A/N: Bit of a longer one this time~

Do enjoy~


Reflections of the Soul

Chapter 3: Shades of Scarlet

Ruby woke up slowly.

In part because she was so warm, so cosy. Tucked under a thick quilt and with sunlight beaming against her side of the house and gradually warming it up she was at best drifting between the waking world and dreamland, if not fully immersed in the latter; her thoughts jumbled at best when she stirred before seamlessly falling back under the veil once more. The only thing that kept bothering her was a light, ticklish feeling, almost like a feather.

Her nose twitching at the consistent irritant Ruby's expression pinched; a low, whining sort of grumble escaping her as she finally cracked her eyes open... before they snapped open wide as she found not an empty bed, nor one occupied by Garnet.

But by a fox Faunus.

''W-Whau?!''

With a startled yelp Ruby scrambled back and fell over the edge of her bed, falling in a heap on the carpet. Tangled up in the sheets Ruby flailed blindly, the sweaty sheets clinging to her and refusing to simply be shoved aside, her panic rising as she heard quick footsteps in the hallway outside her bedroom door – before with a sudden, rushed hiss her bedroom door audibly slid across the floor. There was a moment's pause as one of her family members stood in the doorway, their breathing quick but no words of accusation coming out at the unknown Faunus in her bed.

Instead, after a long moment Garnet spoke. ''...Ruby? Are you alright?''

Ruby shoved the covers off at last and poked her head out. ''T-There's a...!''

The words died on her lips as she actually looked up at the bed, and the person on it. Silver eyes met her own heterochromatic ones and black hair with red tips framed the young woman's face – but unlike Ruby's own hair it was messier and longer, spilling over her bare shoulders and down her back. Two fox ears unmistakably of Faunus origin stood atop her head, parting her hair around them and twitching every so often. Movement drew Ruby's gaze down, noticing only then that the woman also had a bushy tail the same colour as her hair, the black ending in a red, furry tip.

And thanks to the fact the woman was kneeling on the edge of the bed, grinning cheekily as she looked down at her, she realised the woman was completely naked aside from a red cloak draped over her back.

She also had large boobs.

''Uhh...'' Ruby stared for a solid three seconds before realising she was doing it, face turning scarlet as she looked aside. ''S-Sorry. Who are you? A-And why are you in my bed, naked, and erm... hello?''

Garnet let out a light sigh, approaching. ''Don't you notice something odd about her, Ruby?''

The young Rose frowned at her companion, then up at the mysterious woman. Her first instinct was to say 'Faunus' but she felt like that would be stating the obvious... and it was as she stared into the woman's silver eyes that she realised why. ''W-Wait, are you...?''

''Yep.'' The young woman answered in a surprisingly smooth voice, but in a pleasant, slightly deeper way. ''I'm the same as Garnet; born from your soul.''

''...but why are you naked?''

''Eh.'' The nameless clone shrugged. ''Don't ask me, I didn't ask to be.''

''I believe it may be because you were summoned only a few days after me?'' Garnet proposed, although seemed unsure herself. ''Or it could be because I was summoned out in the freezing cold, whilst you were summoned in a warm bed? Maybe the Grail didn't think you needed them, or that it didn't have enough energy to make you the clothes?''

Ruby groaned. ''Can't you like, ask it?''

''It doesn't work that way.'' Garnet softly disagreed.

''Yeah. Trust me, it feels weird for me too. The waking up next to me, that is.'' The unnamed clone grinned at her – which, coupled with her more slender cheeks, gave her a very vulpine smirk. Which was a bit odd to see when she could see so much of herself in her; the same nose, the same jawline, all that.

Ruby frowned a bit. ''So you're a part of me, like Garnet.''

''Yup.''

''Then why are you a Faunus?''

''Ehh...'' She waved a hand about. ''No clue.''

''Are there gonna be more of you? Or me?'' Ruby groaned and clutched at her head. ''Ugh, this is so confusing!''

''Ssh, easy there.'' Garnet soothed her, approaching and petting her shoulder. ''It's not that bad, is it?''

Ruby immediately felt guilty. ''Uh, no, I didn't mean it like that. Sorry... me?''

''It's cool.'' The Faunus shrugged in a care-free manner that reminded her vividly of Yang. ''I mean, being a Faunus is kind of weird, but also... not, I guess? All my memories were from you, but having a tail and ears doesn't feel all that foreign; it's like I've had them all my life.''

''Plus.'' She added with a grin, sliding an arm under her chest. ''I got these puppies~''

''Ack-! Don't just do that!''

''But we're the same person y'know.''

''Still, it's embarrassing!''

''Oh come on, you know you wanna feel 'em~''

Ruby's stammered, red-faced, but before the unnamed clone could smother her original self Garnet intervened. ''That's enough now. I think we have more... noteworthy concerns first and foremost, right?''

The wisdom in her older clone's words wasn't lost on Ruby, who clung onto the lifeline presented to her. ''Y-Yeah! We need to get you some clothes!''

''That's not what I was intending with that statement, Ruby...''

''Huh? Oh, right.'' Ruby's expression became a touch more contemplative, turning her gaze back onto the fox Faunus before her. ''You need a name, right?''

''Duh.'' Said fox Faunus maturely stuck their tongue out, bringing a light smile to Ruby's face. She could appreciate the light-heartedness. ''And please don't call me Foxy, that's just so cliché.''

Ruby pouted and crossed her arms. ''I wasn't gonna call you that, thanks. I was actually thinking that since I called Garnet, well, Garnet, I could roll with the whole red theme. So! From this point on, you'll be known as... Scarlet!''

With a proud smile and hands on her hips Ruby made her proclamation, eyes glittering with a desire for acknowledgement.

An acknowledgement she got in the form of the newly-named Scarlet tackling her original self in a hug. ''Thanks~! I was seriously worried you'd say something dumb, but I knew we're too cute to do that!''

From the sidelines Garnet raised a finger, about to correct her, but apparently thought better of it and let her finger drop.

It was also at that very moment that Yang chose that moment to open the door, groaning. ''Ruby, why are you making such a racket? It's only eight in the... morning...''

Yang soaked in the sight laid before her. Garnet, stood off to the side with a flustered expression. Ruby, laid squished on the floor with an unknown, naked look-a-alike on top of her. A look-a-like with unmistakable Faunus traits.

''...nope.''

And with a click, the door shut once more.

X-x-X

''So... you woke up and found her next to you.''

''Yep.''

''And she's like Garnet.''

''Correct.''

''And she's also a Faunus... somehow?''

''Uh-huh.''

Taiyang scratched his chin, doing a remarkable job of looking entirely unsurprised. No, not unsurprised, but rather just taking the surprise in stride. Probably a trait of being a Huntsman for as long as he had been, Ruby had to guess. Off to the side Yang looked much more in disbelief, though thankfully she didn't seem adverse to Scarlet's presence – not that she thought her sister might be. None of their family held any ill will towards the Faunus and though Scarlet seemed a bit... eccentric, Ruby trusted her.

Well, mostly. She was a bit clingy and overly affectionate, which got embarrassing fast when the fox-girl emphasised her bust, even after she'd put on some of Yang's old clothes. Never before had Ruby felt self-conscious about her chest until she saw what a quasi-older version of herself looked like with bigger jugs.

''I see.'' Taiyang crossed his fingers and rested his chin upon them, looking straight at Scarlet. ''Well... looks like I'll be buying thrice the amount of snacks I usually do, huh?''

Scarlet grinned at that and Garnet let out a soft, sheepish sort of chuckle, nodding in agreement. Ruby beamed too, the private, niggling doubt in the back of her mind washed away in an instant. Though she doubted her father would've kicked Scarlet out, it was good to know he wouldn't – putting aside questions of what that'd mean for her, since Scarlet apparently came from her soul, it just wasn't right. She was basically alone in the world otherwise. In the same way Ruby would be if she was ever kicked out; outside of a handful of people like Qrow and some family friends, she didn't have anyone she could fall back on. Only Scarlet wouldn't have even them to fall back on, and with her Faunus traits would undeniable earn the scorn of some by virtue of existing.

The thought almost made Ruby bristle. She'd never liked the injustice Faunus faced – it was all just senseless hatred to her, and equally as stupid. Alas there wasn't a huge population of Faunus on Patch, so her exposure to them and their strife was likewise limited, as was her ability to stop it. However since Scarlet was going to be hanging for the foreseeable future, such conflicts would inevitably spark. If it did, there was only one solution, naturally.

Kick the butt of anyone who looked at her fox buddy funny.

Ruby was snapped out of her thoughts as Taiyang chuckled and rose from his seat, sauntering over towards the kitchen. ''Alright, that aside, I gotta make you girls breakfast. Qrow is still asleep in the guest room so one of you go wake him up – Ruby, mind filling Zwei's bowl while your... sisters, set the table?''

There was a slight pause in his words as he mentioned 'sisters', but after a second shrugged and seemingly rolled with it. Ruby rolled it over in her mind even as she did as she was asked, going into the cupboard and rummaging around for the open bag of dog food – should she start calling Garnet and Scarlet her sisters? She'd already made half-hearted mentions of it already, but on the whole she saw them more like clones than siblings. Yang was her one true sister, in her eyes. Yet, if she went about calling them clones or introducing them as such, then it'd inevitably spawn questions that she really didn't want to have to answer, especially to a stranger. She was socially inept as it was, not even taking into consideration having to answer hard questions.

Filling Zwei's bowl to the tune of a hum Ruby soon set the bag back in the cupboard – making sure to lock it so the Aura-empowered corgi couldn't get in when they weren't looking – and headed upstairs to go shower, leaving her look-a-like sisters to help dad out with the breakfast. It was much quieter upstairs and she slipped into her room to grab her usual outfit, slinging it all over one shoulder before heading towards the bathroom. And on the way there, she ran into a certain dusty old crow.

''Mn... mornin' Ruby.'' Qrow grunted out, looking tired even as Yang followed him, rolling her eyes.

''Hey Uncle Qrow.'' Ruby smiled cheerfully. ''Dad's downstairs making breakfast, he should be done in ten minutes or so.''

''Got it.'' He grunted out.

''Oh, and by the way.'' Ruby felt a grin twitch at her lips as she kept walking. ''I've got another new sis waiting downstairs.''

''Uh-huh, good to kn- wait a second what the fuck-''

Ruby didn't hear the rest before she slipped into the bathroom, giggling to herself as she heard Qrow's muffled, stumbling curses, audibly short-circuiting from the new information. Yang's uproarious laugh only made Ruby cackle more to herself, her voice filling the bathroom until the hiss of the shower's spray joined it. By the time the water warmed only a few errant giggles escaped her, though the warmth in her chest didn't abate one bit.

As she stripped off to get in though she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She didn't look all that different aside from the fact that her left eye was now gold, but it was startling how much a simple colour-change made – it almost felt like she was looking at an entirely different person. She frowned a little at that and glanced down at the pile of clothes she'd left next to the shower before bending down and plucking one item in particular up.

Facing the mirror she raised the newly-purchased eyepatch up and laid it against the left side of her face. It was black steel and form-fitting to the curvature of her cheek, covering her eye completely and hiding the small amount of light her gold eye let out before curving down to her jaw. The black steel was engraved with a rustic-red rose with a thorned vine curling down to the jaw corner; fitting, considering her last name.

Small mercies the store already had one in her size. But in a world of warfare against the Grimm, eye injuries were uncomfortably common, so it was only natural that accessories like it were sold in practically every town near the kingdoms.

Banishing the dark thought Ruby laid the eyepatch back down before hurrying into the shower, intent on washing off all the sweat that came with sharing a bed with her newfound sisters.

X-x-X

Breakfast was about as lively as one might expect with four teenagers, a drunkard, bombastic dad and a dog.

Thankfully the dining table survived (unlike the previous Christmas) so they able to finish their breakfast, after which Qrow suggested some sparring – half of his reasoning being to train them for both her next year at Signal and Yang's first year at Beacon once the mid-year vacation was over. The other half of his reasoning though was out of curiosity; which, honestly, Ruby couldn't find a fault in. She was curious as to how skilled her sisters were too, considering they had different bodies to her but had only her memories.

Thus, Garnet and Scarlet were currently sparring against Qrow from the sidelines. It was one-sided obviously, and everyone present knew Qrow was holding back as he mock-fought them with a wooden sword, but it was training for a reason – testing and honing their reflexes, finding out which weapons would suit them best based on things like their posture and reaction speeds. Ruby wanted to join in too, but she understood that this was more of a test of Garnet and Scarlet than it was her.

Instead, Ruby found herself sat cross-legged over to the side in the shadow of the house doing Aura exercises.

''Breathe in, breathe out.''

''I know dad.'' Ruby said, though a small smile twitched at her lips all the same.

Taiyang chuckled off to the side but she tuned out his voice as best she could. Aura exercises, at their core, weren't all that dissimilar from breathing exercises – they might've even stemmed from them, in fact. By breathing in she drew her Aura inwards, picturing it like a glowing red sphere in her mind that contracted, before by exhaling she tried pushing it out as much as possible. It was almost like working a muscle, and about as tiring as well, albeit mentally. The repetitiveness of it as well got boring fast, at least for her.

However it was a necessary exercise, both according to Signal Academy and her own father, so she went with it. By doing it the person's Aura would gradually grow both in strength and capacity, again not unlike working a muscle and gaining better endurance or strength as a result. The primary drawback however, and the main reason all of humanity weren't superpowered gods of war, was because the process was slow.

Sure, someone who trained from childhood into their seventies would have unbelievable amounts of Aura, but they were more likely to die by Grimm before that happened – and it wasn't as if the kingdoms could afford to just let a segment of the populace train their Aura relentlessly for years on end. People who did that needed food, housing, support; something that would be hard to keep consistent over multiple decades as populations grew, politics changed and people just decided that they didn't want their taxes going to support what, to them, seemed like a stupid or even fruitless endeavour. Assuming the people involved even had the willpower to spend their entire lives doing a single, repetitive task.

Which, as cool as a super powerful martial artist seemed to Ruby, she had to concede that it just wasn't practical – not to mention that Aura wasn't everything. A Hunter with half the Aura but twice the skill would win the day, hands-down.

Plus her situation was unique. Aura was especially important to her – and her sisters.

Something that she was reminded of as she felt cold metal touch her arm, before with a light beep Taiyang measured her Aura with his Scroll. She cracked her right eye open to see and felt uneasy at the sight of the yellow fifty percent displayed on it. So far all the damage had come from Garnet and Scarlet taking hits, the latter more than the former; their Auras absorbing the blunt force of Qrow's wooden sword and transferring little to their actual bodies. Had Ruby been in their position, she was confident her Aura would still be at around seventy to eighty percent... but, since they all shared the same Aura, it was stretched between the both of them.

Twice the attack potential, but twice the risk.

In one-on-one she was confident it wouldn't be too bad – but against a horde of Grimm? Then it'd become that much trickier. If she was by herself only so many Grimm could surround her – they existed in the physical world after all and took up space. However with two others sharing the same pool of Aura, that meant the Grimm could surround them too and theoretically deal several times the amount of damage to their Aura, and break it all the faster as a result.

''Something's troubling you.'' A hand nudged her knee.

''How'd you...?''

''You've make a funny face when you're bothered about something.'' Taiyang noted gibily.

Ruby pouted at that briefly, consciously relaxing her expression before answering, explaining her worries. Taiyang listened dutifully, a slight frown marring his own face as he hummed and nodded along, speaking only when she was finished.

''I see... yeah, that's a problem alright.'' Her father sighed, scratching his head. ''Well the obvious answer is 'don't get overwhelmed', but that's a given to any Huntsman or Huntress out there.''

''Duh.'' Ruby stuck her tongue out.

Taiyang smiled briefly before returning to the topic at hand. ''Hm... I guess there isn't really a solution per se. What you can do is train your Aura further – don't give me that look – and also focus on evasion more. You're already pretty good at hit-and-run style tactics and I'm sure Garnet and Scarlet will too, but they, as far as we know, don't have your Semblance; they'll need to play cautiously not just for their sake, but for yours too.''

Ruby nodded at that, frowning as she looked out at her two clone-sisters. Even now as she watched she could see them improve – strikes becoming more accurate, more confident, until Qrow ripped that confidence away with an expert parry or deflection that was just too fast for them to beat. Yet with steel in their gunmetal eyes they picked their swords back up and continued without a word – Garnet with determination and Scarlet with a broad grin, revealing vulpine fangs that only accentuated her foxy appearance. Where Garnet was cautious and favoured going for Qrow's blind spots Scarlet was like a fire, surging forth with as much speed as her legs could give and lashing out with a blinding flurry of swipes. It wasn't for naught, as it forced Qrow to focus on defence long enough for Garnet to sometimes get in a blow or two, though it was never enough to do much, and even without a Scroll she knew her uncle's Aura was still well above ninety percent, easily.

She cycled through ideas in her mind – ideas for weapons, naturally. Many sprung to mind but in her meditative state she moved through them with the calmness befitting of a forger, watching each strike her sisters made and trying to gauge which weapon would fit them. Garnet favoured precision, Scarlet favoured all-out assaults. An axe that spewed fire for Scarlet, maybe? Or a sword that turned into a cannon? Now that she thought about it a sword would suit Garnet better – a rapier maybe, for precision? No, she was going for slashes rather than stabs, so maybe a straight sword of some kind? With mecha-shift capability?

It was only at Taiyang's firm nudge that Ruby stopped herself before her thoughts could be muddled with weapon designs – a sharp, pointed inhale cooling her veins before she went back to meditating.

She wasn't sure how much time passed. She kept her eyes closed most of the time to ward off distractions, all noise fading into the background as she just flexed her Aura over and over again. Yang wasn't around since she was hanging out with some friends and Zwei was just kept entertained by Taiyang so there wasn't a whole lot to bother her – if anything she felt like she was getting the hang of things, falling into a trance of sorts wherein she breathed, exhaled, and repeated.

Then she heard her name being called. It was called again, then again – and it took Ruby a conscious second to realise that someone was actually calling her name. Her eyes slowly opened, the daylight harsh compared to the darkness of her eyelids; a groggy feeling lingering over her as she scrunched her eyebrows together and squinted through the bright haze in her vision. Her left eye offered her no sight though, part of the world dark, and for the briefest of moments she felt panic-

-until she reached up and touched the metal there, remembering. Eyepatch. Right.

''...uby? Ruby, you good?''

Blinking Ruby looked up at the concerned face of Scarlet, then tilted her head enough to look up into the soft, worried eyes of Garnet. ''Um... yeah? Why?''

''You zoned out for a second there.'' It was Qrow who answered her, lazily inspecting his wooden sword which now bore multiple chips in it, but still held firm. Never let it be said that Taiyang couldn't made a fine weapon, even if it was just made of wood. ''The girls were calling on you for nearly a minute.''

''Oh. Sorry.'' Ruby shrugged a little, her shoulders weirdly stiff. ''How long was I meditating for?''

''Two hours.''

''Wha- no way! It couldn't be that long!'' Ruby squawked in disbelief.

However as she blinked away the grogginess and looked up at her two sisters she noticed all the smaller details she'd overlooked. The bruises that marred their arms from where they'd been struck. The sweat making their clothes cling to them, the slight shake to their limbs that came from fatigue. Nothing that could feasibly happen in what was likely just a few minutes – if they were anything like her, it'd take more than a few minutes to reduce her to such a state, even if it was rough sparring like with Yang.

''You were really into it.'' Scarlet noted, lips slowly twitching up into a smile. ''Don't get too deep into it, eh?''

Ruby scratched her head with a sheepish smile. ''Yeah, sorry. Did you guys need me for something?''

A huff from Qrow got her attention. ''I want you to join in; pipsqueak like you could use some extra training anyway. Your Aura still good?''

Ruby pouted at the nickname but took her Scroll out all the same, fiddling about with the Aura-checking app before answering. ''Um... I've still got about thirty percent.''

''Higher than I'd have expected.'' Qrow mused, shouldering his sword. ''By the way... you three girls still sure you all want to be Huntresses? Even with everything that's gone on so far?''

It was a light question. Easy, even, but Qrow wouldn't be asking it if it was that simple. The thought made Ruby's eyes sharpen and she hopped to her feet, not protesting when Scarlet chucked her now-chipped wooden sword at her; catching it and sweeping it out with a flourish. Only a few paces away Garnet too straightened up, her own sword held out towards Qrow whilst keeping her left arm aside and able to land a free, if ineffectual, hit. Scarlet on the other hand just raised her fists with a tight smile and fire in her eyes, her fox appendages twitching and swishing vigorously.

A beat of silence weighed on them all.

Then Qrow grinned. ''Good. Now come at me, midgets.''

And with a trio of matching grins they charged, the rush of battle in their veins.

X-x-X

Days passed in what felt like a blur.

With Signal Academy currently being out of season there was no school to distract Ruby from her daily life, nor force her to answer awkward questions like 'why do you have an eyepatch?' or 'why are there several clones of you running around and why is one of them a Faunus?'. Instead it became a cycle of sleeping in, eating tasty food cooked by her dad, and training with her newfound sisters.

That latter aspect became a mainstay of her daily life. Though Garnet and Scarlet had been manifested with her memories, both mental and physical muscle-memory, their bodies were different from her own – Garnet had an inch or two of height on her and Scarlet another inch on top of that, not to mention longer limbs and such; little details that required extra training to overcome. Nothing too arduous, nor anything too exciting, but it was fun and only made more so since she got to hang out with what amounted to two slightly-older, cooler versions of herself. They were like the best kinds of friends you could have.

Which, in hindsight, was a little sad her closest friends was basically two clones of herself, but she didn't listen to that little intrusive thought.

Ruby chased the thought away, pulling her red cloak around her tight. Cold winter winds buffeted against her, milder than they were when she first trekked her way up to the plateau, but winter still had its nasty grip on the island of Patch. The fact it was already becoming night didn't help. However, when she originally found the Grail it was at night, so part of her had wondered if maybe signs of its origins would only show up at night.

Thus she, Garnet, Scarlet and Yang found themselves trekking up towards mom's grave. Alone Ruby was pretty confident she could handle herself and with Yang she was even more so – the two of them could effortlessly clear out most of what Patch housed, and the Hunter population meant that nothing truly threatening ever really managed to get a foothold on the island. Garnet and Scarlet came along for two reasons; one was to see if their presence helped at all, and second was their desire to protect Ruby. She suspected the latter reason was the main one.

However without any real weapons of their own and limited hand-to-hand skills they would, admittedly, not be of much use in a fight. Being told that didn't seem to dispel their desire to come along even slightly though.

''What time is it?'' Scarlet broke the light quiet between them, looking to Ruby.

The aforementioned Rose fumbled about for her Scroll, the metal cold as she pulled it out from her pocket and turned it on. ''Uh... just past nine. We should be back by eleven at the latest, hopefully.''

''Sweet.'' Scarlet flashed her a light grin. ''Personally I like it hot more than cold. Makes my ears feel funny.''

''Yeah? How so?'' Yang idly queried.

Scarlet hummed, her fox ears twitching as she shook her head a little, getting off some snow that had fallen atop it. ''Sorta numb? Probably just the wind chill though...''

Yang agreed, engaging the Faunus in a light-hearted conversation, mostly poking and prodding about her Faunus nature – asking questions she wouldn't normally ask one of her Faunus friends lest it be offensive. Things like how her tail and ears felt, how could she move them, and so forth. Ruby just watched the interaction with a light smile, her gaze lingering on Scarlet as she admired her new outfit. Picked out by Yang herself during a little shopping trip it suited her nicely; a pair of black form-fitting pants hugging her legs whilst a deep red Mistralian-style top clad her torso, the deep red bleeding to a more scarlet-red hue near the loose, flappy sleeves that draped over Scarlet's slim hands and akin to the colour of the cape down her back.

Movement made her gaze drift over to Garnet as the elder Rose walked alongside her; head on a swivel as she scanned the forest around them for any Grimm. Her own outfit was a near-perfect copy of the one she was summoned with, down to the same sort of fabrics and retaining the flowing red cape that matched Ruby's own.

''Relax.'' Ruby nudged her older sister. ''It won't be like last time, right? I won't pass out or anything?''

''I hope not.'' Garnet agreed with a light nod, though didn't stop her self-assigned watch duty.

The sight made Ruby hum and do the same, deciding she should probably take this a little more seriously – even someone like Qrow could die to a Beowulf if he wasn't careful. Then again he'd killed one with his bare hands when drunk once upon a time, so she wasn't so sure about that now that she thought about it...

A firm shake of her head banished such wandering thoughts though. Just in time too as the trees stated to grow sparse, opening up into the field of flowers that was currently covered in snow. The place where she'd found the Grail in the first place. Unconsciously Ruby's pace sped up into a jog and she made her way towards where Summer's grave was, knowing it by heart even with the terrain draped in a white blanket, the moonlight glinting off of the snow as it crunched under her boots.

Until soon she reached the grave. It was barely higher than the snow that surrounded it, the plaque simple and humble, as Summer would've liked, according to both her father and uncle. She scanned the inscription with a comforting familiarity – 'Thus Kindly I Scatter', it wrote. Even with some small piles of snow hiding the letters she could still read it clear as day. She didn't allow herself to fall into memories though and reluctantly turned her gaze away from the inscription, scanning the area around the grave for any signs that the Grail's arrival might've left.

Unfortunately, none was forthcoming.

''Anything?'' Yang nudged her, not looking too hopeful.

Ruby had to share the sentiment. ''I'm not seeing anything. Garnet, Scarlet?''

''We're fine too.'' Garnet answered for both of them, though kept glancing towards the treeline. ''I do feel like we're being watched though.''

Ruby frowned, straightening up. The field was large and only snow reigned upon it, but the trees that surrounded it were dark and leafless, the black wood potentially hiding any number of Grimm. Now that she focused on the feeling the unsettling sense of being watched felt more real; a shiver up her neck and twisting of her gut that she'd learned to trust over the years. Sure it might be wrong... but it was better to be prepared for nothing, than unprepared for something.

''It's probably nothing.'' Yang tried to assure the three, though her expression was firm; serious. ''Why don't you try taking off your eyepatch? Maybe that'll help?''

Ruby quietly complied, reaching up and removing the metal – metal that had grown cold in the harsh winter, though it remained at least lukewarm where it touched her flesh. Pulling it away she had to blink a few times before her eyesight adjusted, and only then turned her focus onto the grave itself. Nothing stood out still.

''Maybe we should look around a bit further-''

A howl. Far off, but ever so haunting for what it represented.

''What was that about it being nothing?'' Ruby complained as she stood up, hurriedly putting her eyepatch back on.

''Hey, I was tryin' to calm you girls down.'' Yang grinned and cocked her fists, activating Ember Cecilia. ''Besides, it sounds like it's just a bunch of Beowolves, ain't nothing we can't handle.''

''It wouldn't do to jinx us.'' Garnet pointed out.

''Aw come on, we're at Patch! There's barely any Ursa or anything here!''

As if to spite Yang specifically a louder, bear-like roar echoed out.

''Oookay, I'll just shut my mouth.'' Yang sheepishly grinned.

Ruby grumbled some choice words about knuckleheads and withdrew Crescent Rose, brandishing it with a flourish. ''Okay, we can still handle this though, right? I'll sweep in and handle the Beowolves, Yang you punch the big meanies, while you two stay behind and try and avoid getting their attention!''

She directed the last of her impromptu-speech at Garnet and Scarlet, the latter of whom frowned. ''Hey, I can probably punch a few too.''

''Perhaps, but we share our Aura with Ruby.'' Garnet wisely pointed out, though didn't seem happy with the arrangement either. ''Any hits we take would only put her life at further risk.''

''Hrn... true...'' Scarlet deflated.

Ruby was about to respond had another howl not broke through the quiet – and then the charge began, well over a dozen or so Beowolves launching themselves from the surrounding treelines and making a beeline straight for them. With steel in her sole visible eye Ruby jogged forth, her pace rapidly evolving into a sprint as she closed the distance with the incoming pack, her fingers curling around the shaft of Crescent Rose as she dragged it behind her, the tip just-barely grazing the snow. Several Beowolves came straight for her, converging from all directions, and it was then that she tapped into her Semblance.

The world blurred but her vision remained laser-focused, distance becoming null-and-void – until the blade of her scythe caught the neck of a Beowulf. She felt a momentary hint of resistance, the jolt travelling through her arms, but her lethally-sharp blade cleaved through the beast's neck a split-second later and her momentum carried her forth into the thick of the pack. They turned towards her, apparently taken off-guard by her speed and without hesitation Ruby capitalised upon that, a pull of the trigger blasting the head off of one Beowulf and sending her flying backwards, a dexterous twist of and spin turning her into a razor-sharp spinning top that cleaved effortlessly through a second, felling both Grimm without a scratch.

Whatever shock she'd struck into the Grimm evaporated then and there, and with a chorus of howls the beasts lunged for her. Ruby spun, sole eye soaking in the sight of two, before with a spin she fired at the ground and launched herself up and above the two beasts – a second shot firing her straight back down with all the force of a rocket. Her boots crashed down onto the spine of one and she hooked her blade under the neck of the beast, another trigger-pull beheading it and sending her out of range of the other wolf's claws, her cape fluttering around her as she flipped head-over-heels and landed in a crouch.

She swept her gaze around herself. One ahead and three more charging from the left.

Bending her knees she kicked off of the snow-covered ground, her Semblance activating and sending her blurring across the field – before her blade struck the torso of another Beowulf and mercilessly cut it in half. She barely slid to a stop before she fired another bullet and launched herself back towards the two, but had to duck to avoid the claws that would've otherwise torn into her; ending in a low roll past the beasts.

The one on the right charged at her first but she met it head-on, parrying aside its paw with the blunt end of her weapon before swiftly spinning it around, slashing it across the chest. The Beowulf howled in pain and recoiled but before she could finish it off the other intervened, lunging at her with the intent of pinning her down. Something it might have succeeded in had she not spent her last bullet to blow its head off, using the momentum to knock herself backwards too.

'Still a couple more...' Ruby's thoughts were quicksilver, her hand reflexively dropping into her pouch and withdrawing a fresh magazine, slapping it into Crescent Rose just as the old one fell out.

One Beowulf charged her from ahead and she narrowed her sole silver eye, bracing-

-when she was hit from the left side. For a brief moment she was airborne, tumbling, then with a gasp she crashed down onto the thick snow. Pain flashed up her left arm but she knew better than to inspect it yet and hurriedly stumbled back to her feet – just in time to avoid the paw that tried to crush her head.

Another Beowulf stood, snarling. Unseen until that moment by entering her newfound blind spot.

'Crud.' Ruby grimaced and shifted so her right side was facing the two wolves.

The leftmost Beowulf however crouched low and shifted around to her left-side, intentionally trying to get into her blind spot. Knowing better than to keep tracking it with her sight Ruby planted the blade of Crescent Rose into the snow and fired, a high-calibre bullet crossing the distance between them in seconds and blowing the arm off of the beast, the recoil sending her weapon jerking upwards. She flowed with the momentum, spinning her weapon around with dexterous twists of her wrist before catching the shaft with both hands, her knees bending.

Then she was off, tapping into her Semblance and closing the distance, beheading the one-armed Beowulf. Its comrade leapt for her but she was gone in a flutter of Rose petals, a gunshot its only warning before she came slingshotting back and sliced it in two parts. Not willing to stop Ruby set her eyes upon the nearest Grimm and shot again, her momentum sending her flying straight for it and allowing her to slice one of its legs off, sending it to the ground with a howl. Landing in a controlled roll the Rose bled off her momentum and jerked her head around, taking note of the Beowolves around her before going for the one to her left, a gunshot launching her towards it.

Wind whipped at her face and she lost herself in the movements, her limbs starting to ache but determination keeping any fatigue at bay as she hacked, slashed and cleaved countless Beowolves apart – her kill count easily rising over two dozen in minutes, her momentum carrying her across the field that had become their battlefield and slaying them with practised efficiency. In the brief glimpses she got between attacks she noticed Yang handling herself well too, punching Grimm into pulp with her fists like always.

But it wasn't just her and Yang on the battlefield.

Something Ruby realised as a sudden weakness hit her – a chunk of her Aura abruptly sapped from her, so much so she noticed even without a device to tell her.

Beheading another Beowulf Ruby's eyes widened as she caught sight of Garnet and Scarlet struggling with a trio of Grimm. They barely got any attacks in but instead focused on evasion, ducking and diving between the Grimm's claws and jaws, but it was clear they were starting to tire. How long it had been going on Ruby wasn't sure but that didn't matter; her eyes hardening as she slapped a fresh clip into her weapon, and then fired.

Distance became null and void, another use of her Semblance ferrying her across the snowfield – and then with a precise twist she entered a spin, flying over the head of Garnet and cleaving through a Beowulf like a saw to plywood, sending smatterings of black matter across the snow before it quickly began to dissolve. She didn't wait to watch it vanish though and lunged for the next Grimm, cutting one arm off before ending it with a shot to the back of its head.

However the third intervened, slashing her across her side. She gasped, her Aura protecting her from damage but not from the pain, and with a snarl the black wolf slashed at her again – nearly taking her head off had she not ducked in time. She back-stepped as much as the thick snow would allow and jerked herself out of the way of the next two swipes, ducked under the third – and then with a gunshot she launched herself like a missile into the Grimm. Apparently surprised it failed to react in time and was send tumbling away with her just a few feet behind. One final gunshot propelled her across the distance, her blade hooking under its jaw, and beheading it.

''Hah...'' Ruby's shoulders sagged as she ended what must've been her thirtieth Grimm so far. ''You two alright?''

''Yes, we're fine.'' Garnet answered, though her gaze quickly went past Ruby. ''Alpha!''

Ruby's head jerked to the right. From the treeline came the hulking form of an Alpha Beowulf, its presence easily made distinct from its fellows by the armour that coated much of its body, particularly its forearms and shoulders. Its lower body was somewhat less armoured but its knees, hips and other weak points were too covered in the ivory armour, including its head; its lips pulled back into a fearsome snarl. In contrast to its fellows it walked on all fours, more akin to a traditional wolf but with longer forearms and shorter legs.

Then as if to make things even worse the trees off to the left cracked and fell over as two Ursa's stomped through, bear-like masks looking around only briefly before settling upon not Yang, who was nearest, but Ruby herself. The dozen Beowolves that remained on the field rallied at the presence of their pack leader, snarling and snapping in the direction of the four girls but not breaking into a charge just yet. Not while the Alpha remained at the back, still slowly approaching with one paw before the other, as if patient. It wouldn't be surprising; Alpha Grimm were often more intelligent than their lesser kin. Which, incidentally, made them much more dangerous opponents.

''Yang!'' Ruby called out, hurriedly loading another magazine of bullets into Crescent Rose.

''Yeah.'' Yang just answered, retreating back towards her. ''I think it's time we skedaddle.''

''I don't think we can outrun them.'' Garnet pointed out, watching the Alpha warily. ''Especially not that one.''

The Alpha raised its head then, as if acknowledging Garnet's words. Its lips pulled back as a menacing snarl arose from deep within its chest, building and building-

-until it let out a bellowing roar. The sheer volume of it displaced snow and made Ruby gasp and clutch at her ears lest they pop, yet even then she felt her bones rattle from it; Crescent Rose vibrating uncomfortably in her palm. The roar lasted only a number of seconds but when she dared to open her eyes once more she was shocked to find that the Beowolves had already begun their charge; making a beeline for them.

''Y-Yang you handle the Ursa!'' Ruby just cried out before shooting the ground at her feet, launching herself towards the Beowolves.

There was no time to strategise, to plan, and so with both hands upon her sniper-scythe Ruby fired a second shot, turning herself into a human spinning-top and slicing clean through two of the Beowolves, a third getting nicked but not losing a limb despite her hopes. She hit the ground slightly unevenly and stumbled but not long enough to be hit; managing to dodge backwards to avoid a claw from the Beowulf lunging at her.

A strike from the blunt end of Crescent Rose stunned it long enough for her to get the blade around its neck, beheading it with a tug of her scythe. Dimly she was aware of Yang taking down two Beowolves as well as she charged at the Ursa, who were all too happy to meet her – their massive paws smashing down on the snow but missing Yang by a hair's breadth, her fist connecting with the skull of one and snapping its head back, forcing an angry roar out of it.

A roar mere feet away reminded her of her own opponents, and with a quick twist of her hips she skidded to a stop, evading the lunging Beowulf. It landed on all fours and spun quickly to face her, its legs tensing as it prepared to lunge – but she met it halfway, using her Semblance once more to close the distance and smash the blunt end of Crescent Rose into its face, knocking it back with a yelp. A quick slice separated its head from its shoulders, ending it too.

However apparently the Alpha had enough of waiting.

Something Ruby realised as she felt a heavy presence behind her, wind rushing by – and it was only thanks to her quick trigger-finger that she avoided being eaten whole, her body jerked upwards by the recoil and leaving the Alpha Beowulf to snap its jaws around thin air. Its glowing red eye peered up at her and she glared right back, a pull of the trigger launching her straight back down towards the beast, Crescent Rose swinging out.

The blade made contact but failed to penetrate the armour on its head; digging in just an inch at most and carving a deep groove down to its jaw before she landed before it. The Alpha snarled and swung at her with its paw, missing only by the barest of margins as she flipped backwards, landing in a low crouch. Ignoring her building fatigue she launched herself forth with another use of her Semblance, getting under the Alpha's legs and slashing at its armoured ankles, chipping the armour but not severing the limbs so easily.

The Alpha's tail whipped faster than she expected though, knocking the air from her lungs and sending her bouncing across the snow before tumbling to a stop. It took more effort to climb back to her feet but adrenaline did wonders for that, giving her the strength to stumble back up – when she lost another chunk of Aura.

She looked past the Alpha even as it turned to face her. Behind it, beset by four of the remaining six Beowolves, was Garnet and Scarlet. Once more they had resorted to ducking and dodging but Garnet had acquired a hefty stone to use as a blunt instrument, striking the skull of a Beowulf when it missed its attack – but, predictably, the hefty stone did little more than daze the creature for a second or two at best. If rocks was all that was needed to defeat the Grimm, then mankind would've done it centuries ago.

''So uh...'' Ruby stalled for time, her mind racing. ''How's it like being a Grimm?''

The Alpha snapped its jaws at her, red eyes narrowing with a low, primal growl.

''Yeah, I guess it sucks big time.'' Ruby said, reloading another magazine as a plan formed in her mind. ''Don't worry though! You look kinda cool with a scar on your mask!''

Whatever meagre patience the Alpha Beowulf possessed ran out then and there as it lunged, mouth opening to devour her whole. With a pull of the trigger Ruby shot herself directly towards it, waiting until the last second – and the moment its jaws twitched she stabbed her scythe blade into the snow. Her momentum harshly curbed itself and a jolt shot up her shoulders but her grip on Crescent Rose was unrelenting, killing her momentum a mere foot before she would've flew into the beast's maw – a maw which snapped shut, miscalculating where she would've ended up.

Ruby capitalised on that, flipping her weapon around and bringing the pointed edge of the blade right down – and pierced through its eye. Instantly the Alpha threw its head back with an agonised howl, throwing her over it in the process, but with lightning reflexes Ruby shot towards the sky and launched herself down at the others – both boots coming up just as she reached the rightmost Beowulf, all of her momentum striking right where its spine would be and knocking it past Garnet, sending it flying over the edge of the plateau and into the forest below.

Slamming her blade into the snow she braced, then opened fire – emptying her clip as she blew holes in the Grimm ahead of her, killing one just before it could lunge at Scarlet's back. The Faunus shot her a thankful look and moved backwards, avoiding the fourth and final Beowulf that tried to swipe for her throat. It missed mostly, but the tip of its claws raked across Scarlet's throat, causing her rose-coloured Aura to flare up and shield her; taking a small but much-needed chunk out of it.

Ruby aimed, pulled on the trigger-

-and the Beowulf that she thought she'd kicked over the cliff lunged at her back, its weight shoving her down and its claws raking down her back. Ruby cried out in shock as she was pushed into the snow, the air forced from her lungs and her weapon pinned flat by the beast's forearm. Jaws attempted to snap around her head but her Aura shielded her, glowing feebly as sharp teeth pressed around her head in a cage of death, her heart leaping into her throat as she pushed with all her might.

Her Aura quaked.

Her left eye burned.

Then Scarlet cried her name – and a rush of scorching heat washed over her.

The Beowulf jerked back, a howl bubbling in its throat that never managed to leave; its body incinerated as a literal wave of orange flames swept over Ruby's head and burned the Grimm to ash. Even after the flames waned Ruby remained where she was, shocked stiff until she somehow found the strength to tilt her head up, spotting an equally-shocked Scarlet as she stared at her hands – wisps of fire dissipating between her fingers.

Her Semblance.

There was no time to marvel at the discovery however as the Alpha Beowulf gave another howl, its thunderous footfalls shaking the ground as it charged them. Ruby shoved herself to her feet and wobbled but managed to bring her scythe around, meeting the beast's gaze before launching herself at it with another, weak burst of her Semblance, her fatigue slowing her reactions ever so slightly. It was because of that, then, that the Alpha managed to turn its head in time to intercept her, its jaws opening to snap around her.

She might well have ended up in its mouth – had Scarlet not intervened, her amber flames roaring out and scorching the Grimm's mask, forcing it back. Ruby took the opening provided and dashed directly under the Alpha, flipping her scythe around and slamming it up into its more vulnerable underbelly as she fired – tearing a deeper gash across the Grimm's body and forcing a howl from it, right before it jerked its body into a roll.

Ruby barely managed to yank her blade out in time, grunting with effort as she glared at the Alpha Beowulf, its black-furred form staggering back to its feet once more. Its injuries were clearly taking their toll but it wasn't nearly as near-dead as she'd have liked. Glancing out of the corner of her eye she watched as Yang finished up with her own opponents, the final Ursa falling and leaving Yang winded, but alive.

Movement made her look over to the right, and her eyes widened as Garnet walked up to her side, falling in line with her and Scarlet. ''H-Hey! You should stay back-''

''It's fine.'' The simple answer gave Ruby pause – and any words she wanted to muster withered as Garnet raised her left arm. Before her very eyes it seemed to wobble, the limb distorting as it became transparent, before then returning to normal. ''The Grail is reacting to the threat and bringing out the part of us that belongs to our Semblance. It's working to protect us. To protect you.''

Ruby wasn't sure what to say about that – and never got to, as the Alpha Beowulf snarled and dug its claws into the snow, throwing it up. The smokescreen was crude but obscured the beast's form long enough for it to burst into a sprint – its black, bone-covered form lunging straight for Ruby. The youngest Rose though was ready and leapt to one side, sole silver eye hardening as she pulled the trigger mid-motion, launching herself at the wolf as it passed and carving a gash across its side.

The Alpha howled and crashed onto all fours. Nary a second later it spun and went for her again but Garnet intervened, stepping into its path and suddenly gaining a faint, thick black outline as she raised both hands – and to Ruby's surprise caught the Alpha's large paw. She didn't outright block it however; the sheer force behind the blow making her skid back several feet, but the Alpha seemed just as surprised as Ruby herself was.

A surprise that lasted no more than a few seconds before the Grimm got over it, snarling as its other paw slashed out at her. Rather than tank it Garnet stepped into the beast's guard and struck its underbelly with a punch empowered by her newfound Semblance, staggering the beast back even if it did no damage – but the stagger was enough for Ruby to shoot herself off of the ground and deliver a spinning slash across its face, taking a chunk out of its mask where she'd landed her previous slash.

''Get back!'' Scarlet called out.

The rising temperature was a good enough warning and Ruby complied, another gunshot putting some distance between her and the Alpha. Garnet on the other hand leapt back, and not a second too soon as a baleful belch of flames roared out from Scarlet's palms, washing over the Alpha Beowulf and setting its black fur ablaze. The creature of Grimm yowled in pain and rolled, quenching the flames as fast as they came, and after several seconds Scarlet stopped with a laboured exhale.

Yang however didn't let the opportunity go to waste. Even as the Alpha extinguished the flames the blonde appeared from the sidelines, yelling with effort as she cocked a fist back and smashed it into the side of the Alpha's skull, jerking its head to one side and sending it onto its back, flailing.

''Ruby!'' Yang barked, fiery gaze directed at her.

''Right!'' Launching herself forth once more Ruby closed the distance, leaping up – before with a final gunshot she brought herself down like a spinning wheel of death, slicing through the Beowulf's right arm and tearing a gouge deep through its flesh.

Had it been a mortal creature the blow would've been immediately fatal, but as it was the Alpha Beowulf yowled again and finally rolled itself over, swiping with its paw to force both Ruby and Yang back. Lacking one arm now it looked much less confident, but no less bloodthirsty – its wolf-like mask pulled back into a hateful snarl at them, its one remaining eye burning a baleful, malicious crimson.

Ruby got an idea then. ''Garnet, bait it! Scarlet, distract! Yang, 'fireball'!''

The codename didn't go unnoticed by any present, one crafted back when Ruby was still a first year at Signal. With a vicious grin Yang barked an agreement and fell back, allowing Garnet and Scarlet to charge the Alpha Beowulf. The Grimm snapped its jaws at them and lunged at Garnet first, swiping not at her but at the ground under her, clearly intent on uprooting her if she tried to tank another blow. Garnet however leapt over the attack, getting inside the beast's guard once more and forcing it to stumble back lest she take advantage again.

However it was a ruse. Something the beast realised as Garnet didn't attack, but instead took the first opportunity provided to run past it – the lack of an arm meaning it couldn't stop her even if it knew. The momentary pang of confusion the beast felt evaporated however as the temperature around it rose, the sound of crackling flames filling the air right before Scarlet threw up her hands, an eager grin on her face as she expelled a torrent of fire at the Alpha Grimm, forcing it to stumble back with a yowl.

Ruby meanwhile finished running; her heels digging into the snow-covered dirt as she spun back to face the distant beast, drawing in a breath. Her Aura was low, her body ached with fatigue, her grip was starting to slack, but in that moment she drew herself inwards, bringing all her focus to bear as she tensed – and then she was gone, rose petals in her wake as she blitzed straight for the beast. Gun shots thundered out as she propelled herself even faster, pushing herself to her limit and nearing the flames – flames that withered away just in time.

Then Yang stepped into her path, arm extended.

A heartbeat later Ruby extended her own arm out, hooking it in with Yang's own. Her shoulder lurched back but her momentum transferred through to Yang, the two of them briefly spinning around – before Yang loosened her hold and was launched straight at the dazed Grimm, a furious battle cry leaving her lips-

-and then her gauntlet-clad fist smashed into the Alpha's skull, cratering bone into fine powder – before the Grimm was sent flying backwards. Its great bulk tumbled as it flew, flailing over itself blindly until eventually striking a tree over thirty metres away, its back snapping up against the thick trunk as its momentum abruptly ceased.

For a moment the beast was still, a twitch spasming up its remaining arm.

Then in the next moment it went slack, head dropping. Seconds later smoke began to rise up from it, signalling its demise.

''Woo baby! That's what I'm talkin' about!'' Yang hollered, laughing and hopping from foot-to-foot, adrenaline still coursing through her veins. ''Holy crap, I never thought that'd work, but damn if that wasn't awesome!''

''Haha, yeah...'' Despite her fatigue Ruby couldn't help but grin too, her left arm throbbing in pain. ''Next time though we should, mn... we should do it with more Aura. I think I'm totally spent.''

''Huh? Oh, shit, right.'' Yang jogged back over to her, concern now written across her face. ''How are you holding up? Same for you girls too.''

''A couple of bruises, but nothing that can't be fixed.'' Scarlet answered with a grin.

''My muscles are sore, but much like Scarlet I'm not terribly hurt.'' Garnet answered, turning a warm smile onto Ruby. ''Thank you for watching out for us back there. We really should've brought some simple weapons with us; we would've been less of burden then.''

Ruby however shook her head. ''No, it's fine, really! Plus, you guys unlocked your Semblance right? So it's a win-win – plus we killed an Alpha! That'll save the Hunters one more Grimm to kill!''

''Right you are sis. I'd say this calls for some early pocket money from dad.'' Yang grinned cheekily.

''I don't know if he'd agreed with that...'' Garnet noted, but a smile twitched across her lips all the same.

Yang chuckled and she pulled out her Scroll, checking her Aura. ''I'm down to thirty percent. Damn Ursa were a pain to deal with.''

''Beowolves weren't much better.'' Ruby grumbled as she did the same – only to squeak when she checked her own Aura.

Five percent.

''H-How the heck...'' Ruby's astonishment quickly quietened as she remembered why. She wasn't fighting alone anymore; every bit of damage Scarlet and Garnet took meant damage to her Aura too. ''I know dad warned me, but still...''

Garnet smiled apologetically. ''Mm. We did our best to avoid being hit, but Beowolves can be crafty...''

Ruby just smiled weakly and nodded. ''What about your Semblances? Maybe they drain it too?''

It wasn't a ridiculous concept. Some Semblances drew upon Aura just as some drew upon a person's stamina. Her own Semblance took only her stamina to perform, whereas Yang's drained both – if she had no Aura left she could still activate her Semblance, but it would be much weaker than if she had Aura. Some people couldn't even use their Semblance at all if they had zero Aura left.

Garnet must've thought the same as she hummed, her whole body becoming slightly transparent. After several seconds she stopped, but no change happened to the Aura gauge when Ruby re-scanned herself. ''Mine seems solely to be a physical limitation.''

''What's it even do?'' Yang queried, poking her arm curiously.

Garnet smiled and the arm Yang poked went translucent again, allowing Yang's finger to simply phase through it – making the blonde jerk her hand back in surprise. ''From what I can tell thus far, I can manipulate my own density. I can make myself more solid, or less... though, I'm unable to breathe during it.''

Ruby winced at that. ''Dang. It doesn't hurt to use it, right?''

''Right. So long as I use it briefly I'm okay.'' Garnet assured her younger counterpart.

''Mine is just fire. I did feel a drain on our Aura though when I was using it.'' Scarlet piped up then, shrugging. ''Shoots from my hands as far as I can tell. Ooh, should I give my Semblance a name? Hellfire? Flames of Purification? Fire of-''

''-I think that's a discussion for another day.'' Yang interrupted with a wry smile. ''Like don't get me wrong, seeing you two unlock your Semblances is cool as heck, but uh... can it wait until we get home?''

The three Roses looked around then, remembering that even if they'd just killed a bunch of Grimm, that didn't mean Patch was magically free of them. More could turn up at any moment – indeed, the sounds of battle might well have attracted them.

''...good point.'' Garnet noted with an embarrassed smile. ''Let's get a move on. We can try searching for clues another day.''

''Right.'' Ruby collapsed Crescent Rose and put it on her back, shivering at how cold the metal felt. ''Alright gang! Let's go home!''

A small but unified cheer came from the others, and with her chest puffed out pridefully Ruby marched them back homewards.

Until she got tired and let Yang lead the way.

[END]


A/N: Honestly I enjoy writing the humour moments in this fic. Especially Qrow, he's just tired with everything, heh. Ruby also got another buddy, this one a Faunus~ Perhaps the oddity has some significance, hm hm~

That said, hope you enjoyed this chapter~

See you next time in Chapter 4: To Hunt~