"Yang, where are you?..." was all that could be heard as a red blur sped past an especially thick portion of a forested area, red petals left in its wake. As this phenomenon continued to leave a trail a bipedal wolf-like creature tried to stop it with a mistimed tackle, only managing to leave a set of claw marks in a cloak now moving freely as the blur stopped. Revealing a petite girl in her early to mid-teens wearing a short black hoop skirt and combat boots. She took a look at the perpetrator of what she considered a crime against her cloak, which was now in two with a good chunk of it lying on the forest floor, the other still on her person, the hood over her head covering half her face and the bitter sadness mixed with anger that showed itself. Though the cloak itself had little material value the memories attached to it were another story. Seemingly sensing what could be considered the girl's mirth as she began chuckling, the Lycanthrope mimic reared its back before releasing a low growl to let out an even larger howl, but as it did the teen unfolded a scythe with what appeared to be parts of a rifle attached to its handle from a holster hanging from her back. Before the creature could howl a succession of three loud bangs from the gun firing could be heard as the blade of the weapon was giving off smoke, the girl was upon the wolf in seconds, the crescent blade of her weapon at its throat. The beast on its hind legs started an attempt to back away from the girl as if the two understood the intent in both their actions. "Sorry Mr. Beowulf, I can't let you call your friends..." The girl announced with a frown clear under the hood hiding most of her face.
The Beowulf now towering over the girl made another motion to put some distance between it and her, but as soon as it did the girl pulled the trigger of the gun on her scythe, the bang created from the weapon's discharge being the last thing it heard as the blade followed the wolf's movement's cleanly cutting the creature's head from its body, her cocking a lever at its handle with a bullet casing being ejected. The girl lowered the hood of her cloak to reveal long black hair, red highlights, and silver eyes complimenting a pale pretty face, though anyone who knew her would not describe her as such using that word. She couldn't help but agree, the situation of her outward beauty was a foreign concept to her, whether it was her as others would call her out on her 'childish' personality or the fact she has no acquittances outside of family, and even then she was only close with her father and sister.
Speaking of her sister, she wondered if she was too late in finding her in this forest. "I got lucky, if you were fully grown I doubt I would have been able to put what Uncle Qrow taught me to the test, I guess you were rather young... You didn't have a skull plate." She took a minute to examine the disintegrating wolf's head lying a few feet from its body. 'I need to train harder... That was a close call. But first Yang.' She thought to herself, pausing to look at the almost completely decayed creature. "Hopefully you are not fighting these Grimm by yourself, Sis."
The girl paused in her tracks as a thought occurred to her, 'What if Yang has a partner already?' The thought made her a bit ill, that being the first requirement of the test she currently finds herself taking. She brought her hands to ruffle her hair as she squatted down, while she was half hugging her scythe for comfort as she let her anxiety take over. Taking a few sharp breaths she slowly began to calm herself down. Being apart from the sister to which she clung to was part of the reason she came to this school, Beacon Academy, as well as studying to become a huntress to follow in their parents' and uncle's footsteps, that and her fetish for hunter weapons. The last part was especially embarrassing to admit, though she blamed Qrow's training for that. Finally calming down she brought herself down to earth with a sigh. Slapping both cheeks with her hands she jumped to her feet. 'Right, backup plan, Pyrrha seemed nice, and she has a great path as a huntress ahead of her... Wait, she would probably go after that boy, Jaune. And I don't want to play the third or fourth wheel for the rest of the test if I find her first.' She then brought a hand to her chin in thought mentally flipping through test-taking partners, a small smile creeping on her face. "Right, Yang Plan A, Pyrrha Plan C, which leaves her for Plan B." She thought of a black-haired acquaintance who helped her out of a jam on her first day at the academy.
With her inner turmoil put aside for now she continued on her plan of finding her sister, but now with a second and third target in mind. After several minutes of traversing through the dense forest as fast as was humanly possible for her, coming towards a familiar head of white hair she took a sharp 90-degree turn heading and for the thickest portion of brush hiding from this person, remembering the words of headmaster Ozpin about the first phase of this test.
"We are sending you to different parts of this forest, consider this as your most important test in your first year here at Beacon. For the first phase of this test, you have to find a partner, so we don't have anyone playing favorites. The first person you lock eyes with is going to be your partner for the rest of this test."
With held breath, the young teen gave a silent apology as she hid from the white-haired girl who was currently investigating the noise made by her movement. 'Sorry Weiss, but you are at the bottom of the list of people I would partner up with.' She had her thought, flashing back to the incident on the first day.
After what seemed like forever for the girl Weiss lost interest in whatever noise from the movement made meaning to hide from her, much to the other girl's relief. The black-haired teen did not want to explain the reason why she instantly decided to hide from a potential partner and found a loophole in the test. Especially when it was an over-justified argument on Weiss' part or from an outsider's perspective a case of bullying, how was she supposed to know that the silver-haired girl had explosive material in her luggage. That was neither here nor there if it wasn't for one of the people she was looking for things would have gotten out of hand rather quickly. Hearing the faint sounds of leaving footsteps finally disappear she came out of her hiding place, a thick portion of bush near the trail Weiss was following. Sighing for what felt like the millionth time today she looked down the trail that the other girl went with a sad expression. Deciding to take the opposite path the girl redoubled her effort, desperate to find either of the three she wanted as her partner.
One thing she wasn't counting on was the amount of Grimm, creatures like the Beowulf she had an encounter with over an hour ago in her travels in the dense forest she was in. She was in all honesty terrified, other than Weiss she had not run into anyone else since being dropped into a random part of this forest, and to be frank she was exhausted. When she trained with her uncle her stamina was never a focus. Her hyperactivity and enthusiasm left her with enough fuel to spare even after Qrow ended their sessions for the day. Yet another thing to add to the list of self-improvement. She couldn't keep this up for much longer, ready to call it a day she was tired of trying to avoid as many Grimm as she found. The next person she saw, if they did not yet have a partner... Well, she would have no choice but to join them. Hearing the snap of brunches, whether by an insane amount of luck or a ridiculous coincidence, one of the people she was looking for came tumbling out of the tree line crashing into her under a tree that was her resting place chosen a couple of minutes ago . Letting out a soft "ow" she slowly opened her eyes to see golden ember eyes staring back into hers, the person's face centimeters away from hers. Now she realizes that her 'plan b' is now on top of her with worry on her face, more than a few cuts, and a black eye forming over the right eye.
"Ruby Rose, right? You don't have a partner, right? I really need your help." Plan B's embers peered down at her.
Though she was elated at the turn of events, the older teen adorned in black and white currently straddling her waist came to her and asked her. Ruby trying to keep her emotions in check finally gave her the biggest smile she could manage. "Of course, I would love to partner up with you. Sorry, but what was your name again?" Despite knowing the girl's name she felt the need to ask.
"Blake... Blake Belladonna."
"Right... Well Blake it's nice to meet you, officially that is." Ruby answered with a straight face, well one that didn't give away her true feelings on the events currently happening, thinking back at the events at their first meeting when Blake had saved her from Weiss. She had noticed the position they were in with Blake on top of her still. Trying to not release the poker face while speaking to the raven-haired girl still straddling her. "So..." She awkwardly began. "What is this you need help with? Though I am glad, is whatever you need help with test-related? You seem to not be in the best shape." Ruby finished making a point about the awareness of Blake's injuries.
Blake for her part blinked at the girl beneath her before offering a retort. "Yes and no. Remember the second part of this test?"
Ozpin's words seem to ring in Ruby's head as to what the second part of what he called a placement test was. "After you partner up with someone there are ruins inside the forest that you will be sent to that will hold two chess pieces. We have enough ruins to have a single piece for each pair. You have three days to complete this task, though this is a timed event feel free to take your time. Some of these places might hold some surprises that will require you to take some time and think..."
The red-highlighted teen's eyes grew lifeless as she looked into the other girl's eyes, her mind possibly putting two and two together. "It's a Grimm isn't it?" A nod came from Blake, the fact that the bow on her head drooped at the question, threw Ruby off, though her poker face remained steady. "A big one?" This time nodding twice in response. Letting out a small sigh Ruby went to come up with scenarios in her head but she was not able to come up with a single solution, she lacked the necessary information, and then it occurred to her... Blake was still on top of her, staring at her. All of her mental faculties failed her and her speech devolved into a stuttering mess. "I-I-I... Don't... W-w-we should scout out this G-g-Grimm." Her breath became labored, 'Sis help me!' she screamed in her head as a blush began to form. Not being able to take it anymore she made a simple request of Blake. "Uhhh... D-d-do you mind g-g-getting off of me." She was embarrassed for many reasons, one being her appreciation for the female form, no doubt thanks to her sister's own activities in the matter.
Blinking a couple of times Blake finally took note of their current state and quickly apologized to the girl getting off her, finding the younger teen's now rose-tinted face amusing. She then gave Ruby an outstretched hand to help her up. "So... I am guessing that the scouting is not necessary, Rose." Blake announced, pointing out her injuries. "I'm pretty sure I got that one covered."
Looked her over, noticing her disheveled appearance, the black vest she always wore was undone and torn in multiple places, her wounds did not stop at her head as her fair skin featured bruises along what was exposed. In her examination Ruby found herself pausing several times, after wincing at some of the bruises sometimes stopping to be keenly aware of certain areas, admiring them. "Right, so what was it like?" She said taking the hand of Blake, being helped up in the process. Blake began retelling the confrontation with the creature. From what she was able to decipher from the older teen was a general description of the Grimm, a large sabretooth bear-like creature with two skeletal plates one that covered the top half of its head and one that ran along the back segmented by spikes that ran along the spine. Their topic of conversation switched to that of terrain, that being a sort of ruin, most likely a palace suspended on a stone bridge in the middle of a ravine less than a mile from here, and then at last each other's Semblance. The two quickly formulated a plan of attack, neither one wanting to stay in the forest any longer than needed, both remembering that this palace might hold the item they were tasked with finding.
Ruby walked to the large cedar she was resting on retrieving the scythe that she had affectionately named 'Crescent Rose' upon creation, after the shape of its blade and the color the gun portion was painted which was currently detached at the moment. With the weapon was a small pack that she then opened while turning to Blake and getting her attention before speaking. "Before we go... You are hurt, let me look at those, I would not want your wounds to get infected." She proclaimed before sitting, and petting the ground beside her, producing a medkit from a pouch set aside next to her near her resting spot. "Sit." She spoke in a commanding tone. She was glad to have prepared for situations like this.
"Right... Thank you." A little taken by the worried but nonchalant tone in her junior-in-age's speech, she blinked a couple of times, not moving at first. The motion was repeated and this time Ruby's voice was a bit colder, which left no more room for hesitation as the command was followed when commended again.
"Sit."
After a short while of awkward silence and Ruby dressing Blake's wounds, which Blake had to strip to make sure she would not have any issues arise later on, the pair was on their way. They followed a path retracing Blake's footsteps until they came to a clearing of the bridge as well as the stone structure in the middle of it. From the description given Ruby had her imagination run wild, despite her better judgment. The structures had the telltale signs of disrepair, patches of missing white stone on the bridge, overgrown foliage where it would allow, and a general uneasiness that looking at these structures gave her a chill down her spine. The same as a haunted building from the structure that remained at the cross of the bridge. The fantasy setting was not her first choice of a battleground staring at what appeared to be a mostly missing palace, not that there was any room for complaining. Turning her head to Blake from what could be considered ruins she spoke. "Time for round two eh?" She asked in a half-joking tone.
Staring at the bridge with a soft frown Blake answered with her discontent at the situation clear on display. "I can't believe you, I can't believe I agreed to this, Rose..." The pair had come up with a plan, not a sound one, but a plan that would utilize their strengths and lush terrain to their fullest.
Ruby however was barely paying attention, mumbling to herself as the attachment of Crescent's rifle portion appeared, taking it from a hook on her back and fixed onto the handle, the scythe taking more of the appearance of a sniper. Finishing the deed with a scope from her pack she retorted. "I am the only one of us that can fight long-range for extended periods, and you have experience fighting this Grimm and I don't." Ruby gained a fox-like grin as she spoke. "You don't have to worry... I have your back Blake, we are partners now, remember." She hoped that avoiding the white-haired girl, as well as the choice of seeking her current partner out was the right decision, though that's not what happened in the end. "I won't let anything happen to you if I can help it. With my Semblance, I will be right next to you before you know it." She finished planting Crescent Rose's blade into the ground in front of her while at the same time pointing the barrel of the rifle at the bridge. "Whenever you are ready I will ring the bell."
Blake pinched the bridge of her nose sighing in the process. Unsheathing a black sword at her waist she turned to Ruby one more time. "No choice in this, do I?" She questioned her partner, and a stern nod came from Ruby. "Then, you better cover me, like your life depends on it, Rose." Any confidence in her apparent covering fire was almost completely dashed as the teen two years her junior grinned, one open eye firmly looking through the lens of her scope. Though Ruby's calmness was a bit unsettling, she did not let that get in the way of the task at hand, taking off in a dead sprint towards the stone bridge. 'Five... Four... Three... Two...' A countdown began in her head. When it reached 'one' a gunshot could be heard from behind her as she felt something wheeze past her and then a short distance away a hole was blown by an explosion on the bridge. Using her Semblance a clone of herself was created pushing her across the missing part of the structure landing on the other side.
"GOOD LUCK, BLAKE." The shout from Ruby echoed, as the girl dislodged Crescent Rose from the dirt and began running towards the treeline. When Ruby disappeared into the wooded area an earth-shattering roar followed, in that moment the creature that had fought with Blake made its presence known.
The bear-like Grimm stalked forward from behind a pile of discarded stone, closing the distance between itself and Blake in seconds. Not wanting to make any unnecessary moves she stood as still as possible in fear, not that she did not trust Ruby but in all honesty, it was the opposite. Ruby's earnest nature and what she heard of the story as the reason for her early admission to Beacon contribute to her trusting the young teen with this plan. Some recognition sparked in the Grimm as it drew closer coming from the direction of the ruins. The bear was fifteen meters from its target when another gunshot rang out, a bullet ricocheting off the bear's head causing it to jerk in response. Now enraged, the bear began charging toward Blake again, Blake herself planted in the same spot near the wide gap in the bridge behind her. The Grimm was now nine meters away, Blake held up her right arm with its hand clenched around her sword as a signal, and yet again another shot rang out followed by one more the target was the plate of bone on the head with both shots connecting once more. Much to Blake's surprise the creature was staggered despite being on all fours, obviously affected by the bullets cracking its natural armor. Deciding this was the best time to act on the disorientated Grimm she charged forward.
Covering the distance Blake slashed at the front legs of the beast leaving deep enough wounds that the bear reeled back now only standing on its hind legs. Taking this opportunity Blake creates another clone launching her skyward and leaving a distraction for the bear. The bear seeing the clone and not the original swung its now healed paw at it only to connect with the air as the clone dissipated as the large paw made contact. The real girl was positioned right on top of it, using the momentum created by the combination of her clone and gravity she delivered a swift ax kick to the sabretooth causing the Grimm even more distress. The large creature let out a low growl as in the process of recovery Blake was sprinting away from it, something the creature would not abide by, following suit behind her, but it did not account for one thing, that its prey had taken out a portion of the bridge before their second encounter. In a rage, it watched as the girl created another clone to cover the gap the early explosion had made.
Not giving in, the creature let out another roar backing up slowly before sprinting and hopping over the gap in the bridge. Seeing that Blake was not stopping the bear closed the distance when another bang rang out, but this time however the sound did not come from its front but from the right side, the bullet blinding the creature in that eye. The bear looked at Blake with its good eye as she made landfall. The creature now enraged doubled its pursuit, closing the distance between the two in no time.
Blake, half not aware of the bear's increased speed, barely dodged the claws aimed at the back of the head, the only victim being the bow tied in her hair. That in itself presented a problem, the fabric that created said bow was now lying on the ground in front of her. She dropped to her knees desperate to cover the top of her head with her hands dropping her weapon in the process, but the damage was done, in that split second cat ears were visible on her head. She did not hear the quick succession of three shots being fired, a soft whooshing sound, the clash of metal on bone and the roars from the bear that accompanied it. A few moments passed then she heard a soft distorted voice speak to her, she barely recognized the voice of Ruby speaking to her. "Blake? Blake?... Are you ok?"
The cat's ears drooped at her question, mostly due to not wanting to answer it. Blake noticed they were now in a tree, and her now even more exhausted companion was out of breath and her face was filled with worry as Ruby held onto her in a half hug and had both their weapons, her Crescent rose with the blade of the scythe broken in half in the opposite arm and her sword in its sheath hanging loosely from her back.
Blake remained steadfast in her silence, which made Ruby frown in response. Deciding to bookmark the subject for a later time she disrobed her clock giving it to Blake hiding her ears with the hood in the process. "I don't know why you froze up like that during a fight with a dangerous Grimm, and if it happens to be the reason you are hiding the fact that you are a Faunus, but that was dangerous Blake if it wasn't for my semblance you would be incredibly hurt or dead." Blake flinched as Ruby finished, again choosing not to speak. "If it was such a problem why did you not say anything about it? You didn't have to tell me anything about it... but we could have come up with something different or even gone and found other ruins." Still, the older black-haired teen said nothing, though her body language was telling for Ruby. Blake's shoulders were slumped, she was looking down avoiding eye contact, and she had a terrified expression on her now delicate features. Pinching her nose Ruby sighed, jumping to the forest floor below and leaning Crescent Rose on the trunk of the large tree. Looking up at Blake she called up to her. "The sun is going down soon, I'm going to see about our Grimm situation and find shelter before it gets dark. Look after Crescent Rose for me, would you, I will be back before it gets dark." She said pointing out the broken scythe she was leaving behind as the daylight began to wane.
After a several-minute walk, Ruby found herself at the bridge with the Grimm at its entrance, the sabretooth lifted its head slightly and began a staring contest with the girl in its resting position. After a couple of seconds, the now one-eyed creature considered Ruby a non-threat and with a huff lay its head on the ground closing its remaining eye.
At first, Ruby wanted to avoid a fight with the bear-like Grimm, but now... Now she was incredibly angry. Not only did it break Crescent Rose, but now the creature was looking down on her giving her the chance to leave. Ruby let out a small almost inaudible chuckle, her dominant hand a white-knuckle grip on Blake's sword slowly unsheathing it. A slow breath was released as she let loose her Semblance after stumbling in her first few steps.
(...)
Two figures watch from a monitor as Ruby launches her attack, one male and one female. The female figure had had a rigid but poise stance as Ruby dodged a swing of the Grimm's paw ducking under into the blind spot she had created, destroying its eye. "I don't see the reason for her early enrollment, she has an explosive temper, she clearly does not listen to instruction, and despite her intellect and one of the highest abilities in combat I have ever seen in her age she is way too stubborn to use them effectively. Why are you so keen on her?"
"Despite everything you just mentioned she is still Qrow's student and a potential prodigy. As you can see she is a diamond ore that I want you to refine, Winter." The man said, smiling as Ruby took one of the Grimm's front limbs with a single swing of the ebony blade on the monitor.
At the mention of that man's name this Winter recoiled letting out a small huff her eyes planted on the screen, on it, Ruby was dodging frantic swings as the creature she was fighting began to slow down.
Seeing that Winter was not saying anything but still had her undivided attention on the fight, if not more interested in the tired girl taking on a Grimm twice her size and having the upper hand in the proceedings despite the disadvantages, the man spoke again. "I had arranged for her to be partnered with your sister to make your transition as her mentor a more natural one, but it appears that is no longer the case, my rules might need to be refined it would seem."
Winter gave an affirmative hum, turning to the man, finally speaking. "Bring that man's name up here, what is it you are after?"
"What would any headmaster want? The legacies of my students current and alumni alike mean the world to me. And if that means I have to bring up old wounds to ensure the best outcome in both I will use what I have to do so." The man answered gravely.
Her eyes returned to the screen getting an answer, not the one she was wanting, but knowing well enough to read in between the lines. "I see... I will see if I can. I won't make any promises though."
"That's all I ask... In the end."
(...)
Breathing heavily Ruby parried the beast's remaining front left limb. The fact that the Grimm remains capable of doing some serious harm with the damage it has taken discouraged the girl. "This day has been the worst." She frowned looking at her blind enemy. "Why won't you stay down?" She questioned, her answer came in a strained roar as the bear was on top of her. With her body screaming in pain she quickly moved out of the range of the remaining front limb, still angry at the sabretooth's apparent offense among other things. Most of all she was upset that Blake saddled her with this and was not able to handle her part in it, though she was thankful for the weapon in her hands. The sword was extremely lighter than her Crescent Rose, if it was not for her training or the fact that her uncle was a swordsman she would not know if she would have made it this far. She cursed the fact that she did not learn much about how to use the weapon like this from him or her other teacher for that matter, something to bother him about the next time she was in his company.
Ruby was suddenly brought back to reality with the four claws tearing into her arm. Gritting her teeth she waited for the bear's next attack as her right arm hung limp and bloodied at her side. Unable to do much, she came up with a plan of action. Deciding to have this battle end in the next strike she waited for the bear to make its next move, but before she could, a trail of what could be explosions that she recognized came from the direction she left Blake in. With the bear distracted by the noise, she made her move using the noise as cover for her movements as she grew closer. She was right beneath it as the sword was swung upwards towards the neck letting out a smile as the explosions were on top of both of them, seeing a blonde with a gold gauntlet cover fist primed. A gurgled growl was heard as metal penetrated flesh and a punch connected with the Grimm's head, shattering the skull plate. The other person landed next to her, tackling her to the ground in an embrace, and began crying. Ruby sighed as she relaxed with the grass on her back she petted the head of the blonde on top of her, dropping the borrowed weapon in the process. "Looks like I owe you one sis, nice assist." Her words went unregistered as the hug grew into a bone-crushing one. "Ow, ow, ow. Yang, you are hurting me."
Yang loosened her hold on Ruby as they remained like that. A familiar voice came from the trail in the direction Yang came from. "Why did you take off like that Xiao Long? We are supposed to be partners." Wiess entered the clearing flanked by Blake still in Ruby's cloak carrying the broken scythe.
"Hey sis? Do you mind letting me go for a bit?" Ruby asked the blonde currently embracing her, eyes fixed on her partner.
"Yeah... sure, Rubes." Yang watched as Ruby got up from her grasp, dusting herself off.
A few measured steps stumbling a bit forcing her sister to quickly move to her side in an offer of a shoulder for support. Ruby refused and continued much to Yang's dismay. When she was right in front of Blake she spoke, a hand on Blake's shoulder. "How are you doing?"
"I should be asking you that." Blake retorted from underneath Ruby's battle-torn cloak hugging the scythe tightly, her voice timid in tone.
"Comparatively I am doing better than a certain someone." the comment falling flat. Running her hand through her hair she continued. "Listen, Blake... I have been through worse than a little tiredness. I am more worried about my partner." As Ruby spoke Blake was surprised when Ruby grabbed hold of her free hand. "Yo Yang, we'll be back. I forgot my bag and I need the first aid kit in it."
"Are you hurt Rubes? we can come with you guys." The worry in her voice is evident. She walked to Blake and Ruby as she spoke, Ruby with some effort on her part shook her head. Yang caught her sister when she stumbled. This time she lowered her voice to a whisper so that only Ruby could hear what she said. "Does this have to do with what happened between you and Schnee? You want me to do anything about it?"
Ruby whispered back trying to alleviate her sister's concerns. "It's nothing like that, Yang. It's about Blake... I need to talk to her... Alone."
Yang listened to her feeling a faint sense of pride, ever since Summer Rose, Ruby's mother, had died Ruby had trouble dealing with strangers, something that has followed her until now. Every time she met a new person the girl would become more reserved to the point that she would hide behind her or their father. Though at first, the older girl found Ruby's shyness as a weakness the younger girl had to get over, that fact being no longer true. After Summer's death, Yang and Ruby were much closer than they ever were. The younger sister's shyness was exasperated with the sadness of mourning a lost parent, one that Yang herself became close to. Though she saw it as a detriment to the younger girl she started seeing Ruby in a new light. She gathered strength from those around, just like herself. The fact that Yang herself was an extrovert only made that apparent shyness more pronounced. So just when Ruby is going out of her way to speak with someone it makes Yang happy to see it. "Alright Rubes, we will scout ahead. If anything happens, use Flare."
Ruby gave her sister a nod of acknowledgment, before grabbing the hand of Blake and pulling her towards the trail that seems to be getting a lot of use.