Author's note: This starting conversation is brought to you by a Tumblr sh*tpost. No refunds.
Vine walked through Atlas academy, not quite sure what he should do with his day, when he saw Weiss walk past him. After a few steps, he turned around to look, and noticed that she seemed mentally absent. Giving it some thought, he figured it might be appropriate to ask what was bothering her.
"Weiss, wait," Vine said and sprinted in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.
"Vine, hello," Weiss said asked, "What is it?"
"I noticed you look… absent, somehow," Vine answered, "Is everything alright?"
"Really? I mean, yeah, everything's fine," Weiss said, "I've just been thinking."
"About what?" Vine asked.
"About animals," Weiss answered, "I mean, they don't understand cities. They come here, and it's like another world. Different rules, day and night meld into one, fresh fruit and meat year-round, warm houses even in deepest winter."
"I guess that's true," Vine said and asked, "But, what's so weird about that?"
"We're Fae," Weiss answered.
"We're what?" Vine asked.
"Fae," Weiss answered, "Fictitious creatures of unknowable nature that reside just outside our own reality, where they always have fresh food year-round, the weather is always pleasant, and so on."
"I see," Vine said, "That's interesting."
"It is," Weiss said, "If you get on their good side, you don't need to fear hunger, weather, or disease, ever again. You have to play by their rules, which are practically incomprehensible to humans, and it can always go south if you offend one on accident."
"And how does that relate to cities?" Vine asked.
"Because we're the Fae for wild animals," Weiss answered, "We have weird rules, and we're dangerous to animals that upset us. But if we like an animal, we care for it, and keep it safe from threats it might not even think it can be safe from."
"I… that makes sense, I guess?" Vine said.
"It does," Weiss said, "Anyway, I've got places to be, sorry." She walked away, leaving Vine to ponder the revelation that, to all those critters he saw on the streets from time to time, he was an incredibly powerful and mysterious magical being. He looked around and thought about his surroundings, suddenly seeing them in an entirely new light. He stretched one of his vines and turned off the light, then turned it back on again, and realized how strange this must be for animals.
~o~
Neon walked past a window and saw something in the corner of her eye. Weiss dropped down from the floor above and fell past the window, and a snow owl flew away into the tundra. She looked after it until she could no longer see it, then returned to looking for Blake to continue her training.
"Hi Blake," Neon said after finding her mentor in their training room and asked, "And, ready for more training? What do we do today? And who's that?"
"Hi Neon," Blake said and answered, "This is my friend, Ilia Amitola."
"Hello," Ilia said.
"She'll help with your training from now on," Blake said.
"Not all the time, though," Ilia explained, "I still have other duties, and I'm still making amends with some people from back then. Not all of them, of course, but some."
"Sounds nice," Neon said, "I wish I could make amends with people."
"What's stopping you?" Ilia asked.
"Nothing to amend," Neon answered with a smirk, earning a rather displeased look from Ilia, whose skin turned red with yellow spots.
"Not funny," Ilia said.
"Come on," Neon said with a smile.
"You know I was genuinely concerned for you, right?" Ilia asked and said, "I thought you had something happen in the past, and wanted to offer help setting things right."
"Sorry," Neon said and let her tail hang, then cheered up again and asked, "Anyway, have you seen Marrow lately? He's been acting weird since that attack the other day, and according to Harriet, he hasn't shown up to training, either."
"You talk to Harriet?" Blake asked, genuinely surprised to hear that the Ace-Ops talk to students now, and curious what they talk about.
"Yep," Neon answered, "After all, I'm kind of a speedster, like her, so she wanted to show me the ropes. That way, we can work together in the future, once I get fast enough to keep up with her. In fact, I think I'm getting there. She just says I should get some ranged weapon. That way, I can stay out of reach of faster enemies, and distract them while the heavy-hitters take them down."
"I see, that's good to hear," Blake said, "As for Marrow, he had a bit of an issue, and he hasn't really taken it too well. He's trying to come to terms with what happened, but he'll get over it eventually. Ilia and I both have as well."
"What kind of issue?" Neon asked, "And can this happen to me, too?"
"It's called the Alpha State," Blake answered, "Simply put, it is a state of heightened physical and mental capabilities. Ilia, if you would."
"Watch closely," Ilia said, and a chameleon tail and horns made from light purple energy formed on her back and head, respectively. Without warning, a pillar of cubes near Ilia exploded into hundreds of tiny blocks, and Neon stared in awe.
"How did you do that?" Neon asked, and Ilia's aura traits disappeared again.
"That was my Alpha State," Ilia answered, "It makes me stronger, faster, more durable."
"In one word, better," Blake said, "But it has some risks. The energy you just saw was Ilia's aura. As you know, everything can only hold so much aura, just like everything can only hold so much heat. The aura traits are a nice work-around for limitations on how much aura you can hold, but it's still dangerous. After one minute, your aura's enhanced healing can no longer keep up with the damage the excess aura does. After three minutes, your body starts taking damage from the excess aura."
"After five minutes, boom," Ilia finished.
"That sounds… terrifying," Neon said, genuinely scared of what the two were telling her, and asked, "Why would anyone want that?"
"You saw what I did after the election, right?" Blake asked, "Back then, it took me three seconds to take out dozens of Grimm, including a Megoliath, all by myself. Now imagine what I can do if I had a whole minute with that power."
"If you put it like that, it does sound awesome," Neon said, still a bit unsure, "But, will I go crazy the first time it happens?"
"Most likely, yes," Blake answered, disheartening Neon a bit, "But don't worry, we'll be there to make sure you don't hurt anyone when it does happen."
"Just go at your own pace," Ilia said, "And don't forget to take it slow every now and again as well."
"Thanks," Neon said and asked, "But, could we maybe train something else today?"
"Sure," Blake answered, "So far, we only saw people enter their Alpha State in a time of emotional distress anyway, so we can't exactly trigger it on our own."
"I see," Neon said and asked, "So, what did you have planned for today?"
"More combat training," Blake answered.
"Specifically, learning to hone your predator instincts," Ilia said.
"Predator instincts?" Neon asked.
"Well, cats are predators," Blake answered, "So, we have some skills to help us locate whatever we consider our prey. It's based on aura, and somewhat similar to tracking semblances."
"Sounds awesome," Neon said and fully returned to her usual happy demeanor.
"It is," Blake said, "Go." She created a steam-dust clone, and she and Ilia went into hiding before the smoke cleared, launching sneak attacks at Neon from time to time while she tried to find them. Due to her enhanced hearing, Blake was able to move completely silently, and Ilia was an experienced infiltrator, saboteur, spy and thief, meaning she also knew how to move without being detected. Neon skated around on her hover-skates and focused, trying to find any trace of the two, when she sensed something behind her, as if a finger ran down her spine. She whirled around, but only saw her rainbow trail, which she now realized had gotten longer. Suddenly, she had an idea. She moved around randomly, blocking the occasional shot with her ice-dust nunchucks, and focused on her trail.
~o~
After the Grimm attack, Ruby's Group, Winter and the Ace-Ops met with General Ironwood in his main control room to discuss Nora's discovery, while Ren and Harriet were also there to talk about the latter's interference with the former's platoon. Ren didn't actually have any reason to complain, seeing that Harriet helped them fight the Grimm, but he could sense that it was important for Harriet to discuss the matter with General Ironwood, so he let her do this, to make sure this didn't build up to another emotional mess.
"So, what exactly did you find?" General Ironwood asked, looking at Nora.
"Amity," Nora answered, "And it's leaking… something. I don't know. It looks weird, it smells strange, and it's generally bad news, as far as I can tell."
"Alright, I'll send some researchers there immediately," General Ironwood said, "We still don't know what that moss is, but that can wait. Unfortunately, Eira's cold air caused it all to freeze to death, so now the only samples we have are the ones we collected beforehand."
"Actually, it's good that it's dead," Weiss said.
"How do you know?" General Ironwood asked.
"I practiced my magic on it," Weiss answered, "And as it turns out, it was a nasty concoction of plants, made artificially, likely as a weapon of sorts. It uses infrared light to perform photosynthesis, meaning it absorbs heat. If damaged, it releases pheromones that increase aggression in mammals, meaning that if people had tried to remove it in large-enough masses, there would've been a riot, and anyone who tried to stop it would've gone into a mad frenzy as well."
"Why don't I know of this?" General Ironwood asked.
"I told the researchers," Weiss answered, "They tested my hypothesis, one of them bit another one, and they accepted it as proof. They said they wanted to tell you."
"I followed the digital paper trail," Penny said, "You received the notification that a researcher was injured, as well as the findings on the moss, and read the first message, but added both to the folder of old messages on accident. This made me curious, and I decided to investigate. Then, while I was looking through the military's servers to see if you made any similar mistakes, I also noticed that a lot of information got stopped by Winter, mostly relating to the negative impacts of the embargo, such as increasing negativity aimed at you resulting more Grimm attacks. The only party equally as harmed by the embargo was the Schnee Dust Company."
"What?" James asked and said, "Show me that information."
"Here you go," Penny said and used her semblance to take control of Winter's account, forwarding every single report on Grimm attacks during the year before Ruby's Group arrived, as well as the scientists' interpretation of the situation, to him.
"That… why didn't I know about this?" James asked after skimming the reports for repeating key words, looked at Winter and said, "If I had known any of this, I would've lifted the embargo months ago." He pressed a few buttons and sent an order to lift the embargo, effective immediately.
"I-" Winter said, but her words got stuck in her throat as all eyes fell on her.
"You knew that, didn't you?" Weiss asked, looking at Winter, "You knew that, if the embargo was lifted, father could do his thing unhindered, and keep running his business as usual. Something about father being happy never sat right with you, and I agree that he did a lot of horrible things, but how could you possibly think that this was ok?"
"Wait outside," James said, "This will have consequences."
"Yes, sir," Winter said, trying to hide her guilt and regret, and left the room.
"And what now?" Clover asked.
"I'll need a new person to fill her spot," General Ironwood answered, "Also, we need to know what that liquid is. I think Weiss may be perfect for one of those jobs."
"Alright," Weiss said, "But it'll take a few days to prepare. I still don't know all the symbols and what they mean, so it's probably best if I study those a bit more before going."
"Of course," General Ironwood said, "Now, about the new position."
"I can do that," Penny said, "If you want someone you can trust, I'm the most logical choice."
"How so?" General Ironwood asked.
"There is something about me that… I haven't told anyone," Penny answered, "But I think Ruby knows."
"And what is it?" General Ironwood asked.
"My mother programmed me to help facilitate social interactions," Penny answered, "But due to having a soul, I am not limited to that prime directive while in a robot body. This causes a little feedback loop when my vocal components are given an order that violates my code's prime directive, resulting in a little acoustic anomaly."
"And what does that mean?" Elm asked.
"I get hiccups when I lie," Penny answered.
"You're joking, right?" Yang asked.
"Well, yes," Penny answered with a smile, and had a hiccup, "Ok, no."
"And Ruby knew that?" Weiss asked.
"I think so, yes," Penny answered, "Remember when we played with the Ace-Ops that one time? After Blake asked whose turn it was, I said that it was Ruby's when it was actually Yang's, and had a hiccup. Ruby asked if I wanted to talk about it, rather than ask about the hiccups directly. However, judging by her initial sentence that she interrupted, it is likely that she had initially planned to ask about the hiccups directly, and if they're linked to me lying."
"I remember that," Harriet said and looked at Elm, "You lost to me in a sparring match."
"Your aura broke first," Elm said.
"Because you just had me run into your hammer instead of hitting me yourself," Harriet said, "If you hadn't been so lazy, I would've won."
"Which brings us to our next point," General Ironwood said sternly, getting everyone's attention, "Everyone but Ren and Harriet is dismissed, we have something to discuss about their performance."
"Yes, sir," Clover said and the room cleared rather quickly, leaving only Ren, the General, and Harriet.
"So, what happened out there?" General Ironwood asked.
"I overstepped my authorization, sir," Harriet answered, "A soldier you assigned to Ren's platoon unlocked her semblance, and I took action without consulting Ren about it first."
"Is this true?" General Ironwood asked, looking at Ren.
"Yes, sir," Ren answered, "However, there were no incidents resulting from it, and I believe her action resulted in an overall improvement of the soldier's combat capabilities. So, I have nothing to hold against her."
"Alright then," General Ironwood said and turned to Harriet, "Your daily work time will be reduced by an hour for the next thirty days. That is all."
"Yes, sir," Ren and Harriet said and turned to leave.
"And send Winter to me," General Ironwood said before they reached the door. They left the room, the door closed, and opened behind them again as Winter entered, looking rather miserable already. Seeing his most trusted soldier like that, and knowing what he had to do, James felt a jolt of guilt hit him as he realized that he had been responsible for training her and shaping her personality.
~o~
Walking around the house at night, Ruby tried to make as little noise as possible. Her body still ached from lying dormant for so long, and felt weirdly heavy, even though she most definitely lost a lot of weight, since she was so used to her astral body being practically weightless. She checked the scale in the bathroom and saw that she had in fact lost twenty-one kilogram, then headed for the kitchen next to get something to drink. As she came downstairs, Zwei woke up and ran towards her, barking happily as she tried to calm him down. Sensing his sorrow completely disintegrate in an instant, Ruby couldn't help but catch him as he jumped into her arms and hug him. Suddenly, both of their auras lit up.
"Zwei, what's the matter?" Taiyang asked, rubbing his eyes as he left his bedroom, alerted by his dog's barking. He froze in shock when he saw a massive humanoid canine stand in the living room, hunched over and with a tattered red cloak around its neck. Just as he was about to activate his aura and approach, the creature spun around and hit him with its right front limb, sending him into a wall and cracking a few bones.
"Ahbin grahon hna virho," the fusion growled and split up into Ruby and Zwei again.
"Ahbin, vagad kliih," Ruby said, still used to speaking old Soraklian, "Virho vur." She used Aura Amp to amplify his aura, which immediately began healing his cracked bones.
"What?" Taiyang asked, a bit out of breath after the sudden attack. Ruby kept healing him, but her expression turned from a mix of worried and focused to surprised, followed by realization.
"Sorry, I guess I defaulted to old Soraklian," Ruby said, "Don't worry, I've got this."
"That's good," Taiyang said and asked, "But… what was that? And how are you doing this?"
"A fusion," Ruby answered nonchalantly, "And I copied Jaune's semblance. I told you about him, right? He can transfer his aura to others to amplify or recharge it. It's really useful. Anyway, I think you're good to go now."
"Thanks," Taiyang said and got up, "But, I still don't understand a lot of this stuff."
"Wait, really?" Ruby asked, when another realization hit her, "Right, you weren't there. Sorry."
"So, is this normal to you?" Taiyang asked.
"Yep," Ruby answered, "It's pretty easy, actually."
"Can you give me a quick run-down?" Taiyang asked and sat down on the couch.
"Sure, but I really need something to drink first," Ruby answered and rushed into the kitchen, only to come back with a carafe of water and a glass.
"So, what is that about fusions?" Taiyang asked.
"That's a tad tricky," Ruby answered, "But basically, you need two people, or a person and an animal, with their auras unlocked and active. Then, they need to touch, and focus on one another. If they do it right, their auras merged into one, and so do their bodies and minds. In an ideal scenario, that creates something that is better then the sum of its parts."
"And you do that often?" Taiyang asked.
"More or less, yeah," Ruby answered, "But mostly for training purposes. Occasionally also for fights, but that's pretty rare. Still, I know which one of my friends I work well with as a fusion, so we can more easily pick the best one for the situation."
"How about you and Yang?" Taiyang asked and said, "I bet you two make a great fusion."
"Well yes, and no," Ruby answered, "Lots of power, but very little control. One of our attacks almost wiped out the majority of the Atlas military's naval forces as collateral damage, so we decided not to do that again if there are people around."
"That sounds hard," Taiyang said and asked, "But what about semblance copying? How is that a thing?"
"To be honest, it's not," Ruby answered, "Not exactly, at least. You see, a semblance is a product of aura, and its effects depend on a person's aura structure. By replicating that aura structure, I can get the same effect. Normally it's a lengthy process, but my silver eyes allow me to bypass the majority of the struggle."
"Your… silver eyes?" Taiyang asked and tilted his head in confusion.
"Yeah," Ruby answered, "Turns out, the legends are true."
"What legends?" Taiyang asked, and Ruby had to stop herself from sighing at how clueless her father was.
"Legends of warriors," Ruby answered, "Those born with silver eyes are able to release their souls as a burst of light to strike down any Grimm around them. If someone were to look into that light, my soul would collide with theirs, and both would leave a mark on one another. This mark is like a blueprint for my soul, which the other person can then use to make their aura behave like mine, replicating the effects of my semblance. But of course, I can do the same with theirs, so it's a fair trade. The God of Light put this mechanism in place to have power-hungry people copy the semblances of silver-eyed warriors, which are pretty powerful combat semblances, and then use them. Because, well, using someone else's semblance requires you to make your aura act like theirs, which will affect your soul a bit every time. Eventually, the light of the silver eyes will be strong enough to manifest in the next generation, meaning that those power-hungry people not only become nicer over time, but also help spread the gift of the God of Light."
"So… you can kill Grimm with your eyes now, too?" Taiyang asked, "Wait, is that how Sirena did it all those years?"
"Yep, it is," Ruby answered, "All those stone statues she left behind or sold to the villages are actually petrified Grimm."
"Wait, really?" Taiyang asked, "And what if they break free?"
"They can't," Ruby answered, "Sirena is pretty powerful, so she petrifies them completely."
"I see," Taiyang said and asked, "And… where did you get those weapons?"
"Those are Emerald's," Ruby answered, and another realization hit her, "Gods, damned. I need to see something, sorry." She retreated into her soul core and slumped over, and Taiyang caught her, not sure if she was alright or not.
"Ruby, there you are," Emerald said when she saw Ruby.
"Hi, do you know where Niob is?" Ruby asked.
"Wait, Niob? Why?" Emerald asked and said, "We have a problem. This new soul, she's… weird."
"Who?" Ruby asked.
"This way," Emerald answered and led Ruby through the forest. Along the way, Ruby found all the emblems of the semblances she had copied in Soraklia, and learned to use them all. Behind a tree, Ruby saw a woman sitting on the ground in the fetal position. She wore dark blue shoes with white soles, black jeans held by a studded leather belt, and a white shirt under a light blue hoodie. She also wore a dark blue wrist band with cyan glass pearls woven into it. Her pale blue hair hung over her head and covered her face.
"H- hello," Ruby said, hesitantly approaching the woman, "I'm Ruby Rose. And you are?"
"Sapphire. And I'm not giving in. Never," Sapphire answered, shouting towards the sky before staring straight down into her knees again.
"She's been like that since we left Atlas," Emerald said.
"I don't understand," Ruby said, "Where did I get her soul, if Niob died?" Hearing that, Sapphire chuckled and looked up a bit.
"You really think he can die?" Sapphire asked and said, "You simple, naive fool. He isn't dead, oh no. No, no no no. Niob Bolt is born of darkness and hatred. He exists purely to spite the Gods and their rules. But you knew that already, didn't you? You're just pretending to not know, feigning ignorance, to make me crumble. But I won't falter! Never!" She stared directly at Ruby as she shouted the last word, and froze for a moment.
"Wait, h- he's alive?" Ruby asked.
"You… you're not him," Sapphire said, "I see it, you're not him. We can't be in him any more if you're here. But then, where am I?"
"In him?" Ruby asked, "What do you mean?"
"Not in him," Sapphire answered, "We're free. You freed me. How, I don't know. Don't care. Doesn't matter. I'm free, thanks to you."
"Well, that's progress," Emerald said. Sapphire got up and hugged Ruby. When Sapphire stood up, Ruby saw a horse tail protruding from her hip happily flick from one side to the other.
"Thank you," Sapphire said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm finally free. It has been so long."
"You're welcome," Ruby said and hugged her back until she let go, then asked, "So, you know Niob? What do you mean he's born of darkness?"
"I know him," Sapphire answered, "I saw his semblance. A hand of black smoke on an arm came from his chest. It grabbed my friends and dragged them into the abyss, one by one, and then it came for me. It was cold, and bleak, and suffocating. He has the ability to consume everything, and it makes him stronger. He tried to break me, to make me submit to his will. But I refused. Sometimes, souls vanished when he was about to die. He sacrifices others to pay the debt he owes the gods, and continues living as if nothing was wrong."
"That… sounds horrible," Ruby said in shock, and Emerald sat down.
"It is," Sapphire said, "And he can use the bodies of those he absorbed to change his appearance. He is out there, somewhere, helping his vile mistress become more powerful."
"Wait, what?!" Ruby asked.
"She created his semblance generations ago," Sapphire answered, "I do not know her name, or nature, but to create this, she must be truly evil. All the power he has at the end of his life goes to her. It is a curse, passed from father to son, and mother to daughter. Until he and all his kin are destroyed, she will always become more powerful."
"Salem," Ruby said, almost spitting out the name.
"So, as long as Niob exists, she will become stronger?" Emerald asked.
"Yes," Sapphire answered.
"Alright, I… need to take this in," Ruby said, "You two get to know each other, my dad is still a bit… freaked out by everything, and I don't want to worry him too much by staying here too long. Sorry."
"It's fine," Emerald said.
"Please come back soon," Sapphire said.
"I will," Ruby said and returned to the waking world, where she saw Taiyang nervously pace up and down the living room as the morning sun filtered through the curtains.
"She's back," Zwei said when Ruby raised her head, and Taiyang stopped in his tracks.
"Oh, thank the go-" Taiyang said, but stopped mid-sentence, and he and Ruby both stared at Zwei.
"What's wrong?" Zwei asked. His voice sounded a bit muffled, as if someone was chewing on a cork.
"You can talk," Taiyang answered and looked at Ruby, who shrugged.
"That is… strange," Ruby said.
"How is this of all things strange to you?" Taiyang asked and said, "You wield the powers of a god, have multiple semblances, and just fused with Zwei. A talking dog can't be that weird. I'd understand if you think the maidens being real was hard to believe, or something like that, but this isn't nearly as strange as magic."
"Well, since you mentioned the maidens…," Ruby said with a cheeky smirk. Taiyang sighed and sat down on an armchair.
"Ok, I give up," Taiyang said and asked, "Who are they?"
"Last I checked, Sirena had the powers of three," Ruby answered, "But she died, I hope only temporarily, so someone else has them now."
"Do you want to know how I can talk?" Zwei asked.
"Please," Taiyang answered with a sigh, "And Ruby, I can believe a lot. Maidens, talking dogs, using other people's semblance, but I draw the line at Sirena dying."
"When I fused with Ruby, I learned what a semblance was," Zwei answered, "And then I unlocked mine. I lets me speak every language. It is so good to finally talk to you, and have you understand what I'm saying."
"At least one thing makes sense," Taiyang said and asked, "Anyway, Ruby, want to have an early breakfast and show me how those eyes of yours work?"
"Sure," Ruby answered, "Also, I learned something while I was in Soraklia."
"And what?" Taiyang asked.
"Well, I hold the power of creation in my soul," Ruby answered, "And by tapping into it, I can connect to all of creation, at least near me."
"Meaning?" Taiyang asked.
"Meaning, I can make stuff," Ruby answered, "By changing the properties of objects around me, I can change their shape, or even the material, in a process called alchemy."
"You mean like in that cartoon with the kid and the bird?" Taiyang asked.
"It's an anime, but yes, kind of like that," Ruby answered, "But bringing back dead people is still impossible, at least the way it's shown there, because there is only one way to make a new soul. So, unless you have the person's soul, you can't bring them back. Also, making organic matter is tricky, and raw organic matter usually reverts back to energy almost immediately, causing a bit of an explosion."
"We'll get back to that later," Taiyang said, "You look half-starving."
"I don't just look like that," Ruby said, "I'm dying to get something to eat. No more picky Ruby from now on."
"Alright, if you insist," Taiyang said and went to prepare breakfast as usual, while Ruby waited, sitting on the couch. They had a hearty breakfast, with Ruby eating anything her father left on the table, and then she took a little nap to digest everything.
Author's note: I feel like this is the longest I've gone between introducing a character whose semblance I had decided on, and actually revealing what it does.
Also, I did a bit of very basic Google research to determine how much weight Ruby would've lost. The human body burns 1.800 calories each day without doing anything, which amounts to 162.000 calories over a 3 month period (using 30 days as standard for one month). 7.700 calories equal one kilogram of body fat, so Ruby lost 162.000/7.700 calories during her 3 month training in Soraklia, meaning 21 kilogram.
It doesn't list her weight on her wiki page, but I was heavier than that at her age, if only slightly, and the doctors were very concerned for my health, so a healthy young adult would likely weigh enough to get by with losing that much weight, at least long enough to get something to eat.
Anyway, thanks to someone on Reddit whose username I forgot for reminding me of that one line where Ironwood admits to basing his actions off of the information Winter gives him. Kinda put a lot of things into perspective: She told Ironwood that the embargo was a good idea, because she saw how much her father hated it.
Ren is doing something I don't think a lot of people think of as kindness: He's letting Harriet resolve their issue her way. That's the way she knows, the way she's used to, and the way she's comfortable with.
There's a similar case in the first episode of Delicious Party Precure, actually: Yui finds Rosemary on the sidewalk, completely starved and without money, and takes him to the best place in town, that being her family's diner. Not like there's a couple restaurants within eyesight from where they are or anything.
After the meal, Rosemary wants to make up for it, somehow, and Yui's mom has him do the dishes, because she recognizes that Rosemary doesn't want to come off as taking advantage of her kindness, or owing her anything.
The same applies here: Harriet only knows one way to resolve this kind of issue, at least for now, and she doesn't want the issue to remain unresolved. It's more a technicality, but still important.
Bottom line: If someone insists on repaying you, even if they don't have to, let them do something small.