we head to your next class? Then you can take a quick rest before I switch out with Yang. You've done quite a bit of work already." Weiss said with a smile, now that was something that you don't see every day.
"Yay!" Ruby shouted out, attracting the attention of a few passing Hunters down the hallway who simply smiled and continued walking once they saw it was just Ruby being Ruby.
Later that day
Beacon Team RWBY Dorm Room
9:34PM
It was finally time, time for one of the most important things in everyone's life.
Christmas Eve dinner.
The entirety of team RWBY sat at a massive dinner table along with team JNPR inside RWBY's dorm room. While it took an incredibly long amount of time to set up, it was worth it in the end. The simple table was surrounded by chairs from multiple desks, covered in a velvet colored sheet which really brought out the color of the room.
Ruby raced around the kitchen, grabbing bowls and plates while depositing other bowls and plates in an effort to get everything perfect. Christmas was one of the only things that Ruby Rose took seriously, aside from cookies, weapons, and Weiss that is.
Weiss, Blake, even Yang had offered to do the transporting of food across the room so that the teen Faunus could catch her breath for once. Having so many finals in one day surely must have been difficult for the youngest girl on the team, but her stubborn attitude, that she surely must have picked up from Weiss, kept her from giving in to her teammates wishes.
"It looks great Ruby, masterpiece in my opinion." Ren complimented as Ruby put down the last bowl of gravy in the center of the long table.
"Yeah! You did perfect!" Nora yelled out after her teammate, already filling her plate with a multitude of turkey and gravy, drowning the said bird in the semi-hot liquid.
"Nora! Calm down! We want some too!" Yang shouted out, snatching the bowl of gravy away from the hammer wielding teen of team JNPR. "This isn't syrup!"
"Although her phrasing wasn't what I was going to use, I have to agree with Yang, you used way too much for your meal." Blake wisely agreed with Yang's position.
"Everyone! Please stop all the yelling!" Ruby exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air as she sat down next to Weiss. "We have like three more bowls of the stuff in the kitchen!"
"Alright everyone, please calm down. Ruby put great time into putting this together and I think we should all simply enjoy it." Jaune said, sending a warm smile to Ruby who returned the smile.
Weiss felt her heart plunge into her stomach seeing this. After all, one would be pretty angry if they saw their love interest being really nice to someone.
'No, don't think that Weiss. You're just nervous. Jaune likes Pyrrha, and Ruby likes girls... I think...' Weiss thought for a moment, worry beginning to build up inside her. Ruby had to like women... right?
Weiss snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Nora spearing her fork into a piece of turkey, allowing her to begin to arrange her meal.
West Wing
11:30PM
Weiss paced the outside balcony of the West Wing of Beacon. She knew what she was doing: waiting for Ruby to show. She had told the teen that she had to go somewhere and that she would meet her here, but that was an hour ago. Everyone else had fallen asleep already, what was stopping Ruby?
'She probably forgot...' Weiss thought, accepting fate. The heiress looked over the balcony at the Emerald Forest, the red eyes of the Grimm wandering around the woods shined bright in the dark night.
"Who forgot what?" Ruby asked, walking up to Weiss with a confused look on her face, her ears perked up on her red head.
"Oh nothing, wanna come look at the forest with me? It's very pretty at night." Weiss suggested, gesturing for Ruby to come over.
Ruby and Weiss stood at the edge looking onto the forest and other areas, not saying a single word. Weiss knew that if the awkwardness continued, that could end badly for her plan.
"Hey Ruby? Do you... Have a crush on anyone?" Weiss asked innocently.
"Well... Um... Yeah, I think it's a crush. That or I'm a really bad stalker." Ruby said and laughed a little under her breath.
"So who's the lucky guy?" Weiss asked, looking out into the forest.
"What? Oh, no. Not a guy." Ruby said slowly, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.
"What do you mean?" Weiss asked, her plan was coming together at last.
"Well, I'm sort of into... I like... I swing the other way." Ruby stuttered out, her ears flatting.
"So you're a lesbian then?" Weiss asked, direct confirmation was needed.
"Yes. I am."
"So who's the lucky girl then?"
"Um..." Ruby said with a slight blush. "She's someone I know, she's mean sometimes but I know she doesn't mean to be. Her eyes are really pretty, and when it snows it's when she looks the prettiest." Ruby said, a soft sigh of relief coming out afterwards. "Who's your lucky guy?"
"Ruby."
"Yes?" Ruby asked, looking at Weiss.
"I think I love you Ruby." Weiss said quickly, turning away from Ruby's stare. 'Oh no! I said it too quickly!'
"Huh, straight to the point I suppose."
Weiss slowly turned to Ruby, tears slightly blocking her eyesight. "I'm sorry Ruby, I just got a bit sad when you said you liked this girl and I really like you, I mean your perfect, but I just had to say it. I'm really sorry." Weiss made out, tightly closing her eyes
"Weiss... You're so silly. YOU'RE the girl I was talking about!" Ruby shouted out, laughing wildly afterwards.
"W-what?" Weiss stuttered out, looking at Ruby while brushing her tears away.
"Weiss... I love you too." Ruby said softly and pulled Weiss into a long kiss, wrapping her arms around Weiss. Ruby closed her eyes, her ears pointing straight up, her tail wagging wildly.
Weiss's mind was going into meltdown, blood rushing to her head to keep her from passing out. Finally! A kiss!
Ruby pulled away after a minute smiling at Weiss. "Merry Christmas Weiss." Ruby said softly.
"Merry Christmas Ruby." Weiss answered back, smiling at the younger teen.
The massive grandfather clock at the center of Beacon began to go off, alerting everyone that it was Christmas Day. Fireworks shot up into the night sky, images of Hunters battling Grimm adorned the lighted sky.
"Erm... Weiss?" Ruby asked slowly.
"Hrm?"
"Your nose is bleeding... A lot."
"I know Ruby. I know."
Bonus!
Cardin and his team stood with open jaws as the Rapier Wasps flew out of the room, away from their intended target.
"Where were their stingers?!" Cardin hissed.
"Boys?" A feminine voice asked from behind the team.
"Belladonna? What do you want?" Cardin asked the girl behind the team.
Blake tossed a bag to the floor, a pile of stingers falling out of it, causing all the members of CRDL to jump back in fear. Blake pulled Gambol Shroud from her back, holding the blade at the team.
"No one messes with Ruby." Blake hissed back at the team as Cardin let out a scream of fear.