Ruby Schnee

"Ok... what if I do it like this..."

She readjusted her stance, and with a shift begun to hold the spear in a different way, closer to the bottom of the handle. Rather then trying to use a stabbing motion, she went through a small series of test attacks with more of a sweeping motion.

"Better I guess..."

She stood back up straight and let out a small sigh. It had been such a waste of time to get changed for this... simple training like this wouldn't work up a sweat for her, yet here she stood in what amounted to gym clothing anyway. "Weiss totally only bought me this so she could look at me wearing it..." Her grumbles were to no one, and she reached up to pull the band out of her hair keeping it tied back.

"You know that's not how you're meant to use a spear right?" She let out a groan after hearing his words, dropping the spear to her side and hanging her head down. Ruby hadn't even known he was here...

"I know...!" She whined out. "It's just... it feels... closer..."

"Closer?" She turned to look at him, Qrow was holding a light smirk like usual and kept his hands in his pockets as he walked into the training room. "What do you mean?"

"Like..." She looked down at the spear again. "It dosent feel 'right'... but... it feels... closer..." Ruby let out another groan, she really was bad with words.

"I get that. Probably just means you havent found the right weapon yet."

"Im starting to think there is no 'right' weapon for me..." She turned as he drew his own sword, walking up next to her and entering his stance, she took a moment to admire the weapon. Harbinger was her mother's creation, and it was quite the beauty of a weapon... shame it was only a rare tier though.

"Everyone has a right weapon. One they speak to most... some rare cases can even have two, like our resident Conquest." He gave her a wink and she sighed, it was true... Pyrrha was equally terrifying whether she was coming at you with a spear or sword.

"Shouldn't you be in a fight right now?" Ruby rested a hand on her hip and practically smirked at him, to which he just shrugged.

"I mean, I would be if it wasn't already over."

"Oof... that bad huh?"

"Looks like I gotta wait for a good fight this year. But enough about me, shouldn't you be with your Ice Queen?"

"Please dont call her that." Ruby sighed. "And she sent me away for a little bit... something about almost starting a war with Vacuo..." Qrow stood up properly and smirked.

"Carmine give you shit? I can kill her if you want."

Ruby eyed him cautiously. "I cant tell if you're joking..." He simply shrugged and they both let off a small laugh.

"So what weapons have you tried?"

"Most types of swords... maces, a flail at one point... the best feeling ones were axes and spears."

Qrow nodded along. "But not so good feeling that you liked them?" She let out a sigh. "Well... maybe we should try something more out of the ordinary."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He held his hand out and mana flowed from his soul into the air above his palm. Slowly matter came into temporary existence as Qrow worked his creation magic, and a basic training weapon now stood in his grasp... though, not one Ruby had often seen. "A Scythe?"

"Why not try it? It took me ages to get used to one."

"You use a scythe??"

"Well, not all the time... my sword changes into one when I use my full power." She... didn't know that. It was weird how she had barely ever actually seen Qrow fight all out... she supposed the festival would be her first chance to see it properly.

Her hand slowly reached out and grabbed the long handle... Ruby wasnt too confident, but what was the worst that could happen? She took a step back and adjusted the positioning of her hands.

"Alright... just gotta give this a few swings and-"

Realisation smacked her in the face. "Wait... you said you finished your fight already?"

Qrow blinked. "Uhh... yeah?"

"Crap!" Ruby dropped the weapon and quickly rushed out of the room. "Clover's fighting next!"

"Why does that matter??" Qrow called after her.

"There's no way I'm leaving Weiss unprotected around that woman!!"

"Besides... with Clover fighting... who knows how much his good luck can do at once...?"

"Here comes trouble." Her smug voice was enough to make Ruby want to start shit again... but she had to be nice or Weiss would send her away again. She continued into the booth taking calm steps, and keeping a pleasent smile on her face. Ruby had gotten changed before leaving the castle, some nicer clothes not meant for combat since she wouldn't be fighting today, but they weren't as nice as Weiss's own.

"Hello Carmine." Her eyebrow twitched as she spoke, the words felt disgusting leaving her mouth. Carmine didn't look happy with her way of talking either, but didn't comment. Simply turning back to the arena instead. Ruby let out a soft sigh and took her place standing next to Weiss again.

"Have you calmed down?" The Queen spoke with a whisper, but she was more worried about Ruby then worried she'd cause trouble again. Ruby smiled and crouched down, gently cupping Weiss's cheek for a moment and nodding.

"Yeah... sorry about earlier."

Weiss shook her head and sighed. "Don't apologise... besides-" She glanced to her right for a moment. "I'd rather you be here then be alone..."

Ruby stood again and looked to the screen. "Who's fighting Clover?"

"Lie Ren... a Shinobi from Mistral I believe." Weiss leaned on her elbow with a gentle sigh and Ruby quickly asked if she wanted a drink, only to be politely declined.

"Sorry... I'm sure heaps of people have been asking you that."

"I'm pregnant not dying." The Queens grumbles only left Ruby gently chuckling.

"Your mother always claimed them to be rather similar feelings." Jacques comment was both unwanted and unappreciated, Ruby practically glared at him while Weiss responded with disdain.

"Mother is human. It's different." He scoffed at her words and Weiss put a hand on Ruby's own before she could take a step, giving Ruby a sharp look telling her to behave before turning forward again.

"Today's almost over..." Today and tommorow would be round one, with every other round taking place on their own days.

"This is probably the last fight till round two that dosent have a set winner..."

Certain fighters were simply a league above the others, and Ruby had no doubt who would be advancing to round two... well, besides the fight happening now.

"Jaune, Qrow, Pyrrha, Winter, Nora, Carmine, and myself... If Clover wins he'll forfeit before he fights Pyrrha... leaving her and Qrow to fight for a spot in the finals... I don't know much about Winter or Nora... so who will win their fight is up for debate... then... Carmine and myself..."

She glanced at the frankly bored looking woman again. She was draped across a couch of sorts right next to the railing and staring over the side of it down to the arena below... Ruby didnt know if she could beat Carmine as she was now...

"I won't find my weapon in time... so I'm gonna have to rely on my full form..."

Weiss squeezed her hand gently and Ruby met her gaze quizzically. They shared a soft smile and Ruby felt a surge of confidence flood through her as she let herself be lost in Weiss's loving eyes.

"Oh well... that fight will matter when it happens..."

Clover walked with purpose. That was the best way Ruby could describe his movements and whole vibe. His body was stiff and his steps carried a weight not just his own as he moved, the very ground seemed to want to bend and give to his steps... it was a weaker version of the aura Pyrrha gave off.

His opponent was almost the opposite. Ren didnt move with purpose or weight, his movments seemed light, like less then a feather. Rather then the ground respecting his presence, it was like it didn't even know he was there. He was quite literally stepping over it, and yet his presence still eluded the earth beneath him.

"So that's a Shinobi huh..."

Similar to Amazon's, they were Humanoid creatures that were a stage below Elfs and Dwarfs in their transformations. In truth, one could be fully transformed and it would be incredibly difficult to tell.

The same thing carried true for Leprechaun's though, but that was for a different reason entirely. Their transformation was a well kept secret, no one actually knew what it could do or what it looked like. One of the biggest theories Ruby had heard was that they were similar to Faunas.

They stopped thirty metres from each other and they each gave a small nod. Clover drew his Hook Sword and Ren drew two small dagger weapons... they were similar to Emeralds, though a bit shorter and straighter. Neither of them wore much armour, as far as Ruby was aware Clover only used light chainmail under his uniform, and Ren didnt even seem to have that... he was a more stealthy fighter though, so that made sense.

"At least... I think."

"Our contestants for this round is The False Conquest! Clover Ebi! Vs! The Storm-Graced! Lie Ren!" Port's voice echoed throughout the colosseum and both Jacques and Clover visibly recoiled at Ren's 'title'.

"Storm-Graced...? That's not a real title... meaning... is that in reference to Nora??"

"Leo... what is this." Jacques spoke with anger and Leonardo seemed to grow worried at his tone. "That Nora woman... her last name isn't fake is it."

"I... I'm afraid not." That got even Carmine's attention as they all looked at Leo. "Nora... possesses the Valkyrie Title."

"Leo... you brought three fighters this year... one of which could summon a substantial portion of Dagon... and the other two is the Valkyrie, and her sworn?" Gillingham looked nervous as she spoke, and Ruby whispered a question to Weiss.

"You really don't know...?" She shook her head to Weiss's response and the Queen sighed before whispering to her wife once again. "The Valkyrie... it's a title granted to one individual at a time... it grants mana on equal to a Dragons secondary mana pool and an additional Affinity... but... it's been said that it's power will rise as necessary to protect the person they have sworn loyalty to."

"So this Ren guy-"

"It seems so..." They turned their attention back to the screen, he didn't look like much, but perhaps that was the point. Being a Shinobi and all. Yet for some reason Nora had chosen him to be sworn to... was he really that interesting? Ruby shrugged as she looked at him.

"Maybe Nora just likes him." Weiss rolled her eyes at Ruby's suggestion.

"Let the battle commence!!"

Clover charged Ren instantly as Port's booming voice finished. His power seeming ridiculous as he crossed the gap in less then half a second. He immediately let out a string of blows, his sword cleaving and swiping past Ren with every swing... none of them were deflected or blocked, it looked more like Clover was missing then Ren actually having dodged any of them. Clover stopped momentarily and dodged back, almost looking like he was avoiding a blow... but Ruby hadn't seen an attack.

Ren was on him in the next instant. Ruby blinked with confusion, she hadn't seen him move... he was just... at Clover now. Was he actually that fast or was there a trick??

Ren's movements seemed to lack any wasted energy. Each swing being the perfect distance and each movement being perfectly placed, not a single centimetre out of place and not a single hair left behind as he unleashed a barrage of attacks on Clover. The man managed to deflect them all, though he appeared stressed as each one collided with his blade... like he was expecting them to be heavier in force and push him back further. Ren's attacks were light, he seemed to know that Clover would block them all, so refused to commit to them... but the swings didn't slow down or seem purposefully weak. They just stopped abruptly before Clover's defense, then darted back to unleash another blow.

Clover kicked the ground and sailed into the air, attempting to gain some distance and get some breathing room. His face screamed worry as Ren leaped up to follow, they seemed to hover in mid-air as they exchanged blows now. Neither of them willing to lose the neutral ground and return to one of them dominating the other.

"His eyes..." Ruby barely caught Weiss's whisper, but focoused in on Ren as he attacked to try and catch their colour...

"Magenta..."

"He's using Spatial magic..."

Clover managed to get a downward swing in on Ren and the man was forced to dodge mid-air, his body seeming to just dart out of the way with no visible force applied to it. Clover's eyes widened and Ren let out a soft sigh before upping the frequency of his attacks.

The Shinobi seemed to fight by concealing all information he could, including the exact nature of his magic. But, now that he had been forced to play that hand completely visibly...

Ren began dashing around Clover mid-air, striking from every direction around him and causing the man to constantly have to rotate to try and keep up with him... they weren't falling. Stuck in the air like that, it was obviously an effect of Ren's magic, but the question was how was he concentrating on so much at once...?

After a particularly brutal string of attacks, Clover let out a pulse of mana and shards of ice flung from his body in every direction. Ren weaved through them without issue, but when he moved back in to attack... Something was different.

Ren's attacks no longer felt like too much for Clover. His rapid fire blows from every direction being countered and deflected without issue now, with some of them being blocked without the man even turning to see them.

"What's going on...?"

"You're actually using it Clover..." Weiss's mumble was confusing... But Ruby didn't pry, she was still too focused on the fight.

Ren dropped back to the ground and dropped his spell, allowing Clover to fall as well. They both landed without issue and stared the other down... now being about half the distance away from the other that they had been when the battle began.

"Not going to keep it up?" Clover didn't speak with a smirk or with any smugness in his voice, it was a geniune question and Ren responded perfectly calmly.

"Its just a waste of mana at this point. I'll have to use something bigger." He crouched down slightly and readied both his daggers in a position to his side, he had something else planned now. Clover responded in kind, his stance sharpening and his sword being held to his side, ready to slash forward at a moments notice.

Ruby felt the wind practically change as they both readied their mana. The flow of it enough to remind her of some of the biggest attacks she'd seen... Weiss's breath attack, Pyrrha's spear throw... Qrows... well, all of his wind attacks basically...

But these were a much different kind of magic. Ren's was fully controlled and tempered, like a simple flow of water... he knew exaclty what he was doing, and it was as familiar to him as breathing or just existing. Clover's was different. His mana held a force that felt completely foreign to Ruby, like a pull that wouldn't let go... Between the two of them, Ren's was far more refined... but Clover's was more powerful.

A battle of their strongest attacks it seemed... skill vs power.

Ruby heard Carmine chuckle, but refused to look at her... She needed to see this...

Ruby stepped forward quickly and reached the railing, focusing her eyes to get a perfect view of the fight below, rather then leave it to the screen to show her.

It happened in an instant... or, maybe even less then that.

Ren's body seemed to distort and extend as the space between him and Clover all but vanished, and he stretched from his stance all the way to the man. His daggers swung out in a double slash and before the instant was even over he had- lost.

Clover stood on the otherside of Ren now. His sword held behind him and the blade locked against Ren's throat, only the barrier made by the arena over Ren's skin keeping him alive from the attack as he let out a soft exhale. Both of them seemed to be sweating and Ruby was left incredibly confused... but the battle was over. Clover had won.

Cheers rung throughout the colosseum and Ruby turned to Weiss with a confused expression. Her wife simply smiled and winked, as if to promise to explain it later. But someone didn't give her the chance.

"Wow Snowball, where did you find someone that good at fighting that can stop time?" Carmine's words lacked tact or grace, and she had practically just outed Clover for using illegal magic...

Jacques quickly huffed and folded his arms. "I don't know what you are referring to." One glance at Weiss and the Queen's nod was all Ruby needed to know that the king of Atlas was lying.

Ruby moved back over to Weiss and sighed gently. "You ok?"

She got a questioning look from the Queen. "Why wouldn't I be ok?"

"Well... Clover was just using a lot of his good luck right?"

"Yeah..?"

"I don't know... guess I was just worried something bad would happen while he was-" Ruby didn't like being right about magic... whenever she was... it always seemed to end poorly.

"Y-your Majesty!" Ruby snapped her head to look at the woman that had just rushed in... Glynda... something was up. She never rushed anywhere. She moved over to Weiss immediately and whispered something into her ear.

Ruby's ears caught the words and she visibly tensed. She stepped away slightly to allow them to talk and moved over to the railing... she gripped it to the point of almost breaking it and tried to take a deep breathe.

"This happened at too convenient of a time... Clover's good luck was fully targeting himself just now... and not... our child..."

Which meant said news was most likely bad for their child specifically.

Ruby let out a gentle growl.

"Just try and hurt my family you bitch."

Neo had escaped.