Ruby just finished a training session dropping to her knees, trying to catch her breath. She found the task almost too much as she used her arms to stop her collapse from happening. The grass beneath her seemed like the perfect bed for her right about now, but she couldn't give in, not when the woman standing on the tree branch in the tree in front of her had anything to say about it. "Up little Rose, we are not done yet." The woman hopped out of the tree landing beside her with cat-like grace.
"I... I don't think that I can keep going, Mom." Ruby said, struggling to catch her breath and looking up at a woman who bore more than a striking resemblance to her sister.
Her mother took an amused tone dragging her up by the arm, letting out a small chuckle when Ruby was on her feet at her full height. "You have to trust me on this, someone in your position can't afford to take it easy, besides with your dual semblance we have not even touched your peak yet. I have been only teetering on the edge of Flare's abilities. You can still keep going." Her voice became more serious as she continued.
"I really, really can't." Ruby said on wobbly legs.
Not giving her a second option her mother went on the attack again producing a broken sword from behind her back, and with Ruby catching the gleam of her sword took a swing. Ruby dodged the first swing but quickly was on defense grabbing her scythe from her hip fully extending it. "That's my girl, now if I remember right you can be quite the berserker with flare if you want to be. Let's see what the limit of that is. little Rose, I am coming at you stronger than usual so don't be afraid to let loose. You never know when you will need your second wind in a battle when your life's on the line."
Again Ruby dodged the now faster sword as it was centimeters from her face. "I don't know about that, I can't control it, it just comes and goes on its own."
The pair were now in a blaze as the older woman spoke again with the clashing of metal accompanying her speech. "It's cute that you think that that's all to your power, you are still young so you have room to grow... But we don't have time for that. So, if you have room to speak, you have room to dig even deeper." At that moment her mother dropped the broken sword, and in the same motion lined up a punch with Ruby's stomach.
Ruby gasped holding her weapon in front of her in an effort to block but the strike moved past her defenses hitting its intended target, briefly winding the girl. The young teen coughed trying to catch her breath with her eyes deepening to a shade of red. "Can... We... Please stop... Please." Ruby spoke all the while clutching at her stomach in pain.
"But you are so close, little Rose." The woman began switching to a stance that Ruby was not familiar with. "Just one final push and I swear we are done, please for me." She vocalized letting off a barrage of punches each faster and more precise than the one before forcing the teen into an almost dance as she dodged.
For Ruby's part, she was getting sharper in her movements and she felt warmer by the second. Her silver eyes gained a pale red color as red and black petals scattered around the pair. The more time passed the slower it seemed as they reached the crescendo. Now that she was in this state Ruby's semblance was firing off on their own, moving her nearly on instinct if she was too slow to react to a well-placed punch. Her earlier exhaustion was now gone with the wind while their dance of blade and fist continued.
Now that the girl thought about it her mother left more than enough openings for a counterattack she wasn't able to see before. So she would wait for the right moment she thrust her weapon forward only to frown at making contact with air. She was not able to respond fast enough to someone poking her cheek, swinging her blade over to her side. She caught the image of her mother beside her with a fist on its way. There was no pain, no light as Ruby's world went dark.
(...)
...
Life throws you into the unknown
And you feel like you're out there all alone
These are words that every girl should have a chance to hear
There will be love, there will be pain
There will be hope, there will be fear
And through it all, year after year
Stand or fall I will be right here for you
(...)
Light flooded into Ruby's eyes while she regained her consciousness, having them go wide at the sight before her, or should it be said above her. A redheaded teen was humming a tune looking ahead of her, she noticed Ruby looking up at her calm serene features and in the same motion smiled down at Ruby. The exchange took only a few seconds but being slow to react Ruby jumped up accidentally headbutting the other girl. "Ow… I am sorry, I didn't mean to. I mean… sorry." Ruby spoke only realizing that she was using the other girl's lap as a pillow, red-faced, as the pair were seated on a park bench on the campus of Beacon.
The other girl waved Ruby off, clear that she didn't take the headbutt personally. "It is quite alright, I was told not to wake up sleepwalkers so when you collapsed I took the opportunity to make sure that you were okay, I am just glad that you are okay..." The other girl paused, smiling at Ruby who had moved six feet away from the bench out of instinct. "Oh, uhh... I guess I should introduce myself, my name is Pyrrha Nikos." She spoke, only to give Ruby a bright smile as the other teen did not recognize the name. "I have been meaning to meet you, Ruby Rose."
"You know me?..." Ruby was genuinely confused.
'Of course, I do, you are like me after all. I can feel it.' Pyrrha thought to herself. She patted on the bench encouraging Ruby to come sit with her, which Ruby did, causing the smile on her face to grow larger. Before Ruby passed out Pyrrha had watched as Ruby was shadowboxing or sleepwalking she did not know which but what was happening would have had her reacting in the same way anyway. She saw Ruby's semblance at work then somewhere in the middle that same power changed somehow and she knew that Ruby was something special when the girl's movements and weapon were trailed by a beautiful black flame, a truly unmissable sight. "Of course, I know you, you and that Weiss girl made a scene earlier. I would have taken an interest in the girl two years younger than the rest of the freshmen being admitted here anyway, you must have worked really hard."
It took a second for Ruby to figure out that she was being complimented, she would under different circumstances deny the other girl but she saw an opportunity. She had wanted to talk with the black-haired teen that had helped her with that situation but she shied away after due to her own embarrassment about having to be saved from a perceived bully so she wanted more than anything to talk with Pyrrha. So that's what she will do, gathering her courage Ruby sat next to the pretty redhead not knowing how to approach the subject. She is not saying that she did not work hard to get into the school, not at all, but from what she knew unknowingly working with a Beacon teacher to stop a dust robbery by a terrorist group was not the best way of conducting an entrance exam. "You can say that..." Ruby paused to chuckle. "What about you?" Ruby instantly put her foot in her mouth, she did not know what she meant by that question but she knew all the bad ways that that sounded and she hoped Pyrrha did not take it personally.
Much to Ruby's relief the girl beside her did not seem to take it badly, in fact, she could see that Pyrrha seemed to have excitement in her eyes. "It's the same with me... Even after everything."
Ruby did not know the meaning of that but she was happy all the same. "Is that so? What do you think about Beacon?"
Pyrrha took a moment to think, she had not built an impression about the school in a day but she was more than happy with it. The campus had more than enough facilities and her name given Ruby's responses wasn't going to be an issue like it was in the past. Her mind wandered to Ruby, even in a case that her name preceded her with others including the stuff she would at least have one thing in Ruby to look forward to, having the younger girl being clueless as to who she was. "It's not like my old schools, and I already can tell that the curriculum is going to be much harder than them too. But I don't have much to go on, there is so much that I want to learn here." Pyrrha finished, grinning at Ruby. 'I can't wait...'
"Tell me about it, my parents were Hunters but they would not tell me much about it... I think that going here will give me that perspective too. They went to Beacon when they were our age, they were even on the same team."
"So you are a legacy then?"
"A legacy?"
Pyrrha did not know how to describe it fully so she would use her situation despite feeling the disgust that came with it, Ruby noticed. "Like in my case, I come from a long line of Hunters and soldiers, in the most liberal terms we are considered legacies. Huntresses with history or talents learned or inherited from our families."
Rubbing her chin Ruby thought the explanation over, she was unaware of the fact. "Legacies huh." Ruby vocalized. She was curious if that made her special from the others before her mind wandered to the words of the woman who trained her and some of what she said made more sense now. With a frown, she did not communicate any further. She thought that the early admission was not entirely from her efforts and it showed on her face.
Pyrrha, feeling the mood shift put a hand over Ruby's on the other girl's lap in silent support, she had thought it had somehow discredited Ruby in some way and that was not her intention. Though she misunderstood the other teen she knew what it meant to be a legacy and what it was to be considered a prodigy, all things that she felt she had in common with Ruby, to work as hard as they did and having that taken away with a simple phrase, but at the same time she envied Ruby for not going through what she had to from a young age. Ruby didn't seemed to have the same experience with her peers that Pyrrha had, she even was spared the indignities of fame, the early mornings, being forced to participate in events on her parents' behalf. "I'm sorry..." Pyrrha took a comforting tone. "I know what it's like to believe that your efforts were not enough, and that was not what I meant..." She took a breath before continuing. "I don't know about you but... I have always been considered a prodigy from a very young age, so I can guess what you are thinking and I am sure that... You know... You earned your spot here through your hard work."
Her words were processed but not understood fully, Ruby had listened to the other girl's speech but figured that she misunderstood in some way, but was not going to correct her. "Umm... I know, it's just I wanted to prove that I could do this. Even if I am the youngest one here." Ruby said, staring at their connected hands with a rosy tint.
'Something we have in common, so it would seem.' Pyrrha squeezed Ruby's hand, getting a squeak from the younger girl's mouth. "Umm... I know that this is sudden but I would love it if you and I were to become friends."
Ruby had a look of surprise at the request and for moments on end, she could not help but feel a sense of giddiness despite her blank expression. She had wanted to make friends with someone not related to her for some time now, and she was ecstatic that it was happening now. She did not know what brought this on but she was not going to let the moment pass. "If is okay with you." Her habit of closing herself reared its head and she cursed herself.
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"Well..." Ruby ran her hand through her long black locks before explaining with a chuckle. "Well umm... I am younger than you... And we don't know each other well... And you know what happened with Weiss... I can be totally clumsy sometimes, and someone like..." Ruby let out a heavy sigh. "I am sure that you are going to regret making friends with someone like me..." She finished looking down red-faced.
Pyrrha gave the girl's hand another squeeze as her calm gentle yet mature features examined the younger girl, Ruby had the very image of a blushing maiden when Pyrrha smiled and opened her mouth to reassure her. "I am not the type of person to pick her friends off of superficial occurrences, I have a genuine interest in you Ruby Rose, so I want to make this request again. Will you be my friend Ruby?..."