Chapter 15
[Ruby Rose]
Ruby pushed open the door of the 'Celestial Armory' store, and a small bell chimed above her as she entered. She took a moment to appreciate the warm indoors with a content sigh once the dark wooden door closed behind her, leaving the biting cold of winter outside. She rubbed her gloved hands against her legs, trying to push the chilly numbness out of them.
"If anything, coming here was worth it just for this," she mumbled, enjoying the moment. The familiar smell of metal and leather wafted through her nose, distracting her mind from the remaining discomfort of the cold. The huntress-in-training turned her attention to the rows upon rows of weapons that dominated her view.
Swords of all shapes and sizes were organized in stacked racks to her left next to the wall. Shields that ranged from bucklers to what she was sure were tower shields hung on the walls and wooden beams that seemed to lead to a second floor. On the other side, even more racks were organized facing each other perpendicular to the right wall. In them, a collection of polearms, from spears to halberds to glaives, to even joust lances, shone brightly under the warm yellow light cast by the lamps above.
Ruby wandered through the aisles with giddy enthusiasm. Her hand ran over the cold and smooth metal of the blades and the coarse and firm leather of the handles. She raised a resting axe and examined its razor-sharp edge with an expert – in her humble opinion – eye before putting it down carefully and moving to a set of sabers that caught her eyes.
Her weapon of choice might have been a scythe, but Ruby appreciated all kinds of weapons regardless of shape or form. Ever since she was little, she was taken by the beauty of each handle, blade, and design. What had started as an interest for her mom's straight swords soon developed into a fascination that only seemed to grow as time passed. Although, how could she not? They were the tools carried by Huntsmen and Huntresses in their quest to destroy the evil Grimms, giving them the support they needed and being a part of them.
Her sister tended to say that she was being overdramatic. Ruby didn't think so. She was being perfectly regular-dramatic, thank you very much.
Ruby's finger ran over the flat of a blade that looked similar to a Mistralian design, but not quite. The design was eerily similar, but again, she wouldn't be a – self-proclaimed – weapon expert if she couldn't distinguish these kinds of things. Eventually, she reached the blade's forte, tracing over the small indentation engraved in it close to the hilt. A circle with one of the carved borders thickening and becoming a half moon, and three simple four-pointed stars of different sizes next to it.
'The smith's brand,' Ruby thought, feeling like it was oddly familiar, but she couldn't quite place from where.
"Something I can help you with?" said a deep, calm voice from behind her.
Ruby jolted in place before turning and meeting gazes with the man behind the large counter at the end of the store. His head rested against his palm as he stared at her curiously. Had he been there the whole time?
She hadn't noticed him at all!
"I-uh. Sorry. I didn't see you there. I was just looking around," Ruby responded, unprepared for a conversation. "You must be Mr. Grumpy."
Very unprepared.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to!- I mean, Nora said-!"
The owner let out a chuckle, thankfully not offended by her comment.
"No harm done. I understand." The man waved her mistake away. "Nora has a certain… memorable way to address people. I hope she didn't cause you any trouble?" the silver-haired man inquired.
"N-no, she just gave me the pamphlet and then ran away," Ruby explained, trying to force her face to not look like a tomato. Unfortunately, judging by the heat on her cheeks, she failed miserably.
'Thanks a lot, brain!' she complained.
"I understand, hopefully Ren keeps her from getting into trouble…" the man muttered before shaking his head and looking at her. "Let's start again, shall we? My name is Silver Astra, I own this store, and you would be Miss-?"
"I- I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose," the huntress-in-training presented herself, eager to leave the incident behind. "Your weapons are very nice," she scrambled for something nice to say.
"I see. Miss Rose, then. And thank you, I put a lot of work into them. They're all handcrafted," the man said, a quiet but firm confidence in his voice and his expression. "Let me know if you are looking for something in particular."
"Uh, yeah, actually, I am looking for upgrades for Crescent Rose here," she explained, drawing her weapon from her back. A small practiced twirl saw the mechanism flare to life mid-motion, her weapon changing from its compact form into a large mechanical scythe. Ruby was extra careful in minding her space. It wouldn't do to knock the racks around her over.
It wouldn't have been the first time…
"That's quite a masterwork you got there," the man admitted with a raised eyebrow and a hum. Ruby fought hard not to puff her chest. It was always nice when someone appreciated the careful and dedicated work she went through to build her baby. "May I?" the shop owner inquired from behind the counter.
"Sure!" Ruby agreed, approaching. She was always happy to talk about her creation. "Alright so- I present you, my sweetheart, Crescent Rose! A customizable high impact 0,50 caliber sniper rifle with triple-shift, compact-scythe variant slots!"
"I see, quite an interesting design. Very advanced too," the shop owner praised. "I wonder how you managed to make so many shift gears endure the battle stress. Perhaps if…" the man's voice receded into mumbles as he talked to himself. His hand moved tracing over Crescent Rose's exposed parts. Ruby eagerly removed some of the armor plating to showcase some of the inner parts next to the head of the barrel.
For once, she didn't feel unsure or nervous and could be confident about what she was saying. Weapons were her favorite thing in the world, and there was nothing she'd rather talk about more. Well, one of her favorite things in the world, along with strawberries, cookies, Zwei, and huntsmen stuff.
Before she knew it, the conversation moved from her baby to other weapons and the best way to mecha shift them. They talked about swords, spears, shotguns, rifles, machine guns, and even railguns. The conversation occasionally went back to Crescent Rose as she disassembled it while pointing out details to him. The man would then absorb her words with an interest she had only ever seen in herself, and then inquire about something else to which Ruby happily obliged.
Time flew past without her notice as she lost herself in the pleasant conversation. Then again, it was impossible for a conversation about her baby not to be pleasant. She didn't remember the last time she had ever had someone listen to her talking about weapons for so long, even when visiting other weapon stores. Despite her initial upset mood about her failed purchase and her sister ghosting her, this was turning out to be a great day.
"I see, so you flip the switch and the capsule injects the gravity dust to reduce or increase the recoil of your shots," Mr. Silver mused from her side with a hand on the table. He stared into the compartments behind the chamber of her scythe, which was separated into dozens of neatly organized pieces as Ruby fiddled with some lent tools from the shop. At some point, she had moved to the other side of the counter.
"Yes! Though the bullets lose firepower if I increase it. And the barrel overheats if I reduce it repeatedly. I mostly use it for mobility," Ruby admitted, happy to explain.
"A sensible use of it. I can tell you put a lot of work into this weapon. I'm impressed," the man praised with a nod. "Though I must apologize. I took up so much of your time to explain things to me even though you're a customer."
"No, not at all! I'm always happy to talk about my baby, but people usually think I talk too much. So, it was great to talk about Crescent Rose with a fellow weapon enjoyer."
"Weapon enjoyer, huh? I guess I could be classified as such," Mr. Silver replied, amusement in his voice. "Still, it wasn't proper for me, especially as the owner of this place. I should be the one providing the service. Though I must admit that you'd have me at a disadvantage when it comes to parts for Crescent Rose here," he admitted while lightly patting a separated piece of the armored plating of her weapon.
"Ah, it's no problem! It's always nice to see new weapon shops anyway. So, I'd have come regardless. Besides, your weapons are awesome too! Though I noticed they are mostly…" Ruby traced off.
"The simple kind?" he finished with a knowing smile.
"There's nothing wrong with the classics!" she exclaimed, trying to make clear that she hadn't been trying to insult his craft as she waved her hands frantically. "Sometimes, the simpler the design the more effective. You need just a fraction of the maintenance too," Ruby scrambled to think of nice things to say. She didn't want to offend her new friend so soon. He was a fellow illuminated too! "Besides, yours are top quality."
Ruby wasn't even lying with her claims. As she had said, she loved all kinds of weapons, regardless of their nature. As such, she had developed an eye for the quality of a blade or the sturdiness of a shield. She could say, without a doubt, that Mr. Silver's were as good as you could get in Vale as far as she knew.
"Thank you, Miss Rose. That's quite certainly high praise coming from you," Mr. Silver remarked, blue eyes fixed on Crescent Rose's rebuilding process. Ruby's hands moved in swift and precise movements that had become second nature over the years.
She blushed a little bit at the compliment.
Ruby wasn't usually praised for her passion for weapons. It was more often than not, the opposite. Her sister teased her about it a lot, and while she knew Yang wasn't trying to be mean, Ruby couldn't help but feel slightly bitter about the comments against her favorite hobby. It reminded her of the other mean girls at the Academy who would call her names behind her back.
The only places where she could enjoy her hobby to the fullest were at home inside her own forge – also referred to as 'dad's garage' depending on who you asked – and at Mrs. Oxide's class, who also tended to praise her, but she was… Mrs. Oxide. No offense to the elderly teacher but Ruby wished the woman would stop singling her out in class and telling the other students they should be more like her. That just made them even more mean.
Not to mention Mrs. Oxide always smelled like burnt cat fur.
It was nice to have someone who liked her hobby as much as she did, even if the man preferred the classics. That didn't matter. Weapons were weapons all the same and they all deserved love equally… Except for her sweetheart who obviously deserved more.
"Now, it's just a matter of using what you taught me here. I'm not short of resources, so some experimentation should be in order," continued the man, interrupting her thoughts and making her turn toward him. He seemed to be eyeing one of the daggers he had brought to show off earlier and an empty blueprint, his mind whirring as he thought about the design.
"What are you planning on building?" she asked with interest, leaning slightly over as she continued to put Crescent Rose back together.
"Hmm, I'd like something simple for now. The dagger is primarily a weapon that pairs well with agility, so I don't want to bulk it up too much," the man said and Ruby nodded looking at the long dagger in question. A cinquedea if the width of the blade's base was anything to go by. "I want to compensate for the lack of offensive power with some high-caliber gun. Perhaps shotgun rounds…" the man continued his fingers tracing off over the blade's base as he shared his idea.
The action brought her attention to the smith's brand at the base of the blade. A circle, a moon, and the stars on the side. She couldn't remember from where, but she was sure she had seen it before. Perhaps the man had taken inspiration from somewhere?
Had it been any other person, Ruby would have been too scared and anxious to ask, forcing herself to swallow the question. However, over the short time she had met Mr. Silver, he had been nothing but amicable with her. Surely he wouldn't mind the question, right?
"Mr. Silver, I wan-" Ruby couldn't finish her question before a loud chime came from her pocket, making her jump. Silver stopped what he was doing and turned toward her with a curious expression.
"Sorry!" she excused herself as she fished her scroll from her pocket and read the message.
' Yo rubes I'm at ping loc. Wyd?' - Yang 10:03 pm
'10:03?!' she thought in alarm. The last ferry to Patch sailed in less than half an hour and they were still in Vale downtown. 'Dad's gonna kill us!'
"Sorry, Mr. Silver! I need to go! It's really late and I gotta go home," she hastily apologized, her hands working overtime to finish assembling Crescent Rose in record time.
"It's alright, go ahead. I seem to have also lost track of time. I need to close soon too. Besides, I'll have to look for Nora and Ren. They should have been back already and I'd bet Nora did something," the man said with a tired sigh before directing a small smile at her.
With a quick wave, Ruby sprinted towards the door before coming to a screeching halt as soon as she grabbed the slightly cold handle. Uncertainty raged inside her. It had been a long time since Ruby had had fun talking with someone else who wasn't Yang, Dad, or her uncle that she couldn't help herself.
"Uhm… Mr. Silver," the girl said, turning around, her voice barely above a whisper. "I-I was wondering... if it would be okay for me to visit again sometime? I really enjoyed talking about weapons with you," she admitted. Her face went red a moment later, but she soldiered through the embarrassment. "I-I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to! I understand if I was a bit much, but I really liked it here, and talking about weapons, and- but you can totally say no if I'm being bothersome. No biggie. You have to take care of the shop and- I mean I can leave now if you wish-"
"-Miss Rose… Ruby," the man said, cutting through her tirade. Ruby raised her gaze to meet his. She hadn't realized she had been looking at her feet. The man stared at her, ice-blue eyes meeting her silver before he smiled. "Of course, you're more than welcome to visit whenever you wish to. I enjoyed our talk too."
Ruby felt like jumping and cheering.
She had made a friend all by herself! And it wasn't the kind who were only nice to her when they wanted to copy her homework and then ignored her at lunch. Or the ones that talked to her when Yang was close by. Or the ones that invited her to places and then never showed up.
"Great! I-I'll try to come by soon then. I'm still not sure about the day, but I'll try to come soon. I-I mean, unless you don't want me to come too soon. Right. Sorry, you have to actually work. So it's better if I come later. But then it will be late and I'd be intruding when you are tired and you won't like that. Then maybe on weekends and I can bring the food so I-"
"Ruby," the man interrupted her once again. "Breathe."
Ruby took a deep breath filling her lungs with the much needed air.
"Now, you can visit whenever you wish. The store is new so it's going to take a while to get any sort of clientele around here. Don't worry about that and drop in whenever it's convenient for you," the man continued with a warm smile.
"Really? This is gonna be so cool!" she exclaimed and heard the man chuckle at her enthusiasm. Both of them stared at each other in awkward silence that extended for a few very long seconds. The man's eyebrow raised with each passing moment and Ruby found herself lost on what to say next.
"… Aren't you late to get somewhere?" the silver-haired man reminded her, making her jolt in place.
"I'm late! Dad's going to kill me!" she remembered. "Bye, Mr. Silver, see you next time!"
"Goodbye, Ruby. Until next time," Ruby heard the man say as she turned.
Ruby opened the door and instantly, the warmth and well-lit interior of the store was replaced by the cold breeze of winter and darkness of the night, illuminated only by the few stores still open and the soft blue glow of the hard-light lamppost.
The huntress-in-training paid no heed to it as she resumed her sprint. She'd need to use her semblance if she wished to make it in time. Or at least that was the plan before she had to avert her actions as she almost crashed into someone.
"Woah! Careful there, squirt. You're gonna hurt yourself," warned the person whom she almost crashed into, right in front of the door. Strong hands caught her before she could fall due to her sudden halt.
"S-Sorry!" she exclaimed once she regained her balance and turned towards the dark-haired man.
"It's all good. No harm done," said the man with a chuckle. Dark onyx eyes stared at her with amusement behind them. "Now, if you are rushing like that, I'm sure that you have somewhere to be, so let me get out of your way."
"Vince," she heard the muted voice of Mr. Silver from inside the store.
"Hey there, Silver," the newly named Vincent greeted back, walking past her and entering the establishment.
'Oh, so they know each other,' Ruby thought distractedly before shaking her head and focusing on something more important, like making sure she didn't get grounded for the rest of the year. That couldn't happen. She had a new friend to visit now!
"You wouldn't happen to have seen Nora and Ren out there, right?" Ruby heard Mr. Silver ask the man behind her, but her attention was on the movement of her Aura as it responded to her, twisting and flexing like a muscle.
She felt the warmth sensation of her semblance spread within her. The smell of roses and the caress of unseen summer winds staved off the freezing night. Ruby could feel her body becoming weightless, immaterial. She let it happen, basking in the feeling of freedom.
"Don't worry, I'm on it," she heard 'Vince' respond. "Just came to get their bail money-"
That was all she managed to hear before her body became a gust of petals. The rest of the conversation was lost in the swirl of winds and the blurring scape. It would burn a significant portion of her aura, but she could make it to Yang in one go.
She was left very curious about that conversation though.
'Bail money?'
[}-o-{]
Ruby closed the door of her room with a soft click, and the muffled sounds of the argument downstairs faded slightly. She pressed her body against the door and let out a sigh. She had, as she had expected and dreaded, been grounded.
A moment later, she allowed her legs to carry her across the warm soft lime green rug towards her fluffy bed before plopping herself right on top of it. The light of the moon sipped through the small crack of her curtains, somehow managing to land square on her face. Ruby turned herself over, unwilling to raise herself at the moment. She needed just a moment to appreciate the warmness of her blanket. She hadn't even changed into her pajamas yet, but at the moment, she didn't feel like it.
'At least it'll be only a week instead of the entire year,' Ruby thought with fake cheer as she remembered the previous fifteen minutes of her life.
Their dad had been waiting right at the open door when they arrived. All they had been able to do was give him a sheepish smile and accept whatever punishment he had already come up with. The man looked thunderous at first, but Uncle Qrow, who happened to be visiting – Yay! –, managed to de-escalate the tirade and let them go with only a figurative slap on the wrist.
Or at least that was the case for Ruby.
"How can you be so irresponsible, Yang! Do you know how many times I called you?!" she heard her dad's muffled yet booming voice echo through the closed door.
Ruby knew when to pick her fights. Sometimes it was better to stay quiet and endure. But, Yang…
"I told you already! I didn't hear it, okay?! Brothers, leave me alone already! We got home in time and safe, didn't we?! What's your problem?!" her sister shouted back in a heated tone.
"You know full well that isn't the issue here! Do you know how worried I was?! You can't just disappear on me like that! I was this close to calling the police if it wasn't for Qrow!"
"I know and I already said I am sorry! What more do you want from me?!"
A knot grew on Ruby's stomach as she quickly rose from the bed and grabbed her headphones. She took a moment to link them to her scroll and placed them on her head.
"Yang Xiao Long, don't you dare walk away-!" her dad's voice was completely covered by the sound of music playing at full blast. She could still hear the reverberation of the screaming match below, but at least now she could ignore the words.
Ruby always hated it when they fought. Dad hated whenever they didn't tell him what they were doing. He always got extremely worried when they failed to answer a message he sent. She knew it was wrong to think badly about her father, but she found it a bit overbearing at times, though she would never say it to his face. She even felt bad thinking about it in her head as it was.
Yang, on the other hand, had no problem screaming it for the world to hear whenever they got into an argument. Her sister hated the idea of being controlled. She had once confessed to her that she felt like people were looking down on her, like she couldn't take care of herself.
Ruby shook her head and focused on her happy memories instead. She walked towards her desk and put the half-finished blueprints aside, in favor of a blank one. The smell of ink filled her nose as she flattened the paper over the smooth wooden surface.
Her hands scribbled through the draft with an assured pace, while humming at the tune of the music. Mr. Silver had wanted to work on a dagger with more damaging capabilities, so perhaps it would be better for her to bring some designs to him next time and compare notes. The idea of another discussion about weapons made her giggle to herself as her thoughts drifted off.
The weapons at the store had been amazing. While it didn't have much going for them when it came to modern designs, it was still full of works of art. The edge, balance, the wrapping leather of the handle, everything to the last detail was incredible.
Ruby had asked the man if he happened to be a master craftsman. Perhaps one of those people who honed their craft outside of the main kingdoms, like blacksmith hermits and such. That would have been cool. She had heard from her uncle that there are a lot of amazing people out there in the world that one wouldn't ever hear about unless one met them.
At first, Ruby thought Mr. Silver was one of such people who had dedicated their life to the art of weapon crafting and now that he was done learning, he came to Vale to make a name for himself. It would even make sense why he would prefer analog weapons since those were more common outside of the kingdom walls. Mecha-shift usually had too many parts and needed too much maintenance to be practical if you lacked steady resources to pull from.
It all made sense in her head.
However, much to her surprise, Mr. Silver said that his work as a smith was a rather recent development. He admitted he had had some experience with the craft through the years, but he primarily focused on using the weapons rather than crafting them. That made something clear in Ruby's head.
'A huntsman!' she thought with awe. There was no other profession out there in the wilderness that could allow someone to get such intricate knowledge on weapons to make the masterpieces Mr. Silver had made.
And he had to be a good one too.
Ruby was of the opinion that one could judge the quality of the huntsman by how they treated their weapon. Someone that didn't even bother with basic maintenance for their main tool, couldn't really be all that good at what they did, right? So, where did that leave someone who could make dozens of master-class creations of all kinds of weapons?
Mr. Silver had to be one of those super-huntsmen that fairy tales told about! Like the Grimm Reaper! The ones that went from village to village saving them from the evil Grimm and asking for nothing in return before moving on to the next. She was sure of it!
Just like her mom was!
The idea of working with a – maybe – legendary huntsman filled her with a sense of awe.
That was why she had to get this right, so she wouldn't embarrass herself next time they met… after her grounding was over, that is.
Ruby's eyes blinked as she looked at the basic sketch of the cinquedea dagger she had seen at the store. Her eyes zeroed in on one spot in particular, noticing that at some point she had started to draw the smith brand that seemed to be Mr. Silver's signature. The scribbled circle with a half-finished moon and messy stars stared back at her from its spot in the draft.
She still felt she had seen it before.
'I forgot to ask him in the end,' Ruby recalled with a deflating sigh. 'Well, I guess I could ask him next time, I see him-'
She blinked again.
"... Wait… I remember!" she exclaimed as she rose from her chair so fast her headphones fell from her head. Now without the music, she idly noticed that everything had gone quiet downstairs, but she didn't pay that any mind and walked towards the large dark wood shelf at the side of her bed.
"Another! Another!" a young Ruby exclaimed, making the woman on whose warm bosom she rested giggle. It was a beautiful sound, like a tinkling bell.
"Okay, but this is the last one, okay? After this one you are going to sleep," her mom said with a chidding yet soft tone.
An old memory stirred within her as she looked through the large collection of colorful books. Children's books. Most of them had been moved to the top shelves, while comics and Mistralian manga had taken over the more accessible lower ones.
"Many years ago, there existed a tiny village nestled between rolling hills and dense forests." her mother started her narration with a sweet tone as she hugged Ruby to herself.
Ruby nestled into the warmth and listened to the story with rapt attention.
"The villagers led simple lives, but as the sun cast its last ray each day, a shroud of fear gripped their hearts. For with the darkness came monsters, vile creatures that prowled the land, snatching away the innocent in their sleep and attacking those that yet walked outside," Summer Rose continued.
She extended her hand as far as she could, even in her tip-toes, she could barely reach the shelf, but she refused to use a chair. That would hurt her pride as a grown girl! The tips of her fingers hooked the spine of the dusty old book, slowly dragging it out of the shelf.
"One fateful day two travelers approached the village. One was cloaked in shadows, his presence eerie yet comforting. A mischievous spirit who roamed the lands. The other was a serene and stoic figure, his form shimmering with countless, if dim, lights. A guardian of justice and righteousness." the woman continued.
Ruby traced her small fingers through the caricaturesque pictures of the villagers and the two approaching figures.
A symbol was on top of the drawing.
A large circle with a moon and pretty golden-painted stars called for her young mind's attention.
With the book now in hand, Ruby ran her hand through its cover. A fine coat of dust came off the green weathered leather wrapping. A simple yet tasteful cover depicted the drawn image of a large tree with radiant rays coming from behind it.
"The villagers, terrified by their arrival, cowered in their homes. Yet, the two approached them with gentle words and kind hearts. 'Why do you fear us so?' they asked. The village elder, with a voice trembling from years of dread, replied, 'We fear the darkness!' 'We fear the monsters it brings!' exclaimed a second villager. 'They've taken too many of our loved ones away when we are most vulnerable. We can only hide in our beds, under our sheets, waiting for the sun's light to return.' explained a third," Her mom narrated, changing her tone along with the characters.
Ruby giggled even though drowsiness saw her eyelids slowly closing. The warmth of her mother slowly lulled her to sleep.
Ruby took the book to her desk. The light of the lamp was enough to let her read its title. A classic, she remembered all the times he had forced her mother to read it to her over and over again.
"Moved by their plight, the travelers vowed to protect the village. As the sun set, the shining one ascended into the sky, his light piercing through the darkness. His brilliance illuminated the land, revealing the lurking monsters and driving them away. Meanwhile, the shadowed one summoned creatures of his own, shadowy beings that roamed the village, silently guarding the people from harm. Each night, under the watchful gaze of the shining one and the protective embrace of the cloaked one, the villagers slept in peace. The monsters no longer dared to approach, for they knew that the village was under the care of two mighty guardians," the young woman continued. Her voice gained a soft undertone as she rocked Ruby in one of her arms while she held the book in the other.
She nuzzled into the embrace, feeling safe and content. Her mom was there, she would protect her like the two travelers protected the villagers.
"Mom…" Her hand caressed the title written in bold letters on the first page. Memories of her childhood would always almost bring her to tears.
Shaking her head, Ruby focused back on the book. It held a collection of adventures that depicted the fantastic adventures of a girl as she explored and recorded the history of a strange and magical world. It was also the book of her childhood.
"-And their names were Night and Stars, the two who even to this day, many, many years later, continue their vigil, ensuring that everyone remains safe. This is how the world came to have the night and the stars, watching over all as they sleep, bringing light where there was none and making the darkness less frightening."
'The Girl Who Fell Through the World,' the title read.
[} Chapter End {]
Arc: First of all, I want to start this A/N by thanking all of you for giving us your opinions in regard to this story. We are happy to know that there are people there reading what we write.
Adrian: It was a very pleasant surprise to receive so many reviews after so much silence, we have to say. Now, I guess we can take the Damocles' sword from over Departure… for now.
Arc: And now that the story is not at risk of getting axed and replaced, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter just as much as we had writing it. It's certainly on the longest side of things, sitting at around 5.4k words. Almost a chapter and a half in itself.
Adrian: Arc just can't help himself.
Arc: All I have to say in my defense, is that Ruby is really fun to write.
Adrian: Well, with all that said, we hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Random Arc Question: This story has a bunch of subplots going on by this point. The White Fang, Weiss, Hei, Yang, the Huntsman exams, etc. Any of them in particular you want to know and see more about?
Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ
