As it turns out, seeing someone get eaten by a Grimm right in front of you leaves its mark.
Compared to everything else that had happened during the attack on Beacon Academy, Roman Torchwick's death really didn't stand out. Sure, it had been shocking and scary, but it was nowhere near the level of horror as losing Penny and Pyrrha and her school and home. It had been unfortunate, but it wasn't one of the memories that haunts Ruby when she's trying to fall asleep at night.
In the aftermath of the battle at Haven Academy, they're supposed to be laying low while they figure out what to do next. At first, this isn't too difficult, since they're all recovering after fighting for their lives. Ruby passes out and sleeps for a good day and a half once they'd arrived back at the house. Once they've recovered a bit, however, it doesn't take long for some of them to start feeling a bit restless.
So, when they hear about the Giant Nevermore that's nested in some nearby caves in the cliffs that's starting to become a real nuisance to the people of Haven, it feels like a perfect opportunity. It's a chance for them to do something useful, and Ruby is hoping that it can be an opportunity for team RWBY to readjust to being back together once more. And with Haven facing a shortage of experienced hunters and huntresses thanks to the betrayal of Professor Lionheart, there's no time like the present.
The mission seems like it'll be a piece of cake. After all, they'd taken down a Giant Nevermore in the past, on their second day at Beacon. With all the experiences they've had since then, they should be more than up to the task.
That doesn't mean that they let themselves get sloppy, though. They do the groundwork ahead of time, tracking the Grimm and finding the cave that it's nesting in, mapping out the area as best they can, and coming up with a plan of attack. Weapons are sharpened and loaded and checked (and double checked) and backup plans are made. Soon, all that's left to do is get the problem taken care of.
With her teammates by her side, Ruby doesn't have any doubts that things will go smoothly. She crouches, hidden from the Grimm's view as Yang and Blake work to flush it out of its nest (no sense fighting in the small space of the cave if they don't have to), waiting for Weiss to signal her that it's time for them to join the fray. Once the Grimm is out of the cave, Weiss will immobilize it with her ice dust and Ruby will deal the final blow.
It's a solid plan, if she can say so herself.
Weiss gives the signal, and Ruby rushes in, using her semblance to give her a boost. Within seconds she's within a few yards of the Giant Nevermore, which lives up to its name. Even without having taken flight, the Grimm easily towers over her and Weiss.
And Ruby, suddenly, inexplicably, finds herself frozen in place. She can hear her teammates confused shouts, frantically calls of her name, but the cliffs have vanished from sight. Instead, she's back on Ironwood's ship, weapon less and defenseless and watching as Roman Torchwick is devoured by a Grimm.
The Nevermore's wing sweeps her off her feet and out of its way, sending her flying. Ruby snaps out of the disturbing memory just in time to slam into the side of the cliff, before falling to the rocky ground of the ledge. Her head and left shoulder take the brunt of the hit, and the impact is harsh and that it leaves her seeing stars.
"Ruby!" She thinks she might have lost some time since the next thing she knows, she hears Blake screaming her name. She attempts to look up, to see what's going on, but that turns out to be a bad idea with how much her head hurts. Her stomach lurches uneasily and Ruby barely has enough time to lean to the side before she's throwing up breakfast all over the rocks.
"Ruby?" She feels Blake's cool hands on her face, her good shoulder as her friend crouches next to her. Blake sounds worried. Ruby should probably get it together and figure out what's wrong. Instead, she finds herself slumping back against the rocky ground, exhausted. "Ruby? What happened?"
"My head hurts," she mumbles, letting her eyes fall closed. Actually, everything hurts, but her head is definitely the worst. Even squinting her eyes open makes the pounding in her skull worse. She tries to bring a hand up to check the damage, but the sharp pain in her shoulder stops her in her tracks. "What's going on?"
"Try not to move too much," Blake tells her, one hand moving from her shoulder to her left hand to keep her arm still. "Yang and Weiss finished off the Giant Nevermore. You took a hit but you're going to be okay. We just need to get you back to the house."
Ruby gets the feeling that that's not the full story, but her brain feels too scrambled and she's hurting too much to try to put it together right now. Instead she tries to stay as still as possible, breathing through the pain as best she can. She turns her hand over so that she's clasping Blake's hand in hers. She feels her friend squeeze her fingers gently.
"It's going to be okay, Ruby."
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