(Team RWBYs dorm, 3:30pm)
"Ok, Ruby what's going on? You've been so secretive lately, you've been throwing rose petals all over the place for days and now you can teleport? Whats the deal?"
Yang spoke sternly to the little reaper, fully intent on getting the answers she wanted from her little sister. The little reaper in question, looked like a deflated balloon. She really shouldn't have shown off so much so early and the looks on her teams faces were clearly giving away that fact, so much for it being a secret skill...
She wasn't even all that excited to fight but the desire to test herself took a hold of her in the moment. He seemed pretty competent, after all.
All things considered, it wasn't all bad. She may have let her floral teleportation out of the bag prematurely but she still had other new skills that were closely kept to her chest.
"Well after the fight with Cardin I just… figured it out..." Purposely leaving out the fact that she's been sneaking out of their dorm at night to train.
"Well… this is Ruby we're talking about, she is a quick learner," Weiss chimed in from her bed, interested in the conversation in front of her. She wouldn't admit it but she was definitely curious about her partner and her new-found skills.
"Y-yea, I just picked it up. Pretty easy for a prodigy like me, hehe…" Ruby was really trying hard to brush past the interrogation she'd found herself in. However, it didn't seem like Yang was buying any of it.
"Look Ruby, you know you can talk to me about anything right?" She said, hoping to appeal to her younger sisters kind heart.
"Yang, I'm fine. I just like having my rose petals around more often lately," which was true. She really does enjoy having her petals dancing around her nowadays and she isn't teleporting around so she most certainly isn't lying about the topic. She just doesn't want or need Yang and her team worrying so much about her. 'It's not like I'm harming myself by having my semblance active, so what was the big deal,' Ruby thought.
In that moment and to their surprise, Blake spoke up. "I really don't see much of a problem here, honestly. Ruby's allowed to have her secrets." Speaking up in her leader's defense and putting a gentle hand on Ruby's shoulder for support.
"Thanks Blake, now I'm gonna go to the cafeteria. I heard they had strawberry cheesecake~!" In a flash, a trail of petals was left from her standing spot, out the door and down the halls.
"….Really Blake?" Weiss and Yang deadpanned.
Blake simply went back to reading articles about local dust robberies on her scroll, completely content to block them out and go back to her research. She didn't like having to waste such idle time when she could be figuring out the White Fangs next move.
Meanwhile, In another room.
"So why the hell did you choose her, instead of Pyrrha? Were you even thinking about the plan, probably not. God, you're so useless Merc."
A dark skinned woman with bright green hair angrily paced around the living space. Occasionally, she'd point an accusing finger at her 'partner' as she complained.
"Oh shut up, we already have a general idea of what she's capable of. I don't know if you were paying any attention, but Red is also a prodigy. Not only that, but her Semblance clearly is doing a-lot more than what we were initially informed of."
At the receiving end of her insults and accusations, Mercury was pretty nonchalant about the whole affair. In his mind, he'd still gathered valuable information on a very interesting first year who had already tried to thwart their plans several times before. Keeping tabs on someone that could undermine their entire operation was way more important to him, than Pyrrha Nikos.
"But the PLAN was to test Pyrrha, you're putting our goals in jeopardy just for-"
"Enough."
A distinctly feminine voice arose to quell the bickering of her underlings, the sickly sweet sound that threatened to bewitch all who stood before her. With flowing black hair down to her shoulders and piercing amber-yellow eyes, she certainly looked every part of the leader.
"He raises a valid point, Emerald. Ruby Rose has proven to be quite the thorn in our sides and anything we can learn that will help keep her out of the way will be useful."
In an instant however, her eyes rolled immediately to the silver-grey haired boy, glaring at him, with an ominous glow to her eyes. "That being said, you were given specific orders Mercury… Though, I think I'll hold back on punishment this time but Mercury... do make sure there won't be a next time."
"Sure, whatever you say," he said nonchalantly as he was content to continue staring out of the window. Emerald however, simply palmed her face in disappointment at Merc's discipline.
"Do remember that we have… appearances to maintain, you two." She spoke sternly but with the same sickly sweet sounding voice she had started with.
"Yes Cinder," Emerald chirped. Ever the teachers pet… or masters pet in this case. Mercury silently gagged when he turned his back.
"Hmmm, things are going to get very interesting around here soon…" She airily said to her lackeys as she stared out of her window and at the sky.
(5:00pm Cafeteria)
The cafeteria was full of hungry young warriors and warrior women. Each one needing the necessary nutrients in order to properly develop as huntsmen and huntresses to be.
Ruby Rose was no exception, and as she slid her way into the pastries and sweets line for some heavenly cheesecake, her giddiness had reached peak maximum. Bouncing excitedly in place, she and her stomach were ready for that sweet, savory slice of joy. Once her turn had come around, she snatched the closest three plates she could and dashed to a table near the window for a good view.
The first bite was nothing short of miraculous, she would even go so far as to say stupendous! Her petals seemed to agree as they fluttered and danced happily around her. She in turn did a little dance with them as she ate, chewing and bopping her head to a beat only she knows.
The petals were only growing more animated as her enjoyment of the moment continued, twirling and flipping in air as they orbited her. To the point where they ebbed and flowed above like a school of fish. Ruby was absolutely mesmerized, staring in awe and wonder at the way they shimmered in the sun's rays. She was so caught up in it, she didn't realize that she was no longer controlling them at all, every movement they made was of their own accord.
When she finally noticed, she was strangely ok with letting her semblance do as it pleased. No harm was being done and stranger still, it felt right to her. She couldn't shake the feeling that everything was ok and that she had nothing to worry about.
Others in the cafeteria took notice of her petals increasing intensity and volume. Many of whom, were enjoying the impromptu display and were quite welcoming of it. Quite as few of them had pulled out their scrolls to record the sight before them.
Soon enough the entire room was filled with glistening rose petals delicately gliding through the air.
By now Ruby was laughing happily as her petals spun around her, swaying and shifting quietly. As she listened to the flapping and soft friction of the aura-made petals, she felt a wave of familiarity wash over her. It was as if she was in the presence of an old friend or a long lost family member, it was a warm-hearted feeling.
Having long since finished her trio of cakes, she stood up and basked in the comfort and safety of her semblance. She hardly even felt much of a drain on her aura… like at all! Sure some small part of her felt like that should be taking that piece of information a bit more seriously, but she just felt so at peace, so unhindered.
"Miss Rose!"
Ruby jumped and turned on a dime, to find none other than Glynda Goodwitch standing a foot or two from herself. Clear annoyance and confusion in her eyes and expression as she spoke, "Please refrain from using your semblance to run rampant in my cafeteria. As beautiful as it was, this is a dining area."
"Eep!" Ruby squeaked, she really had to stop getting lost in the moment like that.
"Yes ma'am, won't happen again." She finished shakily and speeding out of the cafeteria before anything else could be said. Slowing down in the halls, she briskly walked around the school, no real destination in sight, seeing as has she was not about to go back to her own dorm just yet.
Aimlessly wandering had its perks, she had ample time to think about what had just occurred.
Her semblance reacted completely of its own volition, the only time she could ever really say she had no control over it. What's more was that she didn't feel alarmed or afraid when it happened, quite the opposite actually. Those warm, calming feelings that wrapped her up similarly to an embrace, she had no way to explain any of it. Let's not forget that presence she felt near the end of it all, she was having the feelings of knowing but not being sure.
She tried to compare the feeling to the people she loved, her sister and team of course were first but the feelings behind them weren't matching up. She thought of her dad Tai, her uncle Qrow and even her mother but the feelings just weren't the same at all.
How could it feel so familiar to her?
Unaware of who was in front of her, she bumped right into another student. The fall was rough but all things considered, she was fine. "Oh! I-I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Ruby scrambled as she spoke.
"It's ok Ruby, Nora can be pretty absentminded at times too. I'm used to it." The voice of none other than Lie Ren rung in her ears.
"Oh, hey Ren! Fancy meeting you here," chipper as ever, Ruby quickly picked up the conversation.
"I could say the same for you Ruby, considering your recent victories and your latest incident. I would've thought you'd be with your team right now." Ren was also in the cafeteria around the time that Ruby began using her semblance, he too was quite captivated by her display.
In truth, he too was very intrigued by her semblance. Within a week or two, her semblance had advanced the point of her merging with it. She was even capable of short-range teleportation now, he was curious as to what she would say.
"Hehehe... didn't know you saw that..." she blushed with embarrassment
"It was beautiful, Ruby. It must have taken alot of aura to maintain it for so long." That comment struck a cord in Ruby. Ren was by all accounts very good at Aura control, maybe he could help her out with her own.
"Ehehe... yea thanks. Say Ren, how are you so good with your aura?" She wasn't sure if she should tell him how she more or less didn't use any Aura during her flower show.
"Meditation. Once you've silenced your thoughts, concentration is key."
He said so with a bit of a confident air about him... even for him, that was saying something.
Everyone knew that the man was a damned guru when he wasn't making sure Nora wasn't destroying anything he couldn't pay for. It made Ren seem like a no-brainer for the situation at hand. "Oh! Teach me, teach me ah-! Ehem... Can you teach me how? I wanna have better aura control."
"Huh... I wasn't expecting that." Taken aback by her request, he wondered if she even had the concentration necessary for meditation. Not that he didn't think she was capable, he'd just never thought that she was the type to want to quiet her mind.
"Are you busy," he asked calmly.
"Nope." She squealed with a smile, her usual giddiness on full display.
"Follow me then."
Hallway after hallway, they made it several turns and twists. Ruby hadn't even seen some parts of the Academy she was passing through. Finally, once they passed through another set of doors they found themselves in a rather large garden. Lush greens and a myriad of flowers in different colors in between, with plenty of benches for those who wished to enjoy where they were.
Ren instructed her to find a comfortable spot in the grass to sit, choosing to do so in front of her. Plopping down where she stood was enough for her, and as she watched him cross his legs and close his eyes, she followed suit.
"First Ruby, you must learn to breathe, in through your nose and out through tour mouth, slowly. This is important because with this slow breathing comes the calm and tranquility you need to quiet your thoughts."
Minus the breathing part, nothing else made much sense to her. So she simply elected to get her breath under control. In through her nose, she would inhale deeply but steadily. Out through her mouth, she would release her breath in a smooth motion.
"Good. Don't force it, let your breath flow naturally. Now just continue breathing for moment and then we'll start the next step."
So she did, letting herself relax a bit more as she continued to breathe. She felt at peace again, not so much so as earlier but this was still a very nice feeling. Seeing her progress so far, Ren decided to move forward with their session.
"Ok, I want you to visualize your aura. It can look however you want it to, as long you have clear picture in your mind of it. For example, I like to picture my aura as a lotus flower, it can really be anything."
'Hmm... maybe I should keep it simple,' she thought, so she pictured herself. A perfect visage of her vibrant and cheerful self came forth in from the darkness behind her eyes. She had a reddish glow to her form however, most likely due to her own aura.
"I think I'm ready for the next step, Ren," she said as her eyes remained closed.
"Ok. Now, I want to pulse your aura but as you do, visualize the image you used to represent that aura growing as you inhale. As you exhale, feel that pulse shrink and minimize. Feel the rise and fall of your aura."
'Breathe in, breathe out,' her chest arose and fell at the rhythm of her breathing. She could feel her Aura filling her from within like the inner warmth from a furnace.
Her visualization glowed even brighter with her rising aura and faded to its smallest point as she willed it. Over time, her aura began to spread and extend further and further, the inner Ruby was surrounded by a sphere of her red aura. She could feel her reserves of aura bolstering slowly but surely.
"Ok Ruby, you can relax now. You've done really well Ruby, most people can't do this on the first try. You should try doing this more on your own time as much as you can. You'd be surprised at the results and measure of control you can achieve." Ren complimented.
Exhaling a final breath, Ruby opened her eyes with a smile. She silently thanked her visualized self as she returned to full consciousness. 'Hmm, now I see why the monks do it,' she joked to herself, feeling a bit more expanded than before she did this session.
"Hehehe, Thanks Ren. I enjoyed this alot." She giggled happily before giving Ren a big hug and dashing away. Left behind, he stared at the trail of roses left in her haste.
"...Uhm... you're welcome?"
Later that evening
Ruby returned to her room soon after her time with JNPRs own ninja. She didn't stay awake for too long either and considering how early classes started, the more rest she had the better. Though, the looks that Yang kept giving her really made it hard for her to completely unwind.
Regardless, sleep came to the young Rose all the same. Within her subconscious mind however, a shape began to form. The glowing red visage of the young huntress appeared before her once more.
She smiled serenely and petals quickly filled void around her.
Words from the Author:
Back again with another glorious chapter! Thanks for being so patient with me guys, waiting sucks so I got you something nice.~
So on with addressing the story,few peeps made a point about her skills being secret, which I should have done a bit better in explaining. She isnt teleporting everywhere, she just has her petals around in a much higher volume than usual but hopefullyIve cleared it up a bit more with the chapter.
Hirshja: Ive searched high and low and nothing states that his bullet technique is a one time thing nor did I say it was the same gambit used on Yang. There are several instances of him using his ranged weaponry multiple times.
And with that, adios and until next chapter!