Chapter Twenty: Nature.
Ruby was a bubble of pure happiness, she just couldn't stop smiling and quite frankly she really didn't want to. The warmth that enveloped the wolf's heart caused her tail to constantly swish about happily without her knowledge. This had lead to a few incidents already; knocking papers off desks or accidently smacking a person as they walked by made up the majority of them. But still Ruby couldn't find it in herself to actually care, she was just too happy. The source of all of which was currently walking beside her with their arms linked.
Weiss Schnee, possibly the prettiest person Ruby had ever encountered was dating her. She couldn't believe that the white haired Heiress actually not only accepted her feelings but also returned them in kind. The more she thought about it the more her happiness built. Everything about the Heiress sent the wolf's heart beating faster.
Ruby had always enjoyed the smells of mint and vanilla that clung to the girl's skin but now that she could actually get lost in the scent she found it highly intoxicating, the natural pheromones mixing in perfectly with her perfume. The ice blue eyes that would shift from the hardest glacier to the softest snows in an instant drew the wolf in making her want to discover their depths and what was held behind their icy layers. But the most delightful thing Ruby had discovered about her partner was her taste, her lips tasted like the sweetest mint she ever had, the coolness of it penetrating her own lips every time they met. She just couldn't get enough of the white haired girl.
She had also found that a flustered Weiss was an extremely cute Weiss. The way her normally pale cheeks would brighten with blush and cause the girl to look away in embarrassment was almost just too much for Ruby to resist. It was also very easy to make the Heiress flustered, in public at least, a peck on the lips or a nuzzle on the shoulder was enough to get her to blush. But the Heiress never complained or was irritated with the wolf, even as the blush settled she had a small smile tugging at the sides of her lips trying hard not to breakout into a full grin.
In private however when it was just the two of them, Weiss would become very affectionate. She would pull the crimson girl onto her lap and instantly claim her lips leading to a long make out session that would leave Ruby gasping for breath and a very smug Weiss. While she wouldn't openly admit it Ruby was a little annoyed at the Heiress' breath control, how could she always come out of those long sessions barely breathing harder that usual?
"Ruby?" Weiss' voice brought her from her own thought and back to the girl beside her.
"Yes?" She asked as she looked up at her partner.
Weiss sighed slightly, she was use to the wolf's wondering mind but it would be nice if she paid attention from time to time, "I was saying that I need to go to the library to work on some homework, do you want to come with me?"
Ruby almost instantly started to say yes but a conversation she had had with Yang popped into her mind. Her sister had made sure she understood while it was good that she and Weiss were together they didn't have to spend all of their time together and that some time apart from time to time would healthy for their new relationship. "Actually I was thinking of heading to the gym and run through my workout, I didn't get to fight today so I'm a bit wound up."
"That sound's good plan, I don't want deal with a hyper wolf when were getting ready for bed." Weiss nodded, Ruby pouted slightly at the Heiress comment, she wasn't that bad when she was hyper. "Oh don't pout you're no where near as bad as Yang." The Heiress didn't want to tell the crimson girl that her pout made her ten times cuter than she already was.
"Fine." Ruby huffed, before letting go of the Heiress a thought popped into her mind making a mischievous smile pull at her lips. With a quick pull on Weiss arm she made the Heiress look down just as she shot up and gave a light peck at her lips before activating her semblance and zipping away leaving the Heiress slightly stunned.
"R-Ruby!" She heard the white haired girl yelled indignantly as the wolf happily zipped away. The Heiress sighed as she shook her head, "Dolt."
Ruby was halfway to the gym before she finally slipped out of her semblance leaving a trail of petals fading behind her. Skipping into the gym she quickly went over to her locker to retrieve her sweetheart. To her Crescent Rose was more than just a tool and weapon; it was a link to her mom just like her cape.
Ruby had been young when her mother died but she could still remember every detail about the bright woman. She had had long red hair, a shade or two darker than Pyrrha's that reached down to the middle of her back even when put up in the single pony tail. Ruby had tried to grow her hair out to her mother's length but it bothered her ears when it had gotten long so she kept it short. Her mom had also been an avid weapon's enthusiast claiming she could tell a person's life story just by what their weapon was and how they maintained it. Her own weapons had been a pair of Dust infused long swords that collapsed so they could fit squarely on her back hidden beneath her white cloak. And Ruby knew that if Weiss could see her mom's Dust craft the Heiress would have been in awe.
Just before she left on her last mission Ruby had shown her mom a drawing of her first weapon design, a scythe just like what she had see her Uncle Qrow use. Her mom had praised her for her ability to understand the inter working so such a complex weapon. She had then proceeded to parade the wolf about the house and town showing anyone who would pause for a second telling them her daughter was going to become the next great scythe master. It had been that confidence her mom had placed in her that made Ruby choose the scythe when asked what weapon she wanted to try to train in during her first few months of training. She was going to prove that her mom was right, she would become the next great scythe master.
Clipping the red weapon on to her back Ruby made her way to the training area to work her excess energy out. As she walked she could feel her senses sharpen; noises became louder, smells more intense, her sight picking up on the smallest of movements, the air around her seemingly charged letting her feel every thing around her. Her heart rate started to increase in her chest, the need to run, the need to be free and attack pulled in her mind. She wanted to prove she was the best, she wanted to show everyone she was an Alp…
Ruby shook her head quickly breaking the line of thought. Taking a deep breaths Ruby steadied her mind, she had worked hard to keep her nature under control, years of training and working on understanding her own wolf nature had paid off letting her keep her instincts under control. But she knew she had to be aware of them and keep them under control. She had seen what could happen if she didn't.
Her mom had taken her out into the forest of Patch one day with plans on training her emerging senses. The training had mostly consisted of a game of hide and seek but the her mom was a fully trained Huntress so even with her wolf advantage Ruby had been challenged to keep up with her. They would switch on who would hide to who would seek. When it was Ruby's turn to hide and her mom found her she would explain and show her the signs that led her right to the wolf. When it was Ruby's turn to seek, her mom would slowly increase her hiding places leaving less and less of a trail each time making it so Ruby would have to use more and more of her senses each time to find her.
It was during one of Ruby's seeking turns that she had gotten distracted by a new scent. It was coming off a tree that lead deeper into the forest and it seemed to call to her wanting her to come deeper into the trees to find the source, the young wolf hadn't even realized that she was following the trail until she heard a low growl. Her hair stood up on end, ears perking up, and her tail bushing out. The growl was low and rumbled out around her making silver eyes dart around trying to locate what was causing the noise.
The growl came again, as the shadows in front of the young wolf parted to reveal a new figure. His cloths were tatter and torn with large dirt stains, his hair was long an matted, the pair of ears that stood on the top of his head where up an alert just like hers, but the most striking thing about him was his eyes. They were almost completely black and devoid of any color holding a wild gleam in them. Another growl admitted out and Ruby knew what it was, it was a warning, a threat that he was the dominant one here and that she was going to bow to him. Something deep in the young wolf's mind pushed back, she would not bow she was the dominant one.
The thought had come on so quickly that it shocked Ruby enough to bring her out of her stand off with the wolf. She could see his stance was low, his hands spread out like claws, his fangs bared. Ruby knew that he was about to strike. Whatever it had been that made Ruby brave enough to face the wolf was now gone and in its place was the fear of a young girl who had barely begun her own training.
With one more growl the wolf lunged towards Ruby as she backed up, her feet catching on a root causing her to fall over, she looked up as the wolf towered above her a hand like claw swing down.
A white blur tackled the wolf just before the swing could reach the young wolf. Her mother rolled as she kicked the wolf back before kicking up on to her feet, swords drawn. "BACK DOWN!" she yelled as the wolf staggered to his feet. "This is not your territory you have no right here." The air around her shifted as three doppelgangers came into existence beside her. Another one appeared beside Ruby with a soft look and a careful caress to her face, "You're safe now little wolf." She cooed as she patted her daughter head. "I've got you."
Ruby had always been amazed by her mom's semblance, Full Clone. It made full copies of her that were indistinguishable from the original; they all smelled the same, sounded the same and felt the same. With a simple thought her mom could command nine exact clones of herself with the same skills and abilities with precession and without hesitation. With her combination of semblance, swords and Dust craft no one could stand up to the might of Summer Rose.
The wolf snarled at the four figures in front of him as he flexed his claws, his eyes looking for any opening between the eight swords. "You've lost yourself, haven't you?" One of her mom's clones shook her head. The wolf continued to snarl and growl before rushing forward hands swiping out. Each attack was blocked by a simple move of a sword, her mom giving no ground to the wolf.
A touch at Ruby's should made her look away from the fight, her mom had a sad smile on her, "Close your eyes and cover your ears little wolf, you don't need to see this." Ruby did as she was told as her mom placed her own hands over her wolf ears. Even with the sound muffled the young wolf could still hear the sound of a sword slicing through flesh and bone followed by a pained howl, then silence. Her mom removed her hands from her ears making Ruby drop her own hands, "Don't open your eyes until I say so my little wolf." her mom cooed as she pick her up off the ground, the scent of blood filled the air making Ruby wrinkle her nose.
After a few minutes of walking in silence her mom told her to open her eyes. They were back in the clearing they first came to, her mom holding her close as she sat down on a log, "I'm sorry you had to see that Ruby."
In the safety of her mom's arms the young wolf finally let her emotions out and sob into her shoulder. Her mom's soft hand rubbed small circles on her back letting the wolf cry. "There, there little wolf, you're safe now. I've got you, no one's going to hurt you." Slowly Ruby began calm down.
"What was that?" Ruby asked once she was able to find her voice. "What was that momma?"
Her mom gave her a sad smile as she placed a loose strand of hair behind the wolf's ear, "That my little wolf was a feral wolf."
"A forreal wolf?" Ruby asked as she continued to look up at her mom.
"No, feral." Her mom corrected her, "It's what happens when a wolf looses themselves to their instinct. They loose all sense of reason and any control they had, the only thing left is the instinct to hunt and kill. Once that happens the only way to stop them is to kill them."
Ruby felt a sense of dread start to build in her, "Will that happen to me?" She asked a spring of fresh tears starting to well up in her eyes.
"No, no, no." Her mom cooed quickly as she started to wipe away the fresh tears, "No. I will never let that happen to you my little wolf. We're out here training your instinct so that way you can control them. You will never become a feral wolf. I promise."
Ruby smiled at the memory as she reached a training room, once her mom had died Qrow had take up her training and she had quickly gained control over her instinct. He had also began to train her in her weapon, the scythe training came like a second nature to her. She was going to become a great scythe welder.
Shaking her head clear again Ruby programed the training dummies with her scroll before walking to the center of the room, she spun her scythe out taking a low stance and waited for the dummies to attack. The first one came from behind with a low swing. Hearing the whisper of noise Ruby spun on her heel catching the dummy around the middle just as the next one reached her. A press of the thumb trigger sent a round into the new dummy and slicing the other in half. Using the momentum Ruby twisted just in time to dodge a new attack, her own strike landing with the same twist. Slowly Ruby let herself slip into a rhythm letting her training take over. A spin to conserve momentum, a fire of a round to redirect a swing, leap into the air, twist to strike, land low, fire, spin, strike. As she sank into the subconscious movements she could feel something deep with in her, something that wanted to run, to be free, to bite, to tear, to ki…
Ruby gasped as she realized where her thoughts had been heading, what was going on with her? She stopped her training to collect her thoughts; something was there just at the edge of her mind howling out in the distance calling to her, a voice she didn't recognize. She couldn't hear what it wanted her to do but she could feel it, she could feel its want for blood. Ruby clenched her hands tighter around her scythe, silver eyes darting around suddenly feeling very closed in…
"Is everything alright?" A bright voice asked suddenly breaking the wolf from her thoughts. Ruby screamed in fright as she spun to face the person, her feet snagging on her cape causing her to trip and fall on her backside.
"Oww." She whined, looking up to see the very concerned gaze of Pyrrha Nikos looking down at her.
"Ruby, are you alright?" Pyrrha asked as she kneeled down, concern furrowing her brow, emerald eyes searching her face for any signs of pain.
"I'm fine Pyrrha." Ruby replied as she settled her breathing, she was really starting to get annoyed that people kept sneaking up on her when she was distracted, she was a wolf for crying out loud no one should be able to sneak up on her. "You just scared the crap out of me."
Pyrrha gave her a small smile, "Sorry about that. I was walking by when I saw you stop and decided to check in on you, I promise I didn't mean to scare you."
"It's fine." Ruby smiled back, "I was just lost in thought suddenly and didn't hear you." Pyrrha's eyes darted up to her wolf ears for a brief second, "Yeah I know it's just I, ah, wasn't paying attention."
"Well I'm glad you're okay." Pyrrha smiled widely now as she slowly got up and offered her hand out to the shorter girl. "Weiss would not be happy with me if you were hurt." The taller redhead smirked down at the wolf causing her to blush lightly.
"She'd probably roll her eyes and lecture me about paying more attention." Ruby muttered.
"It just shows she cares." Pyrrha smiled, she was happy for the two of them, she was just hoping now that Weiss was with Ruby a certain blond leader would get her hints. "So since we're both here, do you want to spare?" She hadn't gotten to spar either today and could feel the need to fight a worthy opponent who could challenge her, and Ruby easily fit that build.
"Sure." Ruby beamed as she spun her scythe back to her back. "But we should probably go to a larger arena."
Pyrrha nodded in agreement as motioned for Ruby to follow her, "Arena Nine is open, we should have plenty of room there to really stretch out." As they walked to their dueling grounds they chatted about classes and their up coming midterms. Pyrrha was also worried about their Menagerian midterm having come into the class with no prior knowledge about the language. Ruby offered for her to join her and Blake since the black haired girl was helping her prepare, the taller redhead readily accepted.
When the reached the arena the two girls entered their scrolls into a terminal brining up their Aura meters on the screen and set the system to chime when one feel below thirty percent. With a respectful nod they separated and took their places.
Ruby deployed her scythe with a spin and took a low stance watching her opponent. Pyrrha took a settling breath while Milo extended into its javelin form; Crescent Rose had an advantage with its reach so she had to be ready to counter that and while her weapon in this form was more for throwing it could be used as spear when needed. With each girl in their ready stance the count down began, muscles tensed as they waited for the chime. Three. Two. On- Ruby exploded into motion rose petals trailing behind her.
Pyrrha was able to bring her javelin up in time to block the diagonal slash of the scythe. She could feel the weight behind the blow as her heels dug into the ground. Pushing back the battle maiden tried to counter on to have her own attack be dodged by the wolf back flipping away. A smile pulled at her lips, Ruby was nimble and she would have to stay on her toes to keep the pressure on the wolf.
Ruby's backflip put enough distance between her and the taller girl allowing her to prepare her next move. Pyrrha was able to trade Yang blow for blow so getting into a close quarters fight would put her at a disadvantage, she was going to have to rely on her speed and acrobatics to keep the battle maiden from scoring a direct hit. A smile pulled on her lips, this was going to be fun.
After the brief respite both girls ran towards each other. Ruby swung her scythe in a wide horizontal slice the steel singing though the air. As she ran Pyrrha saw the attack and dodged, sliding under the massive blade getting inside Ruby's striking range, that was the one down side to Ruby's weapon, if someone got inside the blade of her scythe then it was harder for her to maneuver. Popping up quickly the battle maiden stabbed upwards, Ruby jerked back feeling the sharp point of the javelin pass her face by mere centimeters.
Changing her footing Ruby allowed the momentum of her swing to spin her trying to catch the other redhead on the backswing. The shaft of Milo caught the back of Crescent Rose; Pyrrha had been expecting the attack. A boom sounded out and Ruby slammed her body into the battle maidens breaking their clash, she had not been expecting the wolf to body check her. Ruby didn't have mass that her sister did so she wasn't as likely to use her body as a weapon; the move staggered the taller redhead.
Ruby watched as Pyrrha recovered holding her javelin low, point aimed forward and towards her center, one arm holding the back end steady the other lightly just below the head. Racking another round the crimson wolf readied herself for the next pass, silver eyes narrowed as she prepared her semblance and let her mind settle into her senses.
Taking a deep breath the wolf took in everything around her. She could smell the battle maiden, she smelled of sweet oils and leather, the smell of her sister and Blake in the stands hit her nose, the lavender and lilacs mixing together, they were mixed with the rest of JNPR's smells. Jaune smelling like freshly lined cloths, Nora with her sweet smell of baked goods, and Ren of lotus incense. They must have come in during the beginning of their match wanting to see the bout. Something deep with in Ruby rumbled as if it was encouraging her to show them her power. Show them that she was the dominant one. Show them the power of a wolf.
Pushing back against the thought Ruby rushed her opponent again using bursts of her semblance to close the gap quickly, swinging her scythe around her body. Using her momentum she kept her body moving as she spun around launching her attack, the ringing of metal on metal rang out a Pyrrha blocked and dodged under the swings looking for any point to counter the fluid combination.
With a mighty push the battle maiden was able to knock the wolf back giving her a little breathing room. Quickly transforming Milo into its rifle form she opened fired causing the crimson girl to retreat even more. She needed to find a way inside Ruby's reach and needed to find it quickly because if she kept their exchanges at its current distance she would lose. Ruby proved that she was much more comfortable with the midrange encounters than herself.
Ruby dodged a shot of Milo and settled into her stance again taking another breath. Vanilla mixed with mint filled her head. Weiss was there, Weiss was watching her. Again the rumbling in Ruby began again this time much stronger, the need to prove who was the strongest pushed its way past her thoughts crashing into her. A crack of a bullet impacting her shoulder made her Aura flare and the thought took ahold. Slowly the world began to narrow in on itself, a red haze filtered into her edges of her sight. Her thoughts jumbled as the urge to break those who stood in her way took control. Rip everything apart. Slice through anything in her way. Destroy anyone who opposed her. Show them the power of the Alpha.
The wolf rushed forward her semblance activating once again as she jumped from side to side making it hard for Pyrrha to anticipate where the attack would come from. With twist the wolf flipped into the air bringing her scythe down in a diagonal cut. A loud crash rang out as Crescent Rose met with Akouo. A stab of Milo followed again causing her to twist as the blade just barely passed by. With a mighty shove the wolf pushed off the shield pushing the battle maiden back and brought the barrel of Crescent Rose level with the girl. Firing she knew the shot would be blocked with the golden shield but that wasn't her attack. With the momentum of the shot the wolf tucked backwards spinning in a back circle, the back hooks of her scythe hitting the shield sending Pyrrha skidding back.
Pyrrha had barely managed to bring Akouo into position for the slash form above, she had lost track of the wolf's movements and had only caught the rose petals above her at the last possible second, with the block she stabbed upwards but had missed again. The crimson wolf was nimble, she had to give her that. As the barrel leveled with her shield she knew a shot was going to follow, what she didn't count on was the weight of the scythe smashing into her shield quickly after the impact of the round. Not only was she nimble the wolf was very acrobatic.
Just as the battle maiden stopped her skid she saw the wolf rushing at her again, silver eyes flashing like molten steel. Another bark of her scythe's rifle sounded out as the blade sped toward her. Pyrrha angled her shield so that when the blade hit it would deflect upwards creating an opening. She transformed Milo into its sword form. The moment she felt the blade of the scythe impact the battle maiden pushed up expecting some resistance but was met with none. The impact of the shaft of Crescent Rose in her side sent her off to the side.
Trying to regain her footing Pyrrha found the wolf right on her again, massive blade singing through the air. Reaching for her own semblance the battle maiden focused on the scythe but it was moving to fast for her to concentrate on, if the wolf hadn't been using her semblance then she might have been able to catch the blade in her polarity. With no choice Pyrrha blocked the incoming swing with her shield again only to be tossed to the side by the blow, where was Ruby getting this strength? The wolf shouldn't be that strong, she didn't have the muscle mass that Yang or herself had nor did she have Nora's ability. So how was she battering her around the arena like a target dummy? With a quick glance Pyrrha noticed the worried looks of both Yang and Blake each looking as if they were reading to move. The glance cost her.
The back of the blade final found its mark in her lapse of concentration impacting on her right side just below her ribs. Pyrrha felt her breath leave her as her Aura flared to lessen the blow, the weight of Crescent Rose almost cracking through. Rolling with the blow the battle maiden tried to lessen the damage. The wolf followed, silver eyes flashing with a feral light. The wolf was going for blood.
Using both her sword and shield to block the fluid slashes of blade and shaft Pyrrha was quick losing ground quickly. The crimson wolf gave no pause in her pursuit of the girl attacks flowing together seamlessly leaving no room for Pyrrha to attack back. The battle maiden had faced many opponents during her time at Sanctum and during tournaments but she had never encountered anything like she was now. With her speed and reach the wolf kept her from doing anything that would turn the tables, the blows getting closer and closer to reaching her. Trying to break the onslaught the battle maiden made her mistake.
Blocking a slash with her shield Pyrrha transformed Milo back into its javelin form with a flick of her wrist readying her next attack when she felt the hooks of Crescent Rose grab onto the back of her shield, she should have let go of it and allowed the wolf to just carry though with the attack, she should have just released Akouo from her arm. Instead she held on and was pulled hard to the side, her feet coming off the ground. Suddenly she felt the wolf twist sending her tumbling through the air.
The wolf slashed upward in a vertical cut catching Pyrrha around her middle with the shaft of her scythe and pulling her into a circle slamming her into the ground with a heavy impact. The battle maiden could feel her ribs crack has her armor dented. Rolling to her back she saw the wolf towering over her scythe raised, silver eyes etched with blood red lines.
Before either could react a yellow streak of heat and fire smashed into the wolf as a pair of hands yanked Pyrrha out of the way. A loud boom sounded out as the streak impacted into the wall pinning the wolf. Yang held her sister by the shoulders as she struggled, fangs bared. Pyrrha looked up as two Blake's watched the sisters worry etched into her face. Amber eyes flicked down from one of the Blake's, "You okay?" A streak of white flashed by as Weiss ran past towards the struggling wolf.
Pyrrha winced as she took a break, defiantly cracked ribs and the dent in her armor wasn't helping. "I think Ruby really did some damage but I should be fine with a few day's rest." Blake nodded as the other one dispelled. A chorus of "Pyrrha." Rang out as her team ran over to her.
Blake stepped away and toward her struggling teammates as Nora took her place, "Oh my God are you okay? Did she hurt you, I mean of course she hurt you but it's not too bad is it? Like you're not going to die or anything, do I need to-"
The orange haired girl's babbling was interrupted as Ren pulled her away by the back of her shirt, "Nora she'll be fine I've already called for the medics just give her some room to breath." The small berserker pouted as her partner held her back but didn't resist.
"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Jaune asked coming up beside her touching her arm lightly, "Ruby really knocked your Aura down pretty low." Pyrrha glanced at the Aura meters, hers was dipping into the high teens, no wonder Ruby had been able to crack her ribs.
Pyrrha nodded, "I'm fine. How's Ruby?" The sudden switch in the smaller girl's personality had caught the battle maiden off guard but she was sure that the switch was a lot heavier on Ruby than what had happened to her.
Ren gave a sigh, as he looked over, "Not well." Once he had confirmed that Pyrrha was fine he had looked over to see how the others were dealing with the crimson girl.
Once Yang had hit the wolf and pinned her to the wall Ruby had began to come back to her senses the hazy red fog that had been clouding her mind telling her to attack, to rip and shred and to kill began to lift. The clarity of what she had done crashed over her; she had been ready to kill Pyrrha. If Yang had been a second later she knew she would have drove Crescent Rose into her opponent delivering the final blow.
She had lost herself. She had lost herself to her wolf instinct. She had lost herself to her Alpha nature. She had lost herself to a world tinted red and the want of blood. The wolf pulled in on herself, ears flattening against her hair tail curling tight against her body. Sobs rocking her body as she crumpled to the ground.
A warm hand gently rested on Ruby's back causing her to flinch and pull away. How could anyone stand to touch her now? She was a wolf, a feral beast that would rip out their throat if given the chance. Why would anyone want to be close to her? She'd kill them if they got to close. The warm hand persisted pulling her closer.
Silver eyes looked up through the tears to see soft lilac ones staring back, a kind smile framed by long blonde hair. The scent of lilacs and gunpowder filled her nose as her sister pulled her into her lap holding the sobbing wolf close to her core sending and a pulsing warmth through her. She could feel her lips form words but couldn't hear what she said.
Another soft hand joined her sisters as the hints of vanilla and mint joined the blonde's, two cold lips pressing into the back of her neck, the breath of the Heiress pricking at her skin. Yang shifted as Weiss wrapped her hands around Ruby's waist.
Yang looked up at Blake as she held the sobbing wolf to her chest. They both knew what had happened the smaller girl; she had succumbed to her Alpha nature in order to prove her dominance. What they had witnesses was the power of an Alpha wolf. Blake looked down at the wolf in her partner's arms, she had been expecting the wolf to still be lost to her instincts but yet here was the small wolf she knew sobbing into her sister's and the Schnee Heiress' arms afraid of herself muttering 'I'm sorry' over and over again. Weiss hadn't taken her eyes off the wolf muttering into her human ear and pressing soft kisses into her flesh.
The panther turned to look at JNPR still huddled around Pyrrha her head resting on Jaune's lap while Nora looked torn between staying with her downed teammate and checking on the crimson girl Ren holding her back his eyes fixed on Blake. She appreciated the black haired boy's calm demeanor, he was able to take in everything that was happening and react without hesitation. Now he knew he had to keep his partner from overwhelming the wolf. With a nod Blake wordless told him it was okay.
Returning the nod Ren leaned down and whispered into Nora's ear, the orange haired girl's eyes lit up but she remained subdued as she walked over to check on Ruby. Ren followed behind her but stopped beside Blake. "Pyrrha will be fine, couple cracked ribs but nothing broken."
Blake sighed, if she and Yang hadn't interfered when they did it could have been much worse, but as it was she was wishing they had stepped in sooner, "Ruby's shaken, it could take her a while to snap out of it. I don't think she's ever lost it like that before." Ren nodded before continuing on. Blake shook her head, Ruby had never showed any signs of losing control but something had set her off, now they just had to figure out what it was. They were going to have a long few days ahead of them.
Qrow stumbled out of the airship, his feet catching on the flat ground almost sent him on to his face. The bright sun made him narrow his eyes and put his hand over them for some shade, it was too bright for his liking. With a groan he reached into his belt pouch and pulled out his flask. The flight had been a pain in the ass and they didn't have any booze either, who the hell flew with no booze?
Opening the metal container he tipped his head back waiting for the burning liquid to burn into his mouth. When none came he lowered the flask giving it a curious look, he was sure it was full when he had left Mistrial. Turning the container over he gave it a few good shakes only to get a drop of amber liquid to drip out. Well that was just fucking perfect, no boozes here either.
"Fuck." He grumbled as he put his flask back, now he was really annoyed. With a shake of his head Qrow began to walk out of the airport and towards a bar he knew. It was a hole in the wall joint but he knew the owner and had an already open tab, which he really needed to pay off at some point. But that was matter for another time. Right now he wanted a very stiff drink, actually he wanted a few, maybe more, a lot more.
He had gotten Glynda's message a few days ago and had only just now made it to Vale. She would be extremely harpy like when he got to Beacon she always was with him. It definitely wouldn't hurt to get his drinks in before that happened. He also needed to refill his flask, yeah that needed to happen before he went to Beacon.
Scratching at the stubble on his chin Qrow sat down heavily on the stool at the bar motioning for the man's attention. Oz had waited a few days; he could wait a few more hours.
A/N: Boy howdy Ruby... At what point do I feel bad that I enjoy playing with the poor wolf? Ehh probably not important. So anywhoo, here we go into the second 'Act' with the thickening plots and the darker themes, I warned everyone at the beginning so no complaining when things go sideways. And yay druncle makes his appearance, what will this mean for RWBY? How will Ruby's actions affect their future? Will Qrow get his drinks? Find out next week on... Sorry I've been watching too much 90's anime...
With that: My thanks cannot be conveyed enough, leave your thoughts if you please, and let your smile bring someone joy today.