Edit: Only made changes in section 2 with only minor spelling edits in section 1. Everything else including the notes remains unchanged.

A Lost Rose 1.2

Ruby was many things: A huntress-in-training, A skilled combatant far surpassing her own peers to the point of being a prodigy, A blacksmith that created one of the overly complicated weapon of all time, A connoisseur of weapons, and finally an avid consumer of sweets, especially cookies.

She however, was not a horse rider. Or any kind of driving in particular.

As evidenced by Ruby laying still on the ground after Torrent tossed her off a few feet away for the umpteenth time.

"Ooowwww," Ruby groaned and rubbed her head, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu.

They've always made horseback riding look easier in the videos she watched. Apparently, just watching it doesn't give you immediate knowledge on the subject. It also doesn't help that she can't quite vividly remember the tutorial.

Why she was watching those videos someone may ask, believe it or not… She too wanted a pony once.

And why was she even learning to try and ride Torrent? Well… funny story actually. She got bucked off the moment Ferri urged Torrent into a full gallop.

Which is why Ferri was trying to teach her to ride Torrent, and by trying I mean he barely taught her at all! He was only speaking in very few words, nevermind teaching this is basically self studying now!

She did say she could just sit in front of him, but told her he couldn't fight properly that way. Neat, that means he's saying he can fight on horseback like a knight!

And then there were the thorns in his armor, she didn't mind it though. Plus, they don't even hurt that much — granted she had her Aura up that time so it might actually hurt the next time she did it without Aura. He did mind though, as much as she appreciated him for being thoughtful for her wellbeing, she got the feeling he wasn't buying into the whole Aura thing yet.

Yep, the next time an opportunity presents itself, she'll show him. But for now, she needed to focus on the current event, that being: learning how to ride a magical Goathorse.

Although, if she knew she was gonna get teleported to a different world — where the cars are still horses — then she would have downloaded the tutorials on how to ride a horse in her scroll.

Hmm? She can't help but feel there was this one other reason… Oh right! She almost forgot, Ferri told her that he would just walk alongside her while she rode atop Torrent. Ruby still didn't see the reason why Ferri wanted her to ride Torrent by herself, which makes her feel bad being the only one to ride and rest.

He's quite stubborn too as he wouldn't give an explanation, at least that would make her feel better if only a little.

It would've been easier if Torrent just trotted but Ferri reasoned that if ever in the case they would be chased, she wouldn't fall off. But what about him? Wouldn't she just be basically leaving him behind?

He told her not to worry about him and just worry about herself that left a bad taste in her mouth. How could she call herself a hero when she is leaving someone behind. He even denied her offer to stay and fight should they encounter monsters.

Ruby frowned remembering that. Did Ferri doubt her? Does he think that she's just a little girl that needs to be protected? She knows how to fight! But, she has yet to demonstrate it though. Sooo Ferri might be justified in not believing her?

And then there was also her semblance that she has yet to show… That's it! She'll just confront him and request a spar! Then he'll know that she can do this and take care of some of her troubles. Great plan me!

But, enough about that, she was getting sidetracked again. She needed to focus one thing at a time, the spar could come at a later date.

But yeah… progress isn't quite smooth sailing as she initially wanted. Now for the last hour all the results Ruby got was her getting bucked off for speeding off, for the…? Maybe the ninth time?

She doesn't know. She lost track after being thrown off a lot, guess hitting your head often can cause you to lose memory ahaha… hah. Wait, that's not actually funny. If she ends up forgetting her name then she'll know who to blame.

Huh, now that she thought about it that wouldn't make sense as wouldn't she also not remember him? Gah! Nevermind, too many details. She was studying to become a huntress not a psychologist!

Sooo yeah, all in all, they haven't gone that far yet, indefinitely postponing Ferri's journey. His journey is still unknown to her though, apart from 'fixing these lands' he hasn't hinted anything yet. Maybe it's a quest to slay a dragon! Now it'll be exactly like a fairytale.

Ruby heard footsteps walking towards her, she craned her head and blocked the view of the sun with the back of her hand to see Ferri to her before stopping at her side. Ruby noticed he intentionally moved to cover her from the sun giving her shade.

Albeit his shadow didn't cover her completely, it was still a nice thing to do.

"Did you not have horses back where you came from?" he questioned looking down at her.

"Nah, we still have horses, it's just horse's are kinda outdated now by cars hehe," her mouth stretched into a toothy grin.

"Cars?" Ferri tilted his head, the word sounded foreign in his mouth.

Ruby wondered if she should tell him about cars not like it would help or anything, but she did want to see what kind of reaction he'll give. Now, how should she explain cars to him without going into incredible detail. She could go overboard in explaining the intricate details of machinery, but she didn't want to bore him.

Like how Yang slept through her 2 hour explanation detailing how Crescent Rose works… The nutshell version it is then.

"Ah it's like a horseless carriage but can go faster than any horse! and not tire… if you didn't run out of fuel though," Yang often complained about the increase of Dust prices.

"Hmm," Ferri only hummed and nodded in response… Well that was a bit dissapointing. She was hoping for a more fun reaction. But she was hoping for too much.

It didn't take long for her to take note that Ferri was very stoic. He rarely asks her about anything and most often than not she was the one to initiate the conversation. It was only the little tidbits of his actions that allowed her to see what kind of person Ferri was, like how he provided shade for her.

Maybe he doesn't know how to keep a conversation going and was just socially awkward like her? Well, toast to the socially awkward then. But, she could tell he was trying… only a little though.

"Here," Ferri offered her a hand.

Ruby looked at his outstretched hand then to his iron mask, before grabbing it and being pulled up. Yep, Definitely trying.

"Thanks," she smiled a bit, to which he hesitantly nodded after a moment of pause as if he didn't know what to respond — like he wasn't used to getting praised. Then again though, he wasn't much of a talker and probably didn't meet a lot of people so the point might be moot.

Now that they were standing close Ruby realized that Ferri was only half a head taller than her. She never noticed this before since he always kept her at arm's length, but they were quite close in height or maybe similar to Yang's height? She couldn't verify without a meter stick or stand nearer than a handshake.

Speaking of which, he still hasn't let go of her hand, not that it wasn't uncomfortable or anything, actually it was kind of comfortable even through the gauntlet. But she felt like Ferri was inspecting her hand for something she couldn't see.

Don't tell me this world has magic eyes too hmm? Ozpin did say something about her silver eyes… Maybe her eyes were magical! Nah, Remnant doesn't have magic, must be a coincidence hahah.

Since he was trying to socialize, then she should try harder to make new friends too once she got back home, but now, now was the time to master horse riding.

"Alright, time to give it another try!" Ruby, now motivated again, let go of Ferri's hand and turned to face Torrent.

Only for Torrent to turn away from her.

"Hmm? What's wrong Torrent?" Ruby asked and he neighed almost offended? At least that's what it sounded like to her.

"It seems Torrent is upset." Ferri approached Torrent and started petting his neck which seemed to improve his mood.

"Huh? But why would— ooooh," Torrent totally heard her comment about cars.

"No uh…" Ruby's next words were thought up very fast, so she wasn't sure what she was saying, and she was making very fast hand motions that didn't make sense. "It's true that cars are faster b-but I prefer you, you're cooler than any cars and you don't run out of fuel— I mean tire — unlike cars, plus you're magical!"

Really, Torrent never really got tired and he came out of a whistle literally. Her jumbled up words proved to be somewhat effective since Torrent neighed proudly, but he still didn't look convinced.

This was like when Zwei was jealous all over again.

She was so focused on thinking on what to do next she didn't notice Ferri took her hand, surprising her greatly which almost caused her to jump but managed to regain her composure. She was gonna ask why he grabbed her hand but what followed next confused her.

He gave her a pair of raisins.

"For Torrent."

"Ookay, but why didn't you just say anything instead of grabbing me, I was surprised!"

"You didn't hear me," he explained.

Huh, so Ferri's been trying to get her attention but since he speaks lightly her rambling drowned out his voice. He really should speak loudly, she thought.

Ruby looked at the raisins, so these are treats for Torrent… I wonder what they taste like. It looks very sweet.

"Ah, inedible for humans."

… Phew, that was close.

She approached Torrent and brought out the raisins.

"Here Torrent, this is for you," Torrent accepted the raisins and ate them from her hand and took this time to pet him, greatly improving his mood.

Ruby looked at Ferri and gave him a smile. "Thanks Ferri." which he responded by nodding again.

Since Torrent was happy again, it was back to trying to learn to ride again.

"Okay, here we go!" Ruby mounted Torrent from his left and with a gentle tap on his sides with her boot got Torrent to walk — just like Ferri instructed before. But, the same problem was happening again.

Ok Ruby you can do this, this time I won't fall off. She didn't realize it but she was fidgeting, anxious as she really doesn't know what to do and this sensation was somehow familiar to her.

Fortunately, Ferri this time chose to stay beside her instead of sitting at his usual rock watching as she falled off.

"Stay calm," Ferri advised, walking beside her and Torrent. "Torrent can feel your emotions."

Ruby nodded. Ok me, stay calm. I mean, why would she be afraid? She fought Grimm before and they were scarier than riding a magical Goathorse. So why was she anxious?... It was then that she remembered something similar to what she was experiencing.

O brother gods, this is like riding her sis's motorcycle — Bumblebee — alone and she crashed it. Yang was definitely not happy that day.

"Rose," When she heard him call her by name, she felt reassured, calm, like she could trust him with her life. It was weird in a way she can't understand, but it did feel nice, he finally got to say her name! Well, her last name, instead of just going straight to the point. Ruby thought he was still distancing himself by not saying her first name, she was glad that it was still progress than none at all.

Really, what kind of friends would they be if the other one doesn't say their name. Even if she doesn't know his real name

Ruby closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.

Okay deep breaths, deep breaths. Inhale and exhale slowly. Breathe in, breathe out.

"Boulder."

Wait what?

Ruby opened her eyes and she noticed they were heading straight into a boulder and Torrent, seemingly nonchalant that he's about to head face first into it, made no move to avoid it. Alarmed, she was about to pull on his reins to move Torrent and prevent him from colliding.

But Ferri was faster.

"Don't pull on his reins. Gently nudge where you want him to go."

Ruby lightly tugged the reins, steering Torrent away from the object. Whew, crisis averted.

"Go faster."

Ruby nodded and gently tapped Torrent's sides again except this time with one leg further back, making him canter and Ferri was lagging behind.

A minute has passed and she realized she hasn't fallen off yet and riding… riding felt very relaxing. She continued to ride Torrent without going far from Ferri mostly, going in circles. Wow, who knew that riding could give you a feeling of peace.

But there is a question though. How do you get Torrent to stop?

"Um Ferri? How do you get Torrent to stop?" as if on cue, Torrent stopped his canter, almost throwing her off balance.

Wut?

"T-torrent can you go over there," Ruby pointed a few spaces ahead and to confirm her suspicion, Torrent followed through.

N-no way.

No way.

You mean to tell me Torrent can just do what I say!?

"Yes?" Ferri responded, catching up to her, she didn't even realize she said that aloud.

"Why didn't you tell me before!"

Ferri just shrugged.

Wait a sec, why didn't I just try it before? Was all that training pointless then!?

Before she could say anything else, Ferri told her that Torrent can leap twice in the air.

Say what now?

The sun hung low in the sky, the cool breeze gently brushing past her, ruffling her hair and cloak slightly billowing with rose petals fluttering away. Ruby looked at her sword, held by her dominant left hand with her right running over the blade, gleaming in the light of the golden hour and the gem glistening vividly blue.

'Sapphire Rose,' she thought. The new name of her sword, both in memory of her Crescent Rose and the Sapphire-like gem embedded on the base of the sword.

The longsword was magnificent! The quality in the blade was excellent, although she couldn't identify what material it was but nevertheless her sword was awesome! Whoever made this must be a genius! It was also possible this was a magic sword!

Ruby was almost drooling, she didn't have time to look at it carefully before, but now that she got the opportunity, she inspected it with all its splendour.

To an outsider's point of view, calling her a dork when it comes to weapons might be an understatement.

She was so concentrated on fully inspecting the sword to the point she almost forgot the spar— oh right! The spar, how could she forget.

Standing opposite of her — at a distance of roughly 15 meters — was Ferri, right hand resting on the pommel of… is that a longsword? Where did he get that?

Before she could ask. Ferri unsheathed the longsword. It wasn't cool looking or anything, just a simple, common longsword. But, with her trained eye, she noticed that the sword wasn't in pristine condition. Even the edges were blunted.

It irked her that the weapon wasn't being performed maintenance but another thought occurred to her. The blade was dull. She had mixed feelings about this, he cared about her safety, however he still doubted her.

Although it was all going to be proven today, in this spar, where she shows what she's truly capable of. So instead of asking a question, she hummed joyously, looking forward to this duel. But she still wanted to see the gladius in action though.

"You're not gonna use your gladius?"

Ferri shook his head, assuming a stance which Ruby recognized as the longpoint guard. Well at least she tried.

Ruby assumed a similar guard as well, she still remembered how to use a sword since uncle Qrow was the one who taught her how to fight before — Crescent Rose wasn't made yet so uncle Qrow had to let her use Harbinger, which included learning its sword form — but she was less proficient with it than a scythe.

The area around them was a large clearing, no obstacles like boulders and withered trees to serve as obstacles or to use as an advantage. In a way it was similar to the single combat matches back in Signal Academy. But the rules this time were different, Ruby remembered what rules Ferri set.

Ferri said the condition for victory was first blood… she honestly forgot that Ferri didn't have Aura since the whole fiasco about riding Torrent took a lot of things out of her mind. She didn't want to injure him, so she'll have to bend the rules a bit to her favor. She could just stop the moment where her blade reaches him or just hit him with the butt of her sword.

What? It sounds funnier than saying 'hit him with the pommel.' plus it's not like her blade couldn't pierce the armor anyway… provided that the armor was as hard as she thought it would be or else her speed could add enough force for Sapphire Rose to cut through.

Ruby reached into one of her pockets, trying to find a certain small, round item. Ah, found it! Ruby retrieved a penny from her wallet. She still got quite a sum of Lien in her wallet, but considering the situation. The money's possibly useless now.

"Alright, we'll start when this penny reaches the ground, is that okay?"

He nodded.

Ruby flicked the penny, time seemed to slow down for her as she perceived the different sides of the coin turning slowly as it fell. The coin was really high up. Seconds turned to tens of seconds until the coin finally hit the ground with a clink.

…

This is awkward…

Neither the knight nor the huntress-in-training made the first move and what felt like awkwardly long, agonizing hours — for her maybe, but in reality only a short moment passed — she decided that Ferri was on the defensive. She came to this conclusion after she powered on her scroll to start the stopwatch and saw that he didn't move a single inch when she wasn't focused on him.

As for why she powered off her scroll in the first place, well she couldn't charge it unless there was a power socket lying around — shame, playing one of her playlists would've fit the mood better — and also she wanted to save enough power on her scroll to take pictures of this place so she can show it off to her family later.

If- When she gets back that is. Ok, stopping the negative thoughts now. It was time to formulate a battle plan and show off her cool side!

Ruby activated her Aura, enveloping her body with a red shimmer that quickly went from top to bottom before fading away just as shortly. Ferri, as always, was still as a statue, not even remarking what he witnessed.

Although, she guessed he might just have pinpointed it to being magical in nature… pfft! Aura is magic? Magic doesn't even exist on Remnant! Maybe Aura is just a magical force field that blocks any sort of physical harm Hahaha… ha…?

Wait a minute, that's actually kind of a good way to describe it here.

Well at least he'll believe her now… if she gets hit that is. Ruby smirked as she thought that before preparing herself into a stance as well.

Now, what will her first step be?

Hold on a second… Why was she even being cautious anyway? Wasn't this the whole point of proving that she was a capable fighter, more importantly, proving her Aura?

In that case.

Ruby bolted, leaving a trail of rose petals behind. With only a distance of 15 meters, and with her semblance, she was instantly in front of Ferri. To him, it was as if a red blur came upon him, only for Ruby to materialize past his guard and take a swing.

But it was a long time since she last wielded a sword, so her form was clumsy and unbalanced, already missing the weight and recoil of her beloved scythe. And most importantly, the reach. Causing a margin of error.

Her attack missed by a few centimeters, barely grazing his armor. To Ferri's credit, he didn't even flinch, instead he returned it with an attack of his own, swinging diagonally downwards.

Ruby's instincts kicked in and used her semblance to dodge and reappear behind his back and took another strike only to be parried by Ferri, pivoting while his sword swung upwards pushing her away with his superior strength, and rolled to get enough distance and turned to face her.

In an instant the young rose was upon him again, leaping high into the air as Sapphire Rose descended unto his dulled sword. But her lunge never striked true as instead of blocking her overheard cleave, Ferri at the last second changed his high guard into a Hangen, letting Sapphire Rose slide off it and catching her off guard.

Thus making her more vulnerable as before her descent fully reached the ground, the knight grabbed the Huntress by the hood of her cloak before throwing her away, eliciting a yelp from the girl and once more putting distance between them.

Ruby spun in the air, her boots digging into the hard soil as she stabbed the ground with the tip of her blade stopping her momentum. Ferri's helm inched downwards, no doubt following the trail of rose petals left by her.

Ruby was already preparing a short explanation should he ask about her sudden burst of speed and the red glow of her Aura, but to no one's surprise and to her disappointment, he kept being silent.

At least she didn't waste making an effort to prepare a long and very detailed speech about semblances.

And again the knight didn't do anything, content on standing guard and not giving chase. Irking the young Huntress a bit.

It was almost as if they just reverted back to their original positions before the match started, albeit this time with a closer distance. Ferri this time lowered his stance to the middle, hilt close to his hip, achieving the plow guard. The point is aiming at her chest. Ruby thought it was almost like an improvised spear stance, but the message was clear like a cavalry charging at a spear line.

The huntress-in-training grinned at the prospect of a good fight, the knight isn't quite as helpless without the aid of Aura. Then again, supposedly from an Auraless world the Warrior's must've been extremely skilled and strong to fight the creatures that live here like that T-rex dog she saw before.

She needed to be careful here since Ferri was able to react to her speed and who knows what he might have more under that sleeve… or gauntlet hehe — Danngit! she was turning into Yang! But the pause did give her some thought. She knew she couldn't use her semblance for long durations or change directions while in the air as she still didn't master it yet. Moreover, the more she used her Semblance, the more her aura would whittle away, Instead it was only used for quick bursts sometimes in quick succession if she concentrated enough.

Turning whilst in rapid succession without the aid of her beloved scythe would be even more strenuous requiring a higher level of concentration and heavier usage of Aura.

One she hasn't quite grasped yet along with her Aura expenditure, on the side note she really should have probably taken Aura training a little more seriously as one of the benefits her uncle taught her was lowering the costs of Aura when using their Semblance.

It might have been ironic that she was trying to be cautious when fighting with him as her primary goal is to prove her Aura and combat ability but just trying to openly get hit was dumb and if she was caught making such an act then she would be the dumb one and Ferri will think outright that she is a horrible fighter and probably a boaster…

She was not a horrible fighter! She was in fact a great fighter and superb with a scythe… well except unarmed, but totally not the point! And definitely not a boaster if all she said to him about what she could do with a weapon was true.

Besides, being cautious in any combat situation isn't wrong and since this is a foreign mystical planet after all, one might say that she isn't being cautious enough. Which so, as a precaution in this magical world, treat everything as true until otherwise proven false.

Because there might even be a curse or death magic that occurs just by standing or continuously and annoyingly rolling near them which causes instant death via twisted black thorns suddenly bursting out of your body while swarms of insects are born by said thorns… actually that's kind of a scary thought and she should really start making some plans against these soon and some other plans if they actually come true. Not that she actually wants them to happen and hopes that she's really just overthinking things.

Before she went back into the spar, there was something she needed to make sure about.

"Hey! Don't hold back on me because I'm going all out now!" That was a lie and she didn't like lying nor was she any good at lying but she was sure Ferri was going easy on her, he could have hit her when she was surprised instead of grabbing her and throwing her away.

The knight tilted his helm an inch to the side as if considering her words before changing his guard into a Longpoint. That was the best she could get for an answer, if he wasn't going to stop going easy on her then she might just as well pressure him into giving his hardest.

The young Huntress closed her eyes; the wind of the arid desert blew, fluttering her crimson cape and dust gently floated through the air, glittering in the sunlight. Slowly she breathed in, and slowly revealed her silver eyes to the world, before vanishing without a trace… Sparks flared and a clang reverberated loudly as blade met blade, the knight's boots dragging the ground as his arms strained at the sudden force.

The thorned twisted helm of his was reflected upon her shining silver eyes. Smoke, almost as if steam, floated in the air through the small gaps in the corners of her mouth.

That was the fastest she ever used her semblance and the highest Aura spent in a blink to provide for her, not a scant of the red blur could be seen and nearly without leaving rose petals too. This was one of the lessons she learned from her uncle after she found out by accident — in other words the more Aura spent to supply the semblance the more powerful it becomes albeit it comes with its fair share of drawbacks in her case it could only be used in one go or else she'll find herself in the red soon.

No doubt Ferri was going to take her seriously now.

The knight pushed her back with his sword, breaking their bladelock and slash at her only to be parried and attacking with her own but was blocked. A rhythm of slashes, cleaves, strikes met with blocks and parries returning their own attacks, upon the seventh exchange Ruby quickly stepped inside Ferri's guard as his blade was raised high into the air; too close for the blade to be effective but still brought down the hilt of his sword, striking her shoulder.

Ignoring the small pain induced by the strike of his pommel as her Aura protected her from any damage and took the brunt of the pain with it — for the knight, it would seem as though the young girl poised through his attack — Focusing most of her Aura towards her arms strengthening it as Sapphire Rose arced down upwards Ferri's chest, all the force she could muster behind it. Unknown to her or unconsciously activating the magic dwelling within the blue glintstone, Sapphire Rose a large blue light erupted from the blade causing it to grow larger and with it power.

The knight, too slow to react, was sent hurling backwards before falling on his back with a thud. And just as quickly, the light faded without the Huntress ever noticing it.

"Huff… huff," Ruby smiled panting, she managed to land a blow that's a point for her! But why is she out of breath quickly in a fight? She's not supposed to be this tired so soon… Why does it feel like she's forgetting something?

Her eyes suddenly went wide as saucers. Oh Brother Gods!

Realization finally dawned upon her, she actually stopped holding back and hit Ferri with all her might… an Auraless person. Concern took the forefront of her mind forgetting about the match as she tried rushing towards him to check up upon him.

"Ferri! Are you alri- gah!" Ruby fell flat face as something hard had struck her back. "Owowow, that was my spine, I think I'm going to feel that tomorrow…"

Ruby looked a little back up with her dirt smidgen face and immediately rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the sword that impaled the earth.

Quickly pushing herself back up from the ground, her eyes glued to the sword's tip planted firmly through the red soil. It was the same longsword Ferri used albeit covered in a dark red hue. The sword lifted itself up and shot back towards its owner, the handle being grasped by Ferri with his own sword hand covered in the same hue. He assumed a different stance.

Some kind of telekinesis maybe? And that stance… that is probably the most unguarded stance she ever saw. Well, it would kind of work if you wanted to make the enemy think your unskilled with the sword. The only problem is that it only worked before the beginning of the fight not in the middle of it, and that you were skilled enough — both in swordsmanship and deception — to be able to successfully pull it off.

So why was he doing that mid battle?

Her query was answered when Ferri crouched his left shoulder facing her, almost looks like he's bracing for som—

"Gnngh!"

In a flash, Ferri rammed her with the full brunt of his shoulder knocking her down instantly. She didn't have the time to ponder however as she rolled aside just as he stomped where her head should have been a second ago.

She swung upwards as she stood up, Sapphire Rose edge trailing along the edge of the dull sword and finishing her momentum by kicking off his chest using him as a springboard to gain distance between them.

Ruby sweatdropped when her mind caught up not too long a moment ago, particularly where he stomped a tad too close to her head… Is he mad? Ruby felt like she just made him mad.

Ferri threw his weapon, the sword hissing angrily at her. She shifted her arms and deflected the projectile. Okay he definitely is mad. She should probably stop the match and apologize to him but first how to calm him down?

Her eyes traced over his form and noticed something that deeply disturbed her.

"...Huh?" Her silver eyes were slowly widening and her pupils constricting, watching a stream of red liquid pour down from his chest to his feet below forming a small red puddle.

I did that?

Ruby noticed that he was bleeding

Her hand wavered, Sapphire Rose trembling from her grip. Wait, wait, wait this wasn't how it was supposed to go! She didn't mean to injure him.

She hesitantly took a step forward, a single hand reaching out to him in a placating gesture. "I- I'm–" her words were cut off upon hearing a sharp whistle in the air, reacting purely on instinct which battled against her guilt-ridden reluctant body causing her to tumble clumsily in the ground, her free hand cushioning the fall.

Loud running footsteps rushed at her, quickly pushing herself up and trying to block the blade but still reeling in from the guilt made her arms lose strength and feel wobbly, Sapphire Rose was batted to the side and she felt a hard kick to her midsection pushing her away.

The kick left her gasping for air as the force made her realize she'd been holding her breath. Falling on her knees, her arms tightly wrapped around her waist and she breathed hard trying and failing to regain her composure.

"Clear your mind," her assailant advised. "Only focus on killing the enemy."

What?

Enemy?

Ki… Kill?

"W- what," she breathed between words. "Are… you talking," another breath. "Talking about?"

Instead of answering, he slowly approached her as if he were a wolf stalking towards its meal and her a bunny.

He stopped right next to her, she had to strain to look up to see his head then to his arm slowly lifted his sword up hovering menacingly above her depicting that of an executioner. The wolf baring its fangs at the petrified bunny. She wanted to know why he was doing this, wanted to know what sort of expression he was making right now. But that cruel helm was blocking any of that.

He- he wouldn't kill her right?

right?

She waited and waited to see if there was any change or at least a shift in his demeanor to show that he was just acting. Anything please!

There was nothing, only the cold, dark eyes of his helm and in that moment, Ruby Rose huntress-in-training was truly terrified of her friend… o- of him.

The sword fell.

A spike of fear shot straight through her, running mostly on adrenaline she used her semblance to get away from him. Gripping her trembling sword defensively in front of her as if her life depended on it. Her breathing ran haggardly before her training took over changing her breathing in a calm and soothing manner.

Breathe in, breathe out… Breathe in, breathe out.

As quickly as it came her fear and panic left her system, clearing the fog from her head. Her keen eye and tactical mind returned and analyzed her situation focusing mainly on him then to his dull sword… dull sword.

Dull!

She huffed angrily and to think she was guilty for hurting him only for him to terrorize her and why was she acting so scared too! She was supposed to be braver than that! Supposed to be braver… just brave.

Her anger left her as she grew solemn. This wasn't her, she wasn't the same scared little girl anymore… No, she was a Huntress, protector of the innocent and slayer of evil, someone who won't waver no matter how desperate, how dire the odds are stacked against her.

So why didn't she feel all courageous at all?

Is she failing her memory? Was her dream too far from her grasp after all? Was it all just a whim?

A faint sound threw her out of her reverie, blocking a sword. Wait, when did he get here and why didn't she hear him! This… this is bad she was losing focus. Why do these weird things keep happening to her?

First was her stamina, then her composure, now her mind! What next is there?!

"Wait!" block. "At least let me," another block. "Check on your wound!" This time a parry, it was getting harder to block his blows either it was him adding more strength to his attacks or that she was losing hers, she really hoped it would be the former.

Ferri paused. "Care not for your foe, for they will spare you none." before thrusting his sword at her.

Growing frustrated by his stubbornness over his lack of self-care, she finally decided to put a stop to this farce.

"Alright that's it!" redirecting his sword aside, she leapt back to gain lost space. "I won't hold back anymore cause I'm stopping this right now! " and the best way to do that was to knock him out. She uncharacteristically grinned at that.

She launched herself at him utilizing Petal Burst to quickly minimize the space she created, her right boot stomped firmly as she used her whole body into the swing, Sapphire Rose clashing with his sword. She didn't stop there, using her momentum she pivoted on her right heel before leaping off dragging her blade with her as she somersaulted.

This time his sword budged downwards and with an audible clink. His sword was chipping away, its durability wasn't meant to handle the added force of her semblance especially when it was already in a deteriorating condition. As much as she didn't want to break weapons this was good for her, making it much easier to knock him out if he were to not surrender.

He was already breaking the rules by not forfeiting because she drew first blood!

Continuing her momentum, she utilized her semblance again as she spun, and spun, and spun. Adding more strength at each turn of her heel, generating more force than her last strike after spin and spin. Ferri could do nothing but block as she kept getting faster by the second, then finally his blade snapped.

This is her chance! Quickly inverting Sapphire Rose over, Ruby gripped Sapphire the blade with both hands intending to use the pommel as a bludgeoning tool. She wound up her sword preparing for a powerful blow then struck aiming for his head.

Sorry Ferri, this might ring a little—

Her attack was stopped abruptly before even completing its motion, Ferri pushed the broken sword against Sapphire Rose until it neared her head, fully binding her weapon and trapping it near her face. Surprise evident on her face when she realized that he stopped the blow that could have ended the match by halting it before it could gain the desired power and speed needed to knock him out.

Suddenly, she finds herself falling backwards by an unexpected impact on her knee. Whilst falling, she swung her weapon quickly and clumsily afforded by her awkward position and striked nothing but his hangen guard.

She fell on her arm, and released quick-shaky breaths induced from her relentless onslaught and whatever it is — that she could no longer ignore — has been plaguing her health and disrupting her combat effectiveness. Her vision was darkening from exhaustion finally catching up to her.

Slowly she looked up and found him holding his broken sword up in the same manner as before. The sun was behind him and almost hidden by the horizon turning his armor into a silhouette only given shape by the dimming light, giving him a cold and indifferent visage of an executioner.

Her vision blurred, his form flickered and buzz out, the crackle of static hurting her ears until it slowly changed her perception. Instead of the thorned knight that greeted her; it was that of a warrior draped in blue, wielding a curved sword standing above her proudly in a red lake.

With a sudden surge of feeling overflowing inside her heart that she can't quite place, she relented to follow it having finally succumbed to her delirious state.

Unconsciously gripping her sword softly, she held it outwardly. The tip falling from her lack of strength. And subconsciously, her Aura flooded into Sapphire Rose. Her life force interacted with the unknown energy from the blade, twirling, spiraling, and coiling around each other until the red and blue strands weaved together as one singular tether. All at once she felt all of her Aura reserves dwindle out, all drawn to Sapphire rose.

Her world ended in ethereal blue and the sound of cracking glass.

[4/11/22] Author's notes:

Honestly, I didn't expect this story to grow this fast. That I have to thank you for, readers.

Nothing of interest happened much this chapter. I just wanted to flesh out their interactions more before progressing the story.

I am surprised no one commented on Ferri being from Eochaid since Elemer of the Briar originated from the same land.

To be honest, this chapter was rushed and a good portion was cut(which included a scene of Melina and the Tarnished POV after the fight ) because I ran out of time. But I will put it into something like an interlude.

Might edit it when I have free time.

I should also mention that writing fighting scenes is not my forte especially when rushing it.

Note: I am moving abroad which is also the reason why chapter 2 is rushed. Might take more than a month for me to work on chapter 3. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[4/07/23] Edit: Finally reworked the fight scene, the old version is on a spoiler box on Spacebattles if you want to compare. You might be wondering why Ruby felt weak and tired the longer she remained in battle, well this would be the line where the author says something and leaves it at that for extended suspense for the next chapter but then suddenly disappears without a word for a long time. Oh wait, I'm one of them.

Omake: Messages

"So… Can I write something too? I promise it won't be anything like 'try fort night' or something!"

— Ruby Rose to a narrow eyed Azure.

Azure was a Tarnished.

Before that he studied glintstone sorcery, and having lived among the elite before he was sentenced to imprisonment, prior to his death and revival by grace.

But now, now he was Tarnished — descendants to a band of heroes, whom were exiled when they lost the blessing of grace — fated to fight and die all over again, or die permanently in obscurity shall they lose the blessing for the second time. But, most importantly, fated to return to repair the Elden Ring.

Except he became a glorified babysitter to a certain world hopping child.

Azure was glad that Ruby couldn't read the messages left behind of his fellow Tarnished. If she did then he would have the misfortune and embarrassment of explaining their humor.

For example,

'Tongue but hole'

'Try fingers but hole'

Those two are self explanatory and didn't need to add much more. He wasn't some rough mouthed cur.

'Hidden path ahead' … should he even count how many walls he hit and how many times Ruby asked him why he kept hitting them?

'Try jumping' that seemed normal enough. If not for the cliff down below!? He was glad that she didn't see the numerous bloodstains… or the phantoms that fell that day.

'First off, crouching. And then, Let there be dung'... that… ah was another self explanatory.

And then there was 'try two handing.' it would be normal if it wasn't holding onto two codpieces!

Whatever happened to the old ones like 'don't give up skeleton'

At least there were some good ones that he didn't mind explaining like,

'Dog' every peaceful animals are dubbed 'Dog ' even if Ruby didn't and still refused to believe him even now.

'Edge, lord' a bit cheesy but at least she shared his opinion.

But nevertheless, he dreaded the day when Ruby finally learned the language.

Context: A draft I forgot to delete and also this is the revision I mentioned about a comedy tarnished centric fic.