Weiss stared down from the stands, watching as three fighters entered the field: Alistair Vaux in a dazzling orange brigandine chestplate, Neptune Vasilias in his gaudy brass plate, and Rupert the Red in… actual armor. At least a helmet, and Weiss was quite sure she could see the shape of a breastplate under his shut cloak. Altogether, he looked like a beggar knight— a sellsword of high skill and poor repute. Though, considering how little she (and most others) knew about this lad, that could be the case.

When Port stepped to the center of the field, the stands went aflame with excitement. People whooped and hollered, bristling with energy as they stood to deliver words of encouragement and vilification.

Ruby watched the crowds rise around her, eyes sparkling behind her visor. She'd never seen so many people in such an excited state, and for her! It made her head swim, but she had to check herself. Ruby violently shook her head, trying her best to loosen the ego that she could feel building up— she wasn't the only one they were here to see. She had to be humble.

"You got it!" Ruby heard her sister cry, making her chest swell with confidence. She could do it, she could—

"Skin that fay-fucker!" "Shim-born pest!" "Revenge for the Winchesters!" "Make that boy a eunuch!"

Weiss watched with pity. She could see the words' toll on Rupert, made evident by the way he frantically looked around with each new insult. Fay blood or not, it was barbaric.

"He's weak to spurs!" "Fall on your sword, you vile beggar!" "Gut him! Flay him!" "Rupert the dead!"

Ruby felt like the world was spinning around her, all the joy that had flooded her earlier drained away in an instant. The hatred from the stands was palpable— people were begging for her death. Her eyes tried to find Yang, but the incensed crowd was too wild to see her. She focused back on her opponents.

Alistair looked about the crowd with a smirk, reveling in their rage. Ruby could see his brigandine—

"Your mother's a whore!" "Death to shim!" "Paint the floor, Rupert!"

Ruby growled. She stared at Alistair, forcing the shouts out of her mind so she could focus. His orange brigandine covered—

"Go to hell!" "Grimm take you!" "Black sheep!"

A dread horror hooked into Ruby's chest— what kind of monster would say that? She wasn't a black sheep. Her mother was with the flock, and she would be too. The Shepherd would welcome her with open arms, like all of his followers, and she would join the endless sea of pure white souls. She was not a black sheep. She—

The horn blew.

Ruby found herself quickly ripped out of her thoughts and thrust into the heat of two-on-one combat. She hadn't heard the announcer— when had he started the round? Did the crowd really have her that shaken?

Ruby ducked low under a thrust from Neptune's trident, then had to bob to the side to avoid Alistair's wicked axe— she hadn't even noted his weapon! She kicked out, sweeping Alistair's legs from under him before rolling away. She left Neptune staring between Alistair and herself, visibly conflicted between taking advantage of the downed opponent or continuing their pursuit of Rupert. Ruby quickly unclasped her cleaver, the weight in her hands grounding her like a familiar memory.

Something struck Ruby in the back of the head, something soft and wet that she had to reach back and pull off of her hood— a rotten tomato, thrown from the crowd. She turned to the thrower with a scowl, only for another of the rancid fruits to burst against her bevor, flooding the helmet with its awful stench and fetid juices.

She turned away again, immediately coming face-to-face with all three of Neptune's sharpened tines. She managed to duck under them, but they caught the fabric of her hood and yanked her back at an awkward angle, the fabric awkwardly pulling the helmet with it and pointing her visor down— essentially blinding her. She swung her cleaver wildly, forcing Neptune back. Behind him, she could see Alistair returning to his feet.

Ruby tried shaking the helmet back into an appropriate position, but that only made it worse, so she decided she was done with its hassle. With a growl, she ripped the helmet from her head, pulling her hood all the way back in the process.

"Woah," Neptune's eyes widened. "You're, uh… pretty. Huh."

Alistair pushed past Neptune, barging into his shoulder as he approached Ruby. "You should not have done such 'arm to the young Winchester," he said in an accent Ruby didn't recognize. "'ouse Vaux is sworn to their banner— we are bound by blood!"

Ruby stared, confused. "Vo? I thought it was Vawkes."

Alistair growled and charged towards Ruby. Without missing a beat, she chucked her helmet at him. It struck his own helm with a hollow clang, forcing him back to the ground. Neptune laughed at the fallen man, then set his eyes back on Ruby. He surged toward her with a grin.

Rather than stay back and risk receiving more tomatoes to the head, Ruby charged to meet him. Her cleaver fell in an overhead arc, lumbering and dangerous. With ease, Neptune caught the huge blade between the tines of his trident. Ruby's lips twitched into the tiniest smirk— he fell for it.

The moment their weapons collided, she unhanded the cleaver. The iron hunk still carried its momentum into Neptune's trident, forcing it away as Ruby swayed under, hammer in hand. She popped back up, close enough for Neptune to hug her if her hammer weren't driving straight into his unprotected jaw. The blow sent him stumbling back, but a push from Ruby's free hand sent him the rest of the way to the ground, Aura flaring a bright cyan— depleted.

She rushed to finish him off, but found the wind knocked out of her chest as a heavy body crashed into hers. Alistair's arms wrapped around her waist as he tackled her, easily scooping the girl up and stampeding away before slamming her into the ground. She gasped as air was driven from her lungs.

Ruby tried to get back to her feet, but Alistair kicked her back down, causing the meager remnants of her Aura to shatter with a red flare. He pulled a shortsword from his hip and leveled it with her face. "I will present your scalp to 'ouse Winchester. A fitting gift for—"

A three-pronged pole of metal smacked into the side of Alistair's head, sending him reeling with a cry. Ruby looked up to her savior.

Neptune met her eyes with a sympathetic half-smile. "You're way too young to die. Get up and help me, while he's still without his axe."

Ruby nodded and scrambled back to her feet, leaving her fallen hammer in favor of her two shortswords. She charged the recovering Alistair in tandem with Neptune, their three weapons shining under the morning light.

Weiss watched Alistair collide with the other two, who seemed to have made an impromptu alliance. She would have to find some way to thank Neptune personally— sparing Rupert from death was extremely selfless, especially someone so vilified. Alistair tried in earnest to fight back against the two, deciding that the one he almost killed was his priority target. Perhaps, Weiss mused, he feared retribution.

His shortsword batted Ruby's first sword away, but he quickly found his arm stuck between the tines of a shining trident. Neptune pulled his sword-hand wide, giving Ruby ample space to exploit— and exploit she would. With the flat of her blade, she smacked Alistair's handsome face and made him stumble once more, allowing her a leaping follow-up with her pommel. She drove the blunt piece straight into his temple, freeing him of his consciousness. Relief flooded her chest.

But just as soon as relief entered her, it was driven out by a hard smack against her leg, courtesy of Neptune's trident. She couldn't suppress her girlish yelp, but quickly put ground between herself and Neptune via her Semblance. With space now between them, she gave Neptune a look of betrayal.

"What?" He replied with a shrug. "Only one winner, Red, and I'm not just gonna hand it to you."

Ruby huffed. She was, in truth, extremely worried about his trident. It was such an unorthodox weapon, she didn't have the faintest idea of how she should go about it. All she did know was that he was fond of using its tines like traps. With a quick glance, she searched the tourney grounds.

Her cleaver was across the field. Drat.

Before disappointment could take hold, though, an idea sprouted in her head. She had noticed Alsitair's axe, with its long haft and bearded blade, was discarded much closer. A plan began to form.

Unfortunately for her, Neptune had no intention of giving her more time to think. His trident charged for her with rapid thrusts, forcing her to duck and dodge in fear that blocking would leave her weapons trapped. She needed range— as things were, he would easily be able to whittle down her stamina with jab after jab, all while his superior range kept him completely out of harm's way.

Thinking fast, Ruby did the one thing that just kept working for her— she recklessly threw her shortswords at Neptune, forcing him to break his attack to avoid the flying blades. Ruby used the opportunity to speed across the field with her Semblance, exerting every last drop of her barely-recovered Aura until it dumped her out of its flurry and sent her tumbling painfully onto Alistair's long-hafted axe. Her hands scrambled to grab the haft as she rolled, barely managing to scoop it into her grip.

Weiss watched the fight with wide eyes, especially when Rupert tumbled out of his roll with Alistair's long axe in his hands— and almost directly below her. She stared at him, finally taking the opportunity to absorb every detail of his visage. His face was round, but his jaw was surprisingly defined and ended in a sharp chin. His features were altogether quite gentle— pretty, even, in a way that sharply contrasted with Neptune's dashing, handsome looks. In fact, he actually looked quite effeminate, which made Weiss feel extremely odd— namely because of how tantalizing she found it. That also contrasted with his distinct scars— one across his cheek and one splitting his left eyebrow down the middle, much more wickedly than the other— and his offset nose, bringing a rugged balance to his unique kind of beauty. Above those things, though, it was his eyes that brought heat to Weiss' face, even if they weren't aimed her way. They were sharp and focused, brimming with energy and shining a brilliant silver. Weiss had never seen a color like them— the gleam she had caught before had just been a hint to their true magnificence. "Crook and cane," she whispered. She was falling, and at a dangerous pace.

Ruby stared at Neptune, who was catching his breath just the same as she was. She felt her Aura return, meaning his was back, too, and likely more intact than her own.

"You're a clever one, Red," Neptune called. "I'll admit that much. But this is where it ends."

He looked up to the stands, up to the Schnees, who Ruby hadn't even realized were directly above her. From such a distance, she could actually get a better look at the youngest Schnee. When she tried, though, heat immediately surged over her face— Weiss was staring! Directly at her! She rapidly returned her own gaze to Neptune, who had placed his hand over his heart and raised his trident in reverence.

"Lady Schnee! I dedicate this victory to you, and to our love! May we know the joy of our entwining souls, marked by the defeat of the infamous Rupert the Red!" Neptune called, basking in his own glory. Ruby frowned.

"Claim victory in her name, and her hand will be yours!" Claimed a drunken voice, drawing Ruby's eye back to the stands, where Jacques Schnee had gotten to his feet and raised his drink high. "Down with Rupert!"

Ruby looked back down to Neptune, who met her eyes with a wide grin. "Down with Rupert the Red."

AN:ive been playing way too much for honor lately- ruby's lucky that raider didnt try to hit his zone. in other news, ive officially got the first chapter of Twilight Concerto (sequel to Darkening Horizons) done, though im debating on whether i should wait till i have a second chapter done so i can post them first, lemme know what you think (if you care, its cool if you dont)