brokenmimir - Tumblr blog

brokenmimir · 4 years

Text

Huntress Mark IV: White Rose

White Rose Week 2020, Day 8: Free Day

Faced with the unbeatable Grimm, humanity adapted, developing a new weapon capable of dealing with the giant monsters.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24773473

“I would kill for a cheeseburger,” Ruby sighed.

Weiss ignored her, even though she knew that doing so would only make her dolt of a partner worse. Sure enough she sighed again, louder, and, when that didn't work, she actually said 'sigh' out loud. Finally Weiss bowed to the inevitable. “What?”

“I said, I'd kill for a cheeseburger.”

“Well, unless you intend to try human meat I'm not sure what you expect me to do about it,” Weiss said.

“I don't want you to do anything,” Ruby pouted. “I just wanted to complain.”

“Oh, I see,” Weiss hummed. “Well, if we're complaining about things that we know won't get fixed by talking about it, I'm stuck with a dolt of a partner who won't let me focus on the sensors when we're waiting to ambush a pack of Grimm.”

“Jeez, that does sound annoying,” Ruby said blithely. “Hey, if you could eat anything, what would you eat? Like, right now? Usually I'd say strawberries, or cookies, but I really want a big ol' juicy cheeseburger. What about you?”

“Some silence maybe,” Weiss said. “I would love some silence.”

“Silly Weiss, you can't eat silence.”

Weiss just closed her eyes, slowly counting to ten in her head. It wouldn't look good if she strangled her partner while on the job. Or ever, probably, although she'd likely get a special dispensation from people that knew Ruby if it didn't interfere with her field work.

A beeping sound attracted her attention, and she stiffened, focusing completely on the many screens in front of her. Even Ruby became quiet, recognizing when Weiss was in the middle of something that truly demanded all of her attention.

“I'm picking up Grimm,” Weiss said. “I'm reading a pack of Beowolves. One of them might be an Alpha, but he's staying in the middle of the pack so it's hard to get a reading on him.”

“ETA?” Ruby asked.

“Five minutes,” Weiss said.

“Alright!” Ruby cheered. “Let's get this finished! We take care of this pack and we can head back to Vale and celebrate.”

“That sounds nice,” Weiss said with a smile as she began to work her way through her part of the checklist as the two of them prepared for combat. “We should go to that new sushi place that just opened up.”

“What- no! Cheeseburger Weiss! Cheeseburger!”

“But you said celebrate,” Weiss said innocently. Despite the amount of wear and tear they'd put on it over the past few years, their vehicle came up smoothly, the work by the mechanics, as well as their own care, keeping it ready despite everything. “Sushi would make for a nice celebration.”

“Bleh. Raw fish. That's not food. Where's the grease? Where's the meat. Where's the beef!”

“But Blake would come along if we go for sushi,” Weiss said. “Checklist clear. Ready?”

“Checklist clear, ready,” Ruby agreed as she flicked the last few switches. “Condition green, everything normal. And if I ask Yang she'd go for burgers, and then Blake would come with her.”

“Not if I mention sushi to Blake first,” Weiss said smugly. “You know there's no way Yang would disappoint Blake by not giving her fish when she asks for it.”

“Noooo!” Ruby cried. “Not if I get to them first!”

“Who's running the comms, Ruby,” Weiss said. “I just need to type a quick message…”

“No fair! Please! I really, really want a cheeseburger. Greasy beef, gooey cheese, greasy and gooey bread from the beef and the cheese… and all those crispy, greasy fries!”

Weiss made a face. “Ugh. Are you trying to convince me to send Blake that message?”

Ruby sighed. “What do you want?”

“Want?” Weiss asked, an expression of false innocence on her face so fake even Penny would've seen through it. “Whatever do you mean?”

Ruby crossed her arms and gave her a look. After a moment Weiss smirked. “Well, there was that new ballet opening this weekend.”

Ruby looked torn, her face pained as she struggled with the difficult choice, before finally her shoulders slumped. “Fine. We can go to the stupid ballet.”

Weiss leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “Now see, was that so bad?”

“Yes,” Ruby pouted.

“Well, why don't you work out some aggression on those Grimm,” Weiss said. “They'll be here right about… now.”

With that Ruby flicked the last switches, grabbing both sticks and working the pedals. Their combat mech, a Huntress Mark IV, stood from cover, the plants they'd affixed to it falling away to reveal its custom white and red paint job. It resembled a human knight without a head, but standing twenty feet tall, and was exceptionally bulky and broad in the chest. Bight spotlights on either side of the torso lit up the dense woods at the press of a button by Weiss, and the arms lifted, revealing the pair of heavy gauss gatling cannons mounted on the underside of each.

Even inside of the protected cockpit the sound of both cannons firing was loud. They spat forty millimeter ferrous slugs at five times the speed of sound, at a rate of two hundred slugs per second. Anyone outside of the combat mech would've been instantly deafened, and even nearby Grimm howled in pain at the assault on their eardrums.

Trees between them and the Grimm pack were instantly cut down, and the Grimm faired little better. As Ruby scythed the arms across the battlefield Grimm were cut cleanly in half, the giant monsters, which rivaled the height of the Huntress mech, were no match for so much firepower at such close range.

Weiss kept a close eye on the sensors, calling out warnings whenever one of the Beowolves tried to flank them. Ruby would respond by running the mech backwards, or, if that failed to buy sufficient distance, she would fire off the jump jets, sending them flying through the air until they were away from the rampaging Grimm.

“I see the alpha!” Ruby shouted.

“On it,” Weiss said, quickly preparing a firing solution. Once she had it ready she glanced at the main view screen, where the gargantuan Grimm, half again as tall as their mech, loped towards them, its thick white bone armor repelling even the devastating gauss cannon, as Ruby kept one firing at it while the other continued mopping up the smaller Beowolves. “Ready!”

“Light 'em up!” Ruby shouted.

Weiss flipped up the cover on the button, and then pressed it. The shoulders of the mech lifted up, revealing four small missile launchers on each side, which then began to spew forth dozens of missiles from each tube. The screens dimmed, replacing the normal picture with a composite from the high resolution radar system and other sensors, as the explosions from hundreds of plasma missiles fired at point blank range made sight impossible. Their own mech rocked on its stabilizers, before the barrage cut off.

“It's too close, pull back or get out the scythe,” Weiss said.

“Hmm, it'll regen too fast if we pull back,” Ruby said. “Looks like the missiles peeled its armor off, so I'll go hand to hand.”

Weiss looked up at the main screen, which had finally reverted to normal vision. The Alpha Beowolf was missing its armor and skin, with black smoke rising from all over its body. Despite that the creature kept pressing forward, somehow moving even faster as it kept the ruined, now eyeless face pointed at the mech. All around the beast was a vast, oblong wasteland of glass, as the plasma missiles had utterly vaporized everything within twenty meters of the Grimm as it moved, the heat so intense that the surrounding trees turned directly into ash without starting a forest fire.

With a whoop of excitement Ruby launched the mech towards the Alpha, pulling a long pole from its back as she did so. The pole served as a barrel for the long sniper rail gun, which fired hypervelocity rounds capable of destroying a normal Grimm to the very edge of radar range, but it also served as the body of the mech's melee weapon. With the press of a button a blade of pure plasma emerged from the end of the pole, creating a massive, incredibly lethal scythe, which Ruby quickly put to use.

As much as she enjoyed watching Ruby fight at close range, Weiss returned her attention to the sensors, providing quick warnings whenever one of the few surviving Beowolves tried to ambush them. Dealing with the minor threats slowed them down, but they were swiftly dispatched with a single swing of the scythe or a burst of gauss cannon fire. It was still enough to keep the Alpha in the fight, with even the terrible injuries already inflicted rapidly regenerating, the plasma wounds barely slowing it down. Finally, when the last of the small Grimm had sacrificed themselves, Weiss gave the all clear, and Ruby set to work.

The Alpha Beowolf didn't last much longer after that.

“And that's a wrap!” Ruby crowed once Weiss had verified the all clear one last time with her sensors.

“I suppose so,” Weiss said, before pressing a few buttons on her comm controls. “White Rose to Beacon Actual. Dogs put down, returning to base. Over.”

“Was that worth a kiss?” Ruby asked hopefully when she finished.

“Hmm… I don't know,” Weiss said. “You took a long time dealing with that Alpha. Losing your touch?”

“No way!” Ruby shouted. “Did you see how old it was! Besides, I got it in the end.”

“Fine,” Weiss sighed, before leaning over and giving Ruby a long, toe curling kiss. “Sushi time?”

“No! Weiss! Cheeseburgers!”

#white rose week #white rose #rwby #ruby rose #weiss schnee #fanfic

43 notes · View notes

brokenmimir · 4 years

Text

A Tourney for Her Hand

White Rose Week 2020, Day 7: The Princess and Her Knight

Princess Weiss of House Schnee, by decree of her father, King Jacques, will wed whoever wins the upcoming tourney. For something that he had intended to be a punishment, she seems unusually cheerful...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24756232

“Sir knight,” Princess Weiss, second heiress of House Schnee, called out to the figure as they rode closer.

It wasn't easy to guess the height of someone riding a horse, especially in full armor, but when lined up next to the other knights it was obvious that this one was unusually short. Also, unlike the other knights who wore their finest burnished armor for the tourney, this knight had chosen to wear plain, unadorned black armor, still scuffed and dinged from the battlefield. They also kept their helmet on and visor down, as well as keeping a piece of dyed red leather covering the device on their shield.

The figure rode their roan hoarse up beside the viewing stand, and Weiss leaned over, tying her white handkerchief around the knight's wrist. “My favor, sir knight.”

The knight nodded but didn't speak, not that they could be easily heard over the suddenly boisterous crowd. Never in her eighteen years of life had Princess Weiss offered her favor to one of the knights at a tourney, and everyone, noble and commoner alike, was excited at this display. The knight in question being a black knight, one who refused to reveal their identity or affiliation, made this all the more exciting. And to do so at this tourney, of all tourneys…

When Weiss returned to her seat, carefully adjusting her flowing white dress before sitting again, her brother Whitley looked over at her. “You've never done that before, sister.”

“No, I suppose I haven't,” Weiss said blandly.

His eyes narrowed. “Showing your favor to an unknown to anger father won't make things easier for you, dear sister.”

“The black knight is only unknown to you, brother,” Weiss said smugly. “I know precisely who I've granted my favor to.”

“Is that why did your best to stymie all of father's attempts to negotiate a political marriage?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “I had thought that he went through with this tournament to find your spouse as a punishment for your recalcitrance by marrying you off to some strange brute.”

“I imagine he thought the same,” Weiss said smugly.

Whitley's eyebrows rose in surprise. “How devious. I didn't expect that from you, sister.”

“Neither did father,” Weiss said. “Ah, my knight is about to joust again.”

Sure enough, the black knight was lining up at the beginning of the run, having already accepted a lance. The knight's opponent was Neptune of House Vasilias, who had his helmet off, studying the black knight, before looking up at Weiss, who nodded to him. Neptune nodded in turn, before donning his own helmet.

A moment later the trumpets sounded, and the pair rode forward, the black knight picking up speed and lowering their lance, while Neptune stayed to the far side of the lists, trotting his horse with his lance high in the air. After passing the black knight slowed and raised their lance, and the crowd began to cheer.

“I had thought that Baron Neptune would fight for your hand,” Whitley said.

Weiss simply smiled. “Neptune and I are good friends. He knows why I would offer my favor to the black knight.”

“I see,” Whitley said.

“Besides, he seems to spend overmuch time with that rapscallion of a squire of his,” Weiss said. “I have my doubts about how ardently he truly pursued me at those balls.”

While Whitley choked, Weiss watched the black knight and Neptune exchange quiet words as they trotted away from the field. Weiss sighed with relief, happy that her friend had understood and hadn't put up a fight. While she was certain her knight would beat Neptune, the fewer battles the better. As much as she tried to be confident, there was no guarantee that the day would end in her favor.

Her worries seemed ungrounded as the hours passed. Several other knights, either friends of her or her sister, or simply those with a strong enough sense of chivalry not to want to stand in the way of her romantic choice, avoided actually tilting against the black knight, and those that had enough ambition to make the attempt found themselves swiftly defeated.

Throughout the day the crowd found themselves more and more excited as the black knight swiftly rose though the ranks of the competing knights. Some were swept up in the romanticism of an unnamed knight fighting for the love of their lady. Others were impressed by the show of skill when the black knight was forced to tilt. Some, however, simply enjoyed how angry the ever unpopular King Jacques looked, especially compared to the widely beloved Princess Weiss, who was delighted with every victory of her chosen knight.

Finally it was the last round, and Cardin, the third son of the Duke of Winchester, lined up against the black knight. Weiss was on the edge of her seat, hoping that, after so many successes, things wouldn't fall apart at the last moment. The black knight simply had to secure one more victory and they would be betrothed. A loss would mean that she was engaged to one of the worst possible candidates for her future happiness.

She needn't have worried. As with most of the jousts that day it was settled in a single pass, the black knight easily unseating the brutish son of a duke, much to cheers of the crowd (who knew Cardin simply from reputation, but it was a broadly known and foul reputation).

Weiss couldn't contain her happiness, bouncing with joy as she rushed down to the front of the stands again. Her father followed far more sedately, having long ago realized he'd been hoodwinked by his own daughter into letting her decide who she'd marry rather than securing some political advantage from her hand.

“Sir knight,” King Jacques ground out darkly. “Remove thy helmet and identify the man who will marry my daughter.”

With hardly a pause the knight doffed his helmet, revealing a young woman with silver eyes and red and black hair. “I am Dame Ruby of House Rose, your majesty, and it is my honor to marry your daughter."

“What- this- this is an outrage!” Jacques shouted. “You cannot marry my daughter!”

“I believe you'll find that your decree insisted whoever won the tournament won my hand, father,” Weiss said smugly. “Do you intend to break your word to the people of your kingdom, as well as the ancient tradition you invoked to find the suitor for a princess who reaches full majority unwed?”

He gritted his teeth. “She's a woman!”

Weiss grabbed Ruby's gauntleted hand. “I noticed, yes, and I also notice that the decree did not include any mention of the gender of the knight in question.”

Jacques froze, before turning to face his advisors, who all carefully avoided his gaze. It had taken every bit of her skill at wheedling, pleading, and in a few cases, literal blackmail, but Weiss had managed to modify the planned decree that her father had had his advisors write for him. She knew he'd be too lazy to pay much attention to the document, and avoiding naming the gender of the knight had easily slipped beneath his notice.

Jacques, despite his anger, took a moment to survey the crowd. While they had been shocked by the reveal, the general mood was strongly in favor of the match that they'd been cheering for for hours. While marriage between nobles always had an eye towards heirs, it wasn't too rare for the common folk, who married for love, to marry their own gender.

In the end he had no choice, simply gritting his teeth and putting on the most insincere smile imaginable. “Dame Ruby of House Rose, I congratulate you on your victory in the tournament. Tonight will be a feast, and I look forward to getting to know my future… daughter… in law.”

Ruby at least knew how to be gracious in victory. “I am honored, your majesty.”

At that point Weiss could contain herself no longer, throwing herself at Ruby and pressing a fierce kiss to her lips. A great cheer arose from the crowd, and soon a chant of 'Ruby!' was taken up.

Weiss wasn't foolish enough to believe that this was over, but she had won this round as surely as Ruby had won the tournament. Now she had to prepare for whatever her father decided to throw at her next… although this time it would be a 'them' preparing, and not just a 'her'.

#white rose week #white rose #rwby #fanfic #weiss schnee #ruby rose

44 notes · View notes

brokenmimir · 4 years

Text

The Painful Truth

White Rose Week 2020, Day 6: Forbidden Love

Crescent Rose, defender of the innocent, has long been wrapped up in her struggle with her arch-nemesis, Ice Queen. There's something she doesn't know, however, that is going to change her life forever.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24737287

“This was an amazing vacation,” Ruby hummed happily, her's and Weiss's bags in her arms. Normally she'd complain at least a little about Weiss forcing her to carry everything, but she was too happy to even think about it.

“It was, wasn't it,” Weiss said with a happy smile. “It was exactly what I needed.”

“Me too,” Ruby said, leaning back against her, smiling brightly.

All too soon, they reached their cars, and after one last kiss they paused hesitantly, before going their separate ways. Ruby had never dated anyone so seriously, never loved someone so much as she did Weiss, yet they still hadn't even discussed moving in together. It was strange, and if it wasn't so convenient she'd be upset about it, but after the last week touring Europe she knew where their relationship stood.

An hour later Crescent Rose, superhero extraordinaire, was on the streets, blurring with super speed as she tried to make up for lost time. As much as the last week away from home with the love of her life had made her incredibly happy, she still felt guilty, leaving the streets without her to protect them. Sure, there were other superheroes, but how many criminals had escaped and people been hurt because she decided to put her own happiness first?

She spent a while showing her presence around the city, and she was passing through the wealthiest shopping area when she paused at a window, staring wide eyed at the ring display. She'd never been one for jewelry, but Weiss was, and she suddenly imagined herself on one knee, giving a ring to her girlfriend. Did she dare do that? She knew she loved Weiss more than anything in the world, but marriage was a huge step… especially since she hadn't worked up the nerve to confess to being Crescent Rose, protector of the innocent.

The longer she looked at the rings, the more she wanted that. She didn't just want to be Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee any longer. She wanted to be Ruby Schnee… or Weiss Rose? Regardless, she wanted that. More than anything. It was time. That night, she would figure out how to say it, and she would finally reveal who she really was to Weiss.

Before she could finish her plans there was a scream, and she took off like a shot, skidding to a halt when she saw what was happening. Of course, of course her arch-nemesis would show up to ruin such a nice day.

“Ice Queen,” Crescent Rose drawled. “How nice to see you again.”

The woman turned towards her, scowling angrily under her mask. From what she could see Crescent Rose could tell that she was beautiful, with long white hair, bright blue eyes, and the slender build of a ballerina. She was dressed in her usual blue and white dress, with a mask covering part of her face, and her gloved hands on her hips as she glared at Crescent Rose.

“Of course you would be here,” Ice Queen snarled. “I suppose it was too much to hope for that your recent absence was permanent.”

She chuckled. “If you've never managed to kill me, did you really think some nobody would?”

“I suppose it would be disappointing if I wasn't the one who got to finish you off, Crescent Rose,” she hummed, before firing a blast of ice from her hands.

Crescent Rose was ready for it, dodging out of the way with her super speed, and once again the two descended into their long established dance. The Ice Queen sought to turn the terrain to her advantage, creating walls of ice and slick patches of ground, while Crescent Rose used her speed to avoid direct attacks while trying to find a way to get close enough to land a good hit. Neither made much headway, but it had been a long time since they'd had anything resembling a decisive encounter.

“It's been two years, Ice Queen,” Crescent Rose shouted as she managed to find a gap through her defenses, darting in to take back the high end scientific equipment that the woman had been stealing, no doubt parts for her latest scheme. “When are you going to give it up?”

“When will you accept that you cannot defeat me?” Ice Queen taunted.

“How 'bout never!” Crescent Rose shouted, faking her out and using her inhuman speed to reclaim the items. She then darted away, putting enough distance between them to let her, barely, avoid the counterattack. It was close, too close, but she made it through in one (not frozen) piece.

With a snarl Ice Queen made her usual exit, blasting a wave of ice in all directions, blocking vision and the ability to move, although at least she didn't endanger innocent people as a diversion like some villains did. She seemed to save her violence for the superheroes trying to stop her.

This time, though, Crescent Rose wasn't going to let her get away. Ice Queen was the only villain she'd never even come close to arresting in her heroic career, and if she wanted to make a life with Weiss, she needed to make sure that she was safe. Stopping the Ice Queen's reign of terror would go a long way towards that.

She dashed around the frozen area, not even attempting to cross through it, simply taking the long way around to replace the stolen goods, before running straight up the wall, letting her momentum carry her to the roof. Once there she ran in the direction she guessed Ice Queen would go, hoping against hope that she'd make it in time. She'd never really tried this approach before, usually spending more time making sure that the scene was secure, but as much as she wanted to stop her, she actually did trust her not to put innocents in danger during her escapes.

First time was the charm, as before she knew it she'd caught up with the Ice Queen, who was just about to climb into a waiting helicopter. She dived forward to grab her, but some sixth sense must've warned the villain at the last moment as she spun in place, firing a blast of ice, forcing Crescent Rose to cartwheel madly to safety. Momentum carried her forward, however, and she slammed into the super villain at great speed, taking them both down.

“You!” Ice Queen snarled, firing a point blank ice blast from her hands, even as Crescent rose tried to stop her. She managed to land one quick punch, rocking the woman's head to the side, before she was blasted away.

If it was anyone else, that would've been it. However, even as she tumbled end over end her incredible speed allowed her to process everything she saw in that fraction of an instant before she was thrown from the room. A glimpse under her mask as it came partially undone from the impact, so brief a shift that Ice Queen may not even have realized it happened, but it was enough for Crescent Rose to see the truth.

Hitting the ground two stories below didn't hurt nearly as badly as the realization that Ice Queen, Crescent Roses' arch enemy, was in fact Weiss Schnee, the woman Ruby loved.

#white rose week #white rose #ruby rose #weiss schnee #fanfic #rwby

44 notes · View notes

brokenmimir · 4 years

Text

The Curse of the Golden Hoard

White Rose Week 2020, Day 5: Curse

In Vale, success breeds misfortune as readily as failure.

(Sequel to The Ruby Eye of the Serpent King)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24718948 https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13615480/1/The-Curse-of-the-Golden-Hoard

Weiss rolled her eyes as Yang threw the door open, the solid oak banging against the interior wall loudly, drawing the attention of all of Beacon. Normally she would've been angry at the brute attracting the potential ire of as many dangerous people as routinely visited the small tavern, but in that moment she was too elated to care.

Still, appearances had to maintained, even if her heart wasn't in it. “Yang…”

“Sorry, ice queen,” Yang sang. “Guess I forgot my own strength. How 'bout I make it up to everyone with a round of drinks on me!”

“Yeah!” the room cheered, and Peter Port smiled behind his thick mustache as he began preparing drinks for the relaxing crowd, who were all discretely tucking away the weapons they had prepared against the forceful entry.

Yang strutted over to their usual table, throwing the heavy sack she'd been carrying down on it, making it clink suggestively for those with an ear for gold. Blake did the same, and then Ruby as well, until all three looked at her expectantly. Finally, with a long suffering sigh, Weiss heaved her own sack onto the table, privately enjoying the sound of their new fortune.

“We're going to be robbed the moment we step out of here,” Weiss complained as she sat down, an unrepentant Ruby hopping onto her lap with a grin. Weiss grunted a little at the weight, as for as petite as she looked, the barbarian girl was all densely packed muscle, built lean and wiry for maximum speed and agility.

“Like anyone can take us,” Yang snorted. “I don't know about anyone else, but I'm feeling good tonight!”

Blake grabbed their drinks, a glass of mead for Ruby and red wine for Weiss, and soon all four clinked their glasses together. “To friends and family!” Ruby cried.

“To a job well done,” Blake added.

“To having fun,” Weiss put in.

“To being filthy stinkin' rich!” Yang crowed, and all four downed their drinks. “Hey Port, another round on us!"

“There's no way we're going to make it back in safety after this,” Weiss said. “And you'd better not dip into our haul to pay for all of this; we haven't even divvied it up yet.”

“Ugh, you are such a killjoy,” Yang groaned. “Come on, live a little! When are we ever gonna get this much again. And it wasn't even illegal!”

“Well, not very illegal, anyway,” Blake drawled. “I'm sure we broke some laws. You can barely breathe in Vale with pissing off some magistrate.”

Weiss hummed thoughtfully. “The tower was probably owned by someone, for all that it's been abandoned since the Grimm attack centuries ago. Furthermore, we are supposed to declare any salvage for tax purposes. So on at least two levels we broke the law.”

“Ugh, Vale sucks,” Yang groaned, before taking a swig of her ale. “Of course, I can't party like this back home. Even if I brought back this good've a haul somehow the elders would've just taken it to 'spend on the village' and I'd be expected to go right back out there.

“So not that different,” Weiss chuckled. “Except here, everyone's so corrupt that no one is going to report you for not following the law. It's just a matter of if you can keep your ill gotten gains.”

Hours later, drunk with success and alcohol, the four girls staggered out of Beacon and onto the filthy streets of Vale. Not even stepping over a mugged corpse could get Ruby down that evening. Nothing could distract her from how right everything felt.

When she'd first arrived in Vale five months before she'd been an outsider, a barbarian unable to understand or accept anything about the city she'd been warned about her entire life. The first person she'd made a real connection to, Weiss, hadn't really simplified things, as the beautiful woman had represented everything her people had looked down upon about the city folk.

But somehow, after those few short months, full of combat, wealth, deprivation, magic, fear, and joy, they had bonded more strongly than she ever thought she could with an outsider. She spent more time with Weiss than she did her own sister, despite both of them being in the same city. And somehow, she wouldn't change a thing.

“Hey, which way should we go?” Yang asked, as she casually slugged an opportunistic moron in the jaw. His head snapped around, teeth flying, before he collapsed bonelessly onto the ancient cobblestones.

After pausing to rob the thieves of the few coppers they had, Blake pointed down the street. “Ruby's place is closer.”

“It's my flat,” Weiss grumbled. “I'm the one who signed the contract for it."

“Ruby's sounds good,” Yang agreed. “Come on sis, let's go crash you're place and split some loot.”

Weiss grumbled a little, but Ruby could tell that it was mostly for appearances, and even that stopped when she moved close enough to rest her head on the other woman's shoulder. Weiss actually blushed a little, which Ruby found more than a little funny. Weiss had no shame at all about nudity or sex, but honest, public affection made her quite embarrassed.

Once Yang and Blake had dealt with the criminals who had seen or heard about their largesse and its probably cause at Beacon, they made good progress, soon arriving at Weiss's apartment building. Unlike the cheap flophouses and rundown hovels that populated most of the poorer part of town, it was a newly renovated building, one only two blocks from the nicer living spaces that surrounded the Great Market. Obviously the owner either expected for merchants to be bold enough to make the journey through the crime ridden streets in exchange for cheaper rent, or they thought that the market district would soon grow to encompass the building. Either way, it was far nicer than it had any right to be, and had been available for a price that they could (barely) afford.

Once Weiss had the door unlocked they entered the main living area, and without a word all four began to dump their sacks out in the center of the floor. Coins and small gems made up the bulk of the haul, but a variety of statuettes, jewelry, and idols joined the growing pile. It was an impressive display of wealth, and for all that gold had relatively little allure for her, even she felt herself caught up in the moment, drooling over enough wealth to buy her village.

“Weiss,” Yang said distantly.

“Yes?”

“Remind me to team up with you more often,” Yang sighed joyfully.

Weiss smirked, tossing her ponytail over her shoulder smugly. “Of course. A little bit of research, and enough muscle to make it through some Grimm infested ruins, and we have more money than we know what to do with.”

“Little bit of research?” Ruby asked. “Weiss, you've done nothing but plan this thing for weeks now. I was actually getting a bit worried.”

“Why would you be worried?” Blake asked. “A good score always requires careful planning.”

“'Cause I've never seen Weiss fret over this kinda thing before,” Ruby said. “Usually Weiss doesn't worry about money at all. It was more than a little odd.”

“This was a lot of money,” Blake said, patting her sack.

“Not as much as the snake guy had,” Ruby pointed out.

“No,” Weiss grunted, before smirking. “But this is gold in my home. There's a big difference.”

“Hell yeah, there is,” Yang crowed, scooping up a handful of gold coins and tossing them in the air. “We're rich!”

It was far too late at night when they finally finished splitting the money, and with the help of a few bottles of wine that Weiss had gleefully shared, Blake and Yang were in no condition to walk home, so she graciously let them sleep on her floor near the fireplace for the night. With their own fortune secured in sacks, Weiss and Ruby retreated to their bedroom, where, after a brief moment of thought, she dumped the sacks on the center of the bed.

“What are you doing?” Ruby asked with a giggle.

“Just a fantasy of mine,” Weiss said, removing Ruby's cloak and letting it fall to the floor. With deft, well practiced fingers she swiftly stripped Ruby completely naked, taking a moment to admire her strong, lean form. As she always did she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to the scar she'd received fending off an assassin to save her life, before straightening up and shoving the barbarian back onto the bed.

“Hey! Ack!” Ruby complained. “That's cold.”

“If that's another ice queen joke,” Weiss grumbled as she straddled her lover.

“No, I mean, it's like, really cold,” Ruby said. “And kinda hard. And a little pointy.”

Weiss giggled like a child as she hovered over Ruby, sliding a hand through the gold and gems covering her bed. “Ah, come on. I've always wanted to make love in a pile of gold, and this is my chance. You're not going to say no, are you?”

Ruby just smiled up at her. “How much wine have you had to drink, anyway?”

She giggled again. “Way too much.”

Instead of replying Ruby pulled her down, and the two began to kiss, quickly growing heated as hands wandered. Eventually Ruby started trying to pull at Weiss's clothing, and she pulled back, standing from the bed.

“What?” Ruby panted.

“Just stay there,” Weiss said, before slowly, sensually beginning to remove her own clothing. She'd seen many, many dances put on to entertain crowds and rile up guests for more personal services, and while she'd never felt a need to put on such a show for a lover, she put every bit of her grace into it, the slight stumbles her drunkenness caused interfering very little with the display. Ruby's silver eyes were wide open, and Weiss grinned like the cat who caught the canary as she finally stripped the last item away, letting the silken undergarment drift to the ground.

She straddled Ruby again, but before she continued she spotted a piece of treasure sitting beside her lover. It was the appropriate size and shape, and with a wicked grin she picked it up, before leaning down and kissing Ruby again.

“Ack! Cold!”

Ruby wasn't sure what woke her up. Normally after so much mead and intimacy with Weiss she'd sleep the whole night through, but something pulled at her consciousness. It was a cold feeling, and at first she mentally blamed the treasure pile that Weiss had insisted they sleep on like they were legendary dragons. It wasn't quite that, however. The cold was deeper, in her heart, and she found herself shivering despite the blankets and warm body next to her.

Opening her eyes, she couldn't really see anything. It was dark, even darker than it should've been, as normally some dim light made it through the windows even deep in the heart of the night. She swallowed thickly, knowing on some level that something was wrong, although she couldn't put her finger on what. The same deep, primal sense that warned her when a dangerous beast was lurking about in the wilderness told her something was very, very wrong.

“Weiss, Weiss, wake up,” she whispered, still slowly turning her head from one side to the other as she tried to make out something in the pitch blackness. “Weiss.”

“Ughhhh,” Weiss groaned, shifting slightly closer and tossing a leg over her hip. “Again? You're starting to wear even me out.”

“Weiss, something's wrong,” Ruby whispered.

“Yeah, you're not asleep,” Weiss mumbled. “I promise, I'll do whatever you want… in the morning. Just need a… a little more sleep.”

“That's not… ugh,” Ruby groaned as Weiss fell back asleep. With a sigh she pushed her lover away, standing up stiffly and stumbling from the bed, coins and other valuables falling to the floor in a cascade of invisible gold. The sound seemed strangely dampened, however, as the heavy metal should've been louder falling more than a foot onto the wooden floor.

“I am never going to sleep on money again,” Ruby whimpered, rubbing her back and wincing when she dislodged a coin that had managed to embed itself into her flesh. No, she definitely wasn't doing that again, no matter how excited her weird fantasy had made Weiss.

It was hard finding her clothing in total darkness, especially since she'd been a bit distracted by Weiss while she'd stripped her. Once she finally had something on she reclaimed her battle scythe and carefully opened the door to the rest of the apartment, not wanting to risk walking in on her sister and Blake having their own celebration.

Instead, it was pitch black as well, but she could hear muffled snoring coming from the center of the room. “Blake? Yang?”

They didn't respond, even when she called again, and with her heart pounding in her throat she stumbled through the room, heading to where Weiss kept a candle for dark nights. Usually they navigated just fine by starlight, but sometimes her lover wanted to read in the evening, and she had to have something for that.

Normally finding the candle in the dark wouldn't have been difficult, but it felt like she was somehow being watched, like danger was all around her, ready to pounce. The longer she spent in that dark, quiet room, the more she felt vulnerable, like she was being hunted by an unknown predator. With unsteady hands she finally grasped the fine beeswax candle, a gift from herself to replace the stinky, smokey tallow Weiss had been using, and she pulled flint and steel from her pouch.

It was only as she tried to strike the tinder that she realized how badly her hands were shaking. She actually paused in her work in surprise, not quite able to believe it. It felt like it had been years since she'd had such a strong, useless reaction to fear, and yet here she was, shaking like a child on her first hunt. For the first time she was almost glad that it was dark, since it meant that no one could see her weakness.

After taking several long, deep breaths to gather herself Ruby finally regained her control, striking the flint and steel to produce strangely dull sparks. It took several tries, but finally the tinder took, and then the wick thereafter, lighting the candle.

It did almost nothing for the darkness. The large candle should've provided enough light to easily make out the room, but instead it seemed to be little more than a single point in the middle of a deep, dark blackness. She couldn't even see the walls of the room, and it was far from being so large as to make that reasonable.

Something was very, very wrong.

Ruby quickly, methodically searched the apartment. It wasn't very large, but with her light the way it was she had to take her time looking everywhere. Everything was as it should be, with no signs of intruders or anything else strange, other than the muffling of all sound and dampening of all light.

Yang and Blake were still asleep, which she supposed was strange in its own right. Yang was a heavy sleeper, but normally it was impossible to do anything without waking Blake up. Even a shift in the pattern of your breathing would cause her cat ears to twitch warily, but Ruby was able to crouch over her, burning candle in hand, without it disturbing her dreams.

With nothing wrong inside of the apartment, Ruby decided to check one last thing before waking up the others. Opening the door, she crept outside, looking about warily, before heading down to the street. While they were usually dark at night, with most honest citizens (for some meaning of the term) carrying lanterns if they had some business at that late of an hour, the stars and distant buildings usually gave enough illumination for her trained eyes to navigate the streets.

Instead Ruby looked around, frowning at the excessive dimness, before deciding to walk a bit to see where the dimming effect began and ended. She had only begun to walk when she spotted a body lying against the side of the building. She almost moved on, her time in Vale having conditioned her to ignore peopleliving or dead lying in the street, something that had been difficult to get used to after growing up in insular, tightly knit Patch. Without Weiss or Blake around to scold her for it, she decided to check on the person.

They were a woman of more than twice her years, with a face made up with powders and creams to seem younger, if poorly,something severely undermined by black streaks under her eyes. She was dressed in very little clothing, and from what Ruby could guess, were she younger and more attractive, the Weiss she had first met upon arriving in Vale would probably have paid for her services.

She also shouldn't have been passed out in the streets, without any sign of injury or intoxication causing her collapse. Ruby checked her pulse, and was relieved to find it, although it seemed slow, sluggish. She tried to shake her awake, but she didn't react at all, and it was then that she noticed something else odd. The black streaks, which she had assumed had come from tears mixing with kohl, were slimy and thick, and her eyes widened when she realized that their was a black streak on the wall behind her as well. It was hard to tell in the dim light, but if she had to guess, she'd say that the black ooze ran straight up the wall towards her window.

Ruby's fear sharpened, no longer seeming quite so baseless. She might've been able to dismiss her instincts crying out that something was wrong, or even somehow assumed that the muffling of sound and light were only in her head. But this was far more suspicious, and the only thing that kept her from running up the stairs was the burning candle in her hands, and how difficult it had been for her to light it in the first place.

As she hurried back towards the door she noticed two more bodies, this time a pair of laborers, tall and strong, collapsed near the street corner. While the woman may have been taking a break in the alley before continuing her walk or job, they were obviously taken by surprise, simply collapsing on the spot without a word. It was enough to make her speed up her step, using the arm holding her scythe to shield her candle as best as she could from the wind of her movement.

When she reached her door she paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, leaning her deployed battle scythe against her shoulder so that she could carefully open the door without setting down her candle. It creaked open, and the gloom within was somehow even thicker, more impenetrable than before. The candle barely seemed to do anything, but she could somehow see something moving in the dark.

“Yang? Blake? Weiss?”

There was no response, but she heard something shifting in the room. Jaw tightening, she stepped inside, carefully shutting the door before her, before raising her scythe, choking up her grip to provide control one handed. It was a poor way to fight, but without better lighting she had no choice.

She slowly made her way across the room, eyes darting about, her heart jumping every time she saw something move, but every time it was simply her eyes playing tricks on her. Every figure was a piece of furniture, every attacker was naught but a shadow shadow, every monster an illusion when examined properly in the dim light.

When she reached her sister she nudged her with a toe. “Yang. Yang… Yang!”

She didn't move, didn't react. Finally, Ruby looked down, only to gasp at what she saw. Trailing down her face were the same thick, slimy black trails, as something apparently poured from her eyes, before being drawn across the room in the direction of the bedroom. One final glance at Blake to verify the same thing, and she was moving towards the bedroom door, keeping one eye on the slime trail while looking around for danger.

She didn't even bother opening the door, simply kicking it open, the loud slam a barely audible thud. Looming over the bed, over Weiss, was the most hideous creature she had ever seen.

It was thin, with long, spindly limbs, the feet coming to a single, sharp point, while the arms ended in three long, slender claws. The rest of the body was like a human shadow, angular and distorted, but recognizable in form, with bony plates scattered here and there, notably a skull and ribs. The face was vaguely human in shape under the bone, with burning red coals for eyes, and a gaping, fang filled maw.

Without hesitating she lunged forward, swinging her scythe in a broad, desperate stroke, hitting nothing but air. Unfortunately, the fast motion made the candle gutter out to almost nothing, and she was reduced to standing perfectly still, knowing there was a monster in the dark, unable to do a thing to stop it. She tried to listen, tried to feel the motion of the air, or see something in the dim ember of candle light, but it was like being wrapped in a blanket of night. All was still, silent, and shadowed.

After far too long the candle finally stopped sputtering, and Ruby turned about looking for the monster once more. It was when she had turned halfway around that she saw it, the thing having moved behind her, ready to attack once more. She swung her scythe again, trying her best to shield the candle with her body, but once again the tiny light failed, and she could do nothing but stand still, desperately hoping to find it before it could attack her again.

Then she felt the claws dig into her back. She reacted instantly to the sneak attack, diving forward into a roll that ended with her swinging her scythe, and this time, finally, she made contact. The monster broke its silence with a loud, terrible screech, which tore through her, scraping her bones for marrow and hollowing out her heart, leaving nothing but ice and fear behind.

This time she could hear it moving, the dullness slightly receded, and she didn't even hesitate, dropping the now completely snuffed candle on the ground as she spun in place, swinging her scythe right towards where she was sure the monster was. She made contact once again, and this blow sheared through something, and a moment later she heard something thump onto the floor, before the shrieking renewed.

Unfortunately her next swing missed, and her follow up hit the wall, so she paused, holding her scythe in both hands, trying to slow her breathing as she listened for the monster once again. She almost lashed out when she heard another sound, only to pause as she recognized Weiss's voice, even if she couldn't hold onto the words passing through her ears and mind. She shuddered, the motion agitating the cut on her back, and then the room was finally illuminated.

Weiss, nude and beautiful as ever, crouched on the bed, her sword in hand covered in a pale, spectral blue flame. She looked weak, her hand trembling, unable to fully stand as she held the weapon as high as she could through her enervation, trying to provide the best light she could. Ruby could see the lines of black slime down her own face, as whatever had happened to the others has been done to her as well.

Then Ruby turned, reacting almost before she sensed it, swinging her scythe once more at the monster. It was looming behind her once more, its left hand missing from her earlier attack, and, finally able to see, Ruby aimed her swing directly towards its neck. The scythe cut through, and the head bounced away, breaking down into the same black ooze before turning into the oily, smokey fog of a dead Grimm, its body slowly following.

“Weiss!” Ruby shouted, lowering her scythe and turning to her lover. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” she rasped, raising a shaking hand to her face, rubbing away the slime with a look of disgust. “What the hell was that?”

Weiss had never felt so completely drained in her life. Not after performing all night magical rituals with Cinder and the others, not after the frantic, desperate sword training lessons her sister gave her before she left to become a mercenary, not even after the wild, week long benders that dragged her to half the houses of ill repute in the city trying to forget everything. It was as though every bit of energy had been ripped from her body, leaving nothing but exhaustion in its place.

She'd used what little energy she had left to cleanse and bind Ruby's injury, the process wearing her out so badly that her lover had been forced to dress her, as she could do little more than slowly shift her limbs by the time the process was complete. Ruby had, much to her protestations, actually carried her into the main room, where she set her on a large chair and lit several candles.

Blake and Yang stirred sluggishly, Blake finally sitting up and blinking dazedly around the room. She didn't even seem to the notice the slime on her face, her nearly vacant expression only gaining a little focus when she saw them. “Weiss… Ruby. What happened?”

“Grimm,” Ruby answered. “I've never seen anything like it.”

Blake blink a couple of times, before starting to stand only to collapse when her legs wouldn't support her weight. She blinked down at them, an expression of betrayal on her face, before looking back up at Ruby for answers.

“I don't know,” Ruby said. “Weiss's the same, and I think it wasn't just us. There were some people in the street the same way.”

Weiss gathered her strength for a moment, before speaking, her voice small and weak. “The Grimm must've gained strength by taking ours. Given enough time we'd be dead, and it probably would've expanded the area effected. This whole block probably would've died before anyone noticed if Ruby hadn't stopped it.”

“How come you weren't effected?” Blake demanded.

“I dunno,” Ruby said. “I just… woke up. When this whole thing started. Dunno know why.”

Weiss sighed, leaning back into her seat as Blake and Ruby talked. She was too tired to really maintain a conversation, but she hadn't wanted to lapse into silence while Ruby was obviously upset. She smiled slightly, glad for the diversion, as she let herself mentally drift.

She had managed to fall asleep again, only to awaken when the smell of cooking bacon filled the air. They rarely made their own food, with Weiss knowing nothing about how to do so, and Ruby being limited to roasting fresh game over a campfire, but Yang had somehow picked up some real cooking skills, and when she came back to herself it was to the sight of the exhausted blonde hunched over the fireplace, slowly poking at crisping bacon in a pan, bread sitting on the stone nearby to heat.

“You're awake!” Ruby said.

“Mmm,” she hummed. “Did anything happen?”

“Uh… good news or bad news?” Ruby asked, moving to sit beside her on the seat.

Weiss narrowed her eyes. “How bad?”

“Uh… we're all alive, so it could be worse news,” Ruby hedged.

Weiss frowned. “So, very bad news.”

“Kinda,” Ruby agreed with a wince.

Weiss groaned in dismay. “How about good news… then breakfast… then bad news.”

Yang chuckled. “Gotta recharge before the bad?”

“Well, the good news is we're all alive,” Ruby said brightly. “The Grimm's gone, and the longer they've been up the better they've been feeling.”

“Yeah, you really need to put some meat on those bones, Weiss,” Yang taunted. “You're the only one who fell back asleep.”

Weiss glowered at her, not even breaking her expression when the other woman handed her a plate of food. “I also helped Ruby deal with the Grimm, while you two slept right through it.”

“Details,” Yang dismissed.

As annoying as the woman was, she prepared a filling meal. The fresh, hot bread was slathered with honey and fruit preserves, and the bacon was crispy, just the way she liked it. After crunching on a piece she groaned ecstatically. “Alright… you get to live.”

“How kind of you,” Blake drawled, although Weiss noticed she hadn't even looked up from her own breakfast.

Once they were all finished, Weiss leaned back against Ruby, a smile on her face as she finally felt a bit more human. “Okay, so what's the bad news.”

“Um… maybe it's better if you see for yourself.”

“See for myself?”

“Yeah… why don't you check our room.”

It was another typical night at Beacon, with Weiss nursing her red wine while Ruby sipped at her mead. Blake and Yang had gone elsewhere for the evening, probably driven off by Weiss's smoldering temper. Even most of a day after finding out the truth, her lover still wasn't over it.

“I can't believe it was all trash,” Weiss grumbled again.

Ruby chuckled. “Well, you know… easy come, easy go.”

Weiss glared at her, before sighing and slumping against the table. “But there was so much!”

The golden treasures they'd taken from the abandoned tower had turned out to be anything but valuable. With the Grimm cursing it dead, the treasure had turned out to be nothing but corroded scraps, rusty iron, and broken clay and pewter bits. Weiss hadn't been able to determine whether the fake treasure and associated Grimm had been an intentional trap placed by the tower's former owner, or if it had been something put together by the Grimm seeking gullible treasure hunters to prey upon, but either way they had been left with nothing.

“What's really bothering you?” Ruby asked.

“What do you mean?” Weiss asked, her back tensing slightly.

“Weiss, you're the one who taught me what 'easy come easy goes' means,” Ruby pointed out. “Usually you're the first one to shrug that kinda stuff off. So why're you so upset now?”

Weiss was quiet for a long time, before finally sighing. “You know our apartment?”

“Uh huh,” Ruby hummed. “What about it?”

“Before… before we moved in together… before we got together, I didn't have anything beyond what I could carry,” Weiss said. “Just a belt pouch of money, the clothes on my back, and my ancestral sword. Otherwise, I would fight or steal to fill my pouch, and then find someone's bed to sleep in for the night. It's been… years since I've had a room that required a lease. I haven't… I haven't had a home since I left Schnee Manor.”

“What's wrong with that?” Ruby asked.

“Everything,” Weiss sighed. “And nothing. I guess… I was used to a lifestyle once, where I had roots, and books, and fancy candles, and staff cooking me meals, and a warmed bed ready for me at night. All with a steady roof over my head and no risk of losing it all. Well, no risk until I chose to throw it away. Then I had nothing to lose, but that meant I had nothing at all. I was rudderless, alone in crowds, with nothing to depend on, and nothing depending on me.

“But now… I don't want that anymore. I want a life with you. With a home, and a bed, and the security not to need to run when things go wrong. Money… money had no value to me when my family had so much of it, and no value to me when I needed no more than I could take in a day. But now… now I don't want to risk losing this… this life we're building.”

“I had no idea,” Ruby said, taking her hand. “This has been really bothering you, hasn't it?”

“It should bother you, too,” Weiss said. “Vale chews up and spits people out. That was fine when I didn't care what happened to me tomorrow, but I don't want that anymore. I want… I want a tomorrow, not just a today. And a tomorrow requires more than odd jobs and petty crimes.”

“Then we'll find more.”

“It's not that simple,” Weiss said.

Ruby grinned at her. “It's only not simple if you make it not simple. Besides, even if something does go wrong, I know how to live in the forest with nothing at all. We'll figure out how to get by, I promise.”

“Dolt,” Weiss said, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, who's worrying about silly stuff here,” Ruby said. “You know, you should share this stuff with me. We're in this together, you know? You don't have to worry alone.”

“I- huh,” Weiss said, leaning back in her seat. “I suppose you're right.”

“Of course I am,” Ruby said with a grin. “Now, how 'bout I get us another round of drinks, and then we can figure out what we can do next, since I guess we have to pay money to that landlord guy every month.”

“Sure,” Weiss said with a smile. “Together.”

#white rose week #white rose #ruby rose #weiss schnee #rwby #fanfic

26 notes · View notes

brokenmimir · 4 years

Text

A Desperate Prayer

White Rose Week 2020, Day 4: goddess AU

Ruby Rose is being chased by a terrible monster, when she prays for salvation. It probably works out better for her than for the goddess she unknowingly prayed to.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24700954

Ruby ran, slipping and sliding, scrambling across the uneven ground. She'd spent much of her childhood playing at the edges of the forest, even going deeper than the other children, deeper than was prudent, but she'd always been an adventurous girl, and despite the reports of Grimm in the wilderness, she'd never seen anything so dangerous herself. Running into a monster actually sounded like an exciting adventure to the peasant girl.

The truth of the Grimm was nothing like she'd imagined. The Beowolf was enormous, a hulking beast of black fur and white bone, looming larger than a man, with claws as sharp as swords and longer than knives. Even just one Beowolf had been far, far more of a threat than she could possibly handle, and she'd hoped to run back to town before the monster caught her.

Unfortunately, whether through malign intellect or poor luck, Ruby found herself continuously turned away from the town, until she was running ever deeper in the now sinister woods. No matter what she did she could neither lose the Beowolf, nor find a way back towards safety. As minutes passed and the stitch in her side grew, she slowly began to realize that her foolishness had caused her death.

Then the ground gave way beneath her, and she tumbled down into a chasm that she hadn't seen from above. When she finally slid to a stop, battered and bruised, she took a moment to appreciate the intertwined branches of the trees, which had done a marvelous job of holding a carpet of leaves in place, hiding the drop from her view.

While part of her hoped that the Beowolf would miss her, she suspected that it was more likely to fall down on top of her, and so despite her pain she staggered to her feet, looking around wildly, hoping to see something that could save her. With some surprise she saw a stone statue covered in ivy standing at the center of the chasm.

For some strange reason she felt drawn to it, and without even pausing to think she tore the ivy and other growths away, her breath catching in her throat as she took in the beautiful statue. It was of a goddess, one long lost to the people of Patch, but obviously once well loved, as the marble statue was the work of a devoted master. If the strange goddess resembled her sculpture then she was truly beautiful, and just looking at her took Ruby's breath away.

She came back to herself when she heard the scrape of the Beowolf moving above, and her eyes widened as she realized that she was caught. There was no way that she could climb out of the chasm without the Beowolf catching her, and she had no weapons to even attempt to fight back with. Suddenly struck with a feeling of wild desperation, she threw herself to her knees in front of the statue and clasped her hands in prayer.

“Oh… um, whoever you are?” Ruby breathed. “I've never seen you before, and I don't know your name, or if you're listening, or, uh, whatever. But you're really pretty, and I'm in so much trouble. If you're listening, then please, please, please save me. I know I'm just some nobody from Patch, but please, I promise to be really faithful and do what you want if I can live through this.”

For a moment nothing happened, and then a voice spoke, making Ruby almost jump out of her skin. “Hmph. That was a terrible prayer.”

“S-sorry,” Ruby gasped after looking around. “I didn't mean to be a bad prayer-person, but I'm really, really in trouble. Please, please help me.”

“And why should I help you if you don't even know who I am?”

“'Cause you're nice?”

“Meh,” the voice said. “My power isn't exactly infinite you know, since nobody worships me these days. Why should I spend what I do have saving you?”

“Because… because…” Ruby scrambled for a moment, trying to think of something, anything to convince the goddess, who she really hoped she wasn't hallucinating, to help her. There was a growl behind her, and a snapping sound as the Beowolf slashed apart some of the branches to reveal the chasm. “You don't have many worshippers, right? I'll worship you! I'll be the bestest worshipper ever! And- and I'll tell everyone about how great you are, and try to get them to worship you too! Please, your goddessness, please save me.”

“Weiss.”

“Huh?”

“My name, you dolt,” the voice snapped. “It's Weiss. And did you really mean that?”

The Beowolf jumped down with a crash, and only its sadistic desire to draw out her death was keeping her alive anymore. “Yes!"

“Swear yourself to me, mortal.”

“I, Ruby Rose, swear myself to Weiss!"

“Not exactly a classical ceremony, but I suppose beggars can't be choosers,” Weiss sighed. “Fine, then. I claim you, Ruby Rose, to be the new High Priestess of my Faith. Be appropriately awed.”

“Thanks! Um… what about the Beowolf?”

“The gods help those who help themselves,” Weiss sniffed. “But I suppose, as my new high priestess, I can lend you a bit of power. Picture a weapon.”

Ruby turned to face the Grimm, which was now mere feet away from her. Without anytime to think she pictured the first weapon that popped into her head, the tool that she'd used to harvest her father's farm each fall. In moments a large, red scythe, covered in strange runes, appeared in her hands.

“Ugh, a scythe?” Weiss grumbled. “Really?”

Before Ruby could reply the Beowolf lunged at her, and with a shout that was more panicked terror than bold war cry she swung the weapon, catching the monster in the side. From the stories she'd heard most weapons had great difficulty penetrating the thick, bony hide of a Grimm, but the scythe cut through it without pause, reaping the monster with no more difficulty than a stalk of wheat. It fell to the ground in two halves, and then swiftly disintegrated into black smoke.

“I- I did it!” Ruby shouted.

“So you did,” Weiss mused. “Hmm… well, it may have looked silly, but you swung it well. Congratulations on surviving.”

“Thanks!” Ruby said brightly, turning back to face the statue. “Um, uh… what now?”

“Now?” Weiss asked. “Well, I suppose I will need to teach you about my religion, so that you can spread my faith as promised, high priestess. And so you can properly follow the new faith you've sworn yourself to.”

“Oh, uh, right,” Ruby said sheepishly. “Uh… what exactly are you the goddess of?”

“Knowledge and the Written Word,” Weiss said proudly. “It was I who gave the gift of Literacy to mankind, so that they could record all the Knowledge of the World. As my priestess you must be wise and learned. I think, before we begin your religious education, we'll need to start with your mundane one. How many languages do you know? Four? Five?”

“Uh… this one?”

There was a long pause. “Tell me you're at least literate, and not some peasant bumpkin?”

Ruby chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head as her new goddess groaned in frustration.

#white rose week #white rose #ruby rose #weiss schnee #fanfic #rwby

49 notes · View notes

brokenmimir · 4 years

Text

Storm Tossed Love

White Rose Week 2020, Day 3: Secret Relationship AU

Captain Weiss Schnee, Bane of Pirates and Hero of Whitebay, pursues her arch-nemesis Ruby Rose, captain of the notorious pirate ship Crescent Rose, in what definitely isn't a unique form of flirting.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24683041

The bow of the Myrtenaster cut through the choppy waves, the strong tailwind from the brewing storm driving them forward. All hands were on deck, with some crew busily rigging safety lines, while others were in position to instantly react to the storm gusts, belaying pins at the ready to adjust the sheets at a moment's notice.

“Captain, we're cutting it too close,” Neptune said, his eyes wild as he flinched at another flash of lightning.

“You're greener than your gills, Lieutenant Vasilias,” Captain Weiss Schnee sneered, not even pausing for a moment from where she was peering through her telescope.

“But captain, this is madness!” he tried again. “We're going to dash apart on the rocks! Even without this wind it'd be too tight, and at this speed we'll never make it! We're gonna rip our keel right out from under us! You have to pull away from the coast!”

“And put that storm to our starboard?” Weiss scoffed. “If you wish to capsize us with one of those waves feel free to turn us about, but I'd prefer not to drown, lieutenant.”

There was a loud snap, and then a cry of distress, as one of the sheets snapped, unable to withstand the strain any longer. The rope shot across the deck with great force, taking one of the sailors in the head and knocking him off of his feet. When he didn't move Weiss pursed her lips in displeasure. He may have been a fresh rating from their last port, but he was still one of her's.

“There!” Weiss shouted, lowering her telescope. “Get that sheet fixed, now gentlemen! Miss Soleil, hard o' port when I give the word! Then follow my directions promptly! Miss Nikos, ready the cannons! We're only going to get one clean shot at this, but after is a different story. We may well lose those pirates in the storm if we can't cripple them.”

“Aye, ma'am!” both women called.

Weiss leaned against the railing, gripping it tightly as she strained her eyes trying to make out what she'd seen earlier in the dim light. The section of Anima they were sailing around was a mess of reefs and rocky islets, with only the bravest or most foolhardy daring to come so close to the coastline, even in fair weather. With a massive storm pushing them too fast forward and whipping the seas into a frothy mess, it was anything but fair weather.

“Now, Miss Soleil, hard o' port!” Weiss shouted.

Neptune screamed in terror, gripping to the railing with both his arms and legs, while the rest of the crew held onto the safety lines and Soleil grunted, turning the wheel hard despite the currents and waves trying to resist the movement of the rudder. Just when it seemed that the ship would balk, they finally came about just enough, and moments later they shot through a gap between a coastal cliff and a rocky islet, one barely narrow enough for the three masted warship to pass through without scraping the sides.

“Now, hard o' starboard!” Weiss cried.

With a groan of straining timber the ship came about, a miniature whirlpool in the lee of the cliffs helping to propel them out towards the ocean, putting them just to the outside of huge, rocky protrusion barely visible through the storm-driven breakers.

“Ship sighted!” the lookout shouted. “Ahead of us, past the coast! Black flag… it's the Crescent Rose!”

“We've got her,” Weiss crowed. “Hard o' port when I say the word, Miss Soleil, and ready those guns, Miss Nikos! It'll be a fast shot, but we should get our whole broadside to bear!”

“Aye, aye, ma'am!” Pyrrha answered.

Neptune, who had apparently found the courage to open his eyes, lost any bravery he had as he shrieked. “There's a reef ahead! We're gonna run into it! We have to turn to starboard!”

Weiss rolled her eyes. “Turn to port on my mark, Miss Soleil.”

“You're gonna drown us all!” Neptune wailed.

“Now, hard o' port!”

With the trust earned over years of hard sailing, Ciel Soleil followed Weiss's word over the evidence of her own eyes, turning the ship to port and sending them speeding directly towards the huge reef before them. Past it was open water, as the small protrusion of coast that they had been lapping around gave way to offer a straight shot to open sea… as well as the pirate ship that Weiss was just beginning to make out in front of them.

Just as they were about to crash to their deaths, another high, storm tossed wave lifted their ship, and with inches at best to spare they were tossed over the reef, a move impossible in any weather but such a powerful storm, and even then it being high tide was the only thing that let them clear the reef. Like a watermelon seed spat from the lip of the coast they flew out into the open water, carrying such momentum that the pirate ship, if it had even spotted their ship sailing in a place no sane captain would dare to take their crew, had no chance to react.

“Fire!” Pyrrha Nikos shouted, and the guns of the Myrtenaster called their full throated roar of battle.

Weiss turned her attention to the Crescent Rose, finally spotting her target where she stood on her own quarterdeck. Ruby Rose, the most infamous privateer to ever accept letters of marque from Vale, stared at Weiss with a completely gobsmacked expression on her face. She barely reacted as a cannonball shot just past her, slamming into the mizzenmast with a shower of splinters. Weiss could do nothing but smirk in satisfaction as the pirates scrambled madly, completely unprepared for her attack.

Unfortunately, that proved to be the only truly great blow of what became a desperate, running battle against ship and storm. Even with one mast badly damaged, and a fair bit of rigging fouled, the single, rapid broadside did far too little damage to the pirate ship to truly slow them down, and by the time Weiss was able to bring the Myrtenaster back into combat position, fighting the weather the whole way, Ruby Rose had gotten her crew ready, and it was her turn to demonstrate her mastery of sailing by somehow losing them in storm tossed darkness.

When the sun finally rose Weiss snarled, slamming an angry fist into the railing as the first rays of the morning sun finally revealed the pirate ship in the distance. The Crescent Rose had taken a different course than Weiss had predicted, leaving them out of position for a proper intercept until long after they reached Mistral waters, whose junks would fiercely maintain the neutrality between even an Atlesian warship and a Valean pirate.

“Damn her for a fish,” Weiss growled. “We had her.”

Pyrrha, who had come up beside her, simply chuckled. “Almost. Will we pursue?”

“No,” Weiss said, with a sigh. “We won't catch her. As loathe as I am to compliment a Valean ship, much less a pirate one, the Crescent Rose has more speed than we do in stern chase, especially with this much tail wind. No, she's gone, and we might as well give up the hunt for the day.”

“Will we return to Solitas then?” Pyrrha asked.

Weiss shook her head. “No, we need to resupply, and we can perhaps get some information as well. Lieutenant Vasilias?”

“Ma'am?”

“Stand down the men and take the watch. We're bound for Argus, if you think you can manage it.”

“Of course I can,” he said, puffing out his chest proudly. “My father-”

“Bought you a commission you didn't earn, and ensured you took up otherwise useful deck space on my ship,” Weiss interrupted. “Miss Nikos? If you could ensure that the Lieutenant doesn't sail us to Menagerie or Sanus while I get some rack time?”

“Aye, aye ma'am,” Pyrrha said, squinting at the coast. “We should reach Argus before the night watch.”

Weiss nodded to her, before heading to a cabin. Once there she collapsed on her bed with a sigh. It had been a long night, but an exhilarating one, although if Neptune Vasilias didn't shape up he'd find himself going for a long swim soon. Still, despite her lack of success it wasn't all bad. She'd remember Ruby's expression for the rest of her life; it wasn't often that she truly surprised the unpredictable pirate.

That evening, freshly washed and wearing a starched uniform, Weiss strolled down the gangway and onto the dock. Argus was a large city, one founded with a mix of Atlesians and Mistralians, although it was legally a part of Mistral, and thus neutral in the war between Atlas and Vale.

Weiss pointedly ignored the murmuring crowd as she moved through the city. When she first gained her captaincy, many said that it was because of her father's influence, the same way that Neptune's officer position was received. To be honest, that was the reason she initially became a lieutenant under Captain, now Commodore, Port, but she had long ago learned to be a good officer, and he had selected her to take control of the Myrtenaster after his promotion. Perhaps one day, after a few tough lessons, Neptune would be the same.

Or, perhaps not.

Weiss soon found her way to a small, relatively quiet inn near the docks. Most of her crew would be partying in the rowdier areas, and she hoped that Pyrrha could them in hand. She, however, had different evening plans than drinking herself silly.

The room went still and quiet when she stepped inside, but she ignored the stares and walked up to the man behind the bar. “I'm expected.”

“R-room four,” he stammered.

She nodded, and walked up the stairs, and soon she took a deep breath, adjusting her long, white braid under its stiff tricorne one last time, before knocking. In moments the door flew open, to reveal a grinning, silver eyed rapscallion, who grabbed her still raised fist and dragged her inside by it, tossing her onto the bed.

“Oof!” she grunted. “Ruby!”

“Weiss!” the pirate captain cheered, closing the door and then hopping on top of her. “Did you have to almost blow my head off!?”

Weiss sniffed. “If you let a little ambush like that get you then you'd deserve it.”

“Little ambush, she says,” Ruby grumbled. “I'm gonna be in port for, like, a month, maybe two fixing that mast. I'm gonna punish you for what you did to my Crescent Rose.”

“N-now Ruby, let's not be hasty.”

“Now you say that,” Ruby pouted. “Last time I damaged the Myrtenaster I couldn't sit down for a week.”

“Well, you deserved it, being a notorious scalawag,” Weiss sniffed. “Damaging my ship. Reprehensible.”

“Yeah, well… I'll reprehen-that thing you”

“Reprehensible isn't a verb,” Weiss snorted.

“Well, uh… you aren't a verb. So there!”

Weiss crossed her arms and gave her an unimpressed look, only to be interrupted by giggles as Ruby began to tickle her. “No, stop, stop!”

“Imagine if people knew that the great, scary Captain Schnee, Bane of Pirates and Hero of Whitebay, was so ticklish. And a giggler.”

“I'm not a giggler!” Weiss shouted, only to break out into another fit of giggles as Ruby began tickling her again. “Stop, stop!”

“I'll think about it… maybe,” Ruby mused, before tickling her again.

“I'll- I'll make it worth your while,” Weiss gasped.

“Oh?” Ruby asked. “How's that?”

Weiss looked up at her through her eyelashes, cheeks flushed and eyes dancing with happiness. “A kiss.”

“I dunno,” Ruby said. “I do like kisses…”

Weiss then grinned, waggling her eyebrows. “You'll like where I'm putting this kiss, sailor.”

Ruby grinned back. “Aye, aye, Captain Schnee.”

#white rose week #white rose #fanfic #ruby rose #weiss schnee #rwby

31 notes · View notes

brokenmimir · 4 years

Text

New Notebook

White Rose Week 2020, Day 2: Beacon Days/School

Weiss and Ruby are finishing their final year at Beacon, when Weiss finds Ruby's secret Notebook.

“Wake up!” Weiss whisper shouted, poking Ruby in the side. “Wake up, dolt!”

“But I want all the candy, Mr. Hippopotamus,” Ruby mumbled.

Weiss rolled her eyes, smiling slightly despite herself. She still despaired for her long lost sanity, but all too often, usually when she wasn't trying to be, Ruby managed to make her feel as though it was all worth it. Or at least, like being stuck on her team wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to her.

Of course, then she'd go and be complete dolt, by, for example, falling asleep in Professor Port's class, and she'd want to wring her cute team leader's neck all over again.

With a firmer jab of her pen she finally woke Ruby up. Unfortunately, she sat up with a yelp of shock, drawing the teacher's attention. “Yes, indeed Miss Rose! It's good to see such lively students.”

Fortunately, Professor Port, for all of his good qualities, could be kind of an idiot.

Ruby turned a glare at Weiss, her eyes already starting to droop as she pouted at her partner. “What'd you do that for?”

“You shouldn't sleep during class,” Weiss sniffed.

“Ugh, Weiss,” Ruby groaned, dropping her head back onto her desk. “You know my solo mission was last night. I'm dying over here.”

“Yes, well, my solo mission was yesterday during classes,” Weiss said.

“Lucky,” Ruby pouted.

“No, unlucky,” Weiss countered. “I missed most of the day's notes. I need to borrow yours.”

“And you woke me up during class for that?” Ruby objected.

“And because you should be awake,” Weiss said. “This is our last year at Beacon. If you want to succeed as a huntress you really should be paying attention.”

“To Professor Port?!” Ruby objected. “I mean… this isn't exactly important.”

“Sure it is,” Weiss said. “I mean… well, what if you were trapped without a weapon in a smoke hut with nothing but some sausage links to use as a weapon against a rampaging Alpha Beowolf?”

“If I ever end up in that situation you'll be there to bail me out… an' I'll even let you say 'I told you so' about a billion times, okay? Just please… we have sparring after this and I'm so, so, so tired.”

“You shouldn't have stayed up so late playing that ridiculous video game the night before last,” Weiss sniffed.

“I'm sorry, okay?” Ruby whimpered pathetically. “I didn't know I'd be up all night last night, okay? I've had about three hours of sleep in the past three days… please have mercy.”

Finally Weiss's stern expression softened as she sighed. “Fine. But I still need to copy your notes… and you'd better have good ones or I will wake you up again.”

Ruby slumped even more bonelessly. “'K. Thanks Weiss… you're the best.”

Weiss blushed but rolled her eyes, grabbing her partner's backpack and starting to root around inside of it. While Weiss had managed to beat proper note taking into her head over the years, and after their early blowup Ruby at least usually stayed on task during classes, she still didn't have a proper grasp of backpack management, leaving her to dig through it looking for the notes she wanted to copy down once class was fully over.

With a triumphant smirk she found the right one, pulling it out, before pausing in confusion. She'd bought Ruby a full set of color coded notebooks at the beginning of the semester, but for some reason she didn't recognize the next one in the backpack. Without an ounce of shame she pulled it out, curious as to what extra material Ruby was hauling around to classes with her.

What she found was the last thing she would've expected. Most of the book were pictures, obviously drawn with a practiced hand with pencil, all drawings of Weiss and her weapon. Some of the sketches of Myrtenaster were so perfect that she suspected a halfway talented engineer could reproduce it from them alone, while others were distorted caricatures of herself waving it around in silly poses. Some drawings of her were as good as the outlines the painters who did their family portraits made before touching their brushes, others were action packed cartoons of the two of them fighting Grimm of all descriptions.

Mixed in with the art were half formed diary entries, scattered thoughts, and rough poetry, all about her. The discussion of whether to go with Ruby Schnee or Weiss Rose (or even Rose-Schnee or Schnee-Rose) made her blush unexpectedly, while some of the poetry simply made her roll her eyes. Honestly, it was a little flattering, but who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to make a romantic limerick. Ruby Rose, apparently.

She was so engrossed in the notebook that she didn't even notice time passing, until the bell rang, and even then she didn't look up until she heard a choking sound coming from beside her. Ruby was staring at her with a sleepy expression of sheer horror, one that looked as though she was trying to convince herself she was still asleep and merely caught in a nightmare.

“W-Weiss,” she stuttered. “You- you aren't reading my notebook, are you?”

Weiss realized that she'd been blushing for a while, although somehow being caught made it intensify. “Um… yes?”

“Oh,” Ruby said. “Um… oh. You… you can kill me now. Please?”

“Why would I kill you?”

“'Cause… cause I drew you and wrote about you and stuff?” Ruby offered, as though it should've been obvious.

“What if,” Weiss said, looking away and fiddling with the pages nervously. “What if, uh, what if I liked the pictures and stuff.”

“O-oh,” Ruby said. “Um… I, uh, that is…”

“Did, um, did you mean this stuff?”

“Mean?”

“Well, some of it, all of it really, or at least, quite a bit of it,” Weiss fumbled. “I guess you could say… I guess that it seems like you like me? Like like me, you know?”

“Oh, um, I, well…”

“Just kiss already!” Yang shouted, before Blake grabbed her and dragged her away. “What? I've been putting up with both of their pining for years! Just kiss her Ruby! And you'd better not break her heart, Weiss!”

Ruby hid her face in her hands, while Weiss groaned in frustration. “Ugh, I hate doing anything she suggests.”

“Well… I guess, um, you could kiss me instead?”

Weiss kept her red face as blank as possible for a moment, before decisively nodding. There was a reason Ruby had been appointed leader, after all.

#white rose week #white rose #ruby rose #weiss schnee #rwby #fanfic

48 notes · View notes

brokenmimir · 4 years

Text

Within the Mirror

White Rose Week 2020, Day 1: Mirror

Weiss is having the worst day of her life, when she hears a friendly voice coming from her bathroom mirror.

I can't believe it's already time for another White Rose Week! For this prompt I selected Mirror, and I hope that you enjoyed it.

The quarantine has really messed with my usual writing flow, so I barely wrote anything coming into this. Instead I wrote my first four prompts yesterday, which should (hopefully) give me enough breathing room to finish this week's prompts.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24646000

“Weiss!” Jacques Schnee shouted. “Weiss! Where are you!”

Weiss Schnee hid in her large bathtub, one hand pressing hard against her eye. Her father had always been angry, but after her older sister turned eighteen and joined the military, he had become far worse than angry. She had swiftly transitioned from 'spoiled younger daughter' to 'new heir', and everything she did was a failure, now.

Today, her failure had been punished with backhanded blow to her face, her father's ring tearing a jagged, bleeding wound from cheek to forehead, right over her thankfully closed eyelid. It was all she could do to keep silent as the blood stained her white dress, her hand clutching the throbbing wound while she begged anyone listening for her father not to find her.

“Please, please, I just want to hide,” she whimpered under her breath. “Please, please don't let him find me.”

“Hello?” a small, high voice called.

Weiss froze, unmoving, terrified that the voice would bring her father. Who was it? They sounded even younger than her own barely a teen self, but other than her brother there shouldn't have been anyone like that in the manor. Was it the child of a servant? Her father didn't allow her to interact with commoners, which had prevented her from ever making friends.

“Hello?” the voice called again, a little louder this time. “I thought I heard someone?”

Slowly Weiss sat up, peering over the edge of the tub. The door was still closed, the lights still out, the room empty save for herself. The voice had sounded so close, but there wasn't anyone in the room with her.

“Hey!” the voice said. “There you are! Oh no, what happened to you?”

Weiss scrunched down lower for a moment, before finally daring to peek above the rim of the tub again. This time she saw the source of the voice, even though it was simply impossible.

The back of her bathroom door had a large, antique mirror, which had been in her family for generations. Normally she should've been able to dimly make out the reflection of the darkened bathroom, with her own bleeding, bedraggled form peering just over the rim of the tub. Instead, she saw a dark, misty forest, with a girl a little younger than herself looking at her with concern.

The girl was wearing a short black dress with black tights, and tall, black boots. Over this was a large red, hooded cloak, which made her cut an almost intimidating figure despite being so young and small. Her face was still chubby with youth, and her silver eyes were bright and cheerful, although they still held a look of concern.

“What happened to you?” she repeated.

“Wh-who are you?” Weiss countered. “How did you get in my mirror?"

“I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose!” the girl said brightly. “What's your name?”

Weiss sat up primly, despite one hand still desperately clamped over her injured eye. “I am Weiss Schnee.”

“Nice to meet you, Weiss!” Ruby said, grinning and bouncing in place.

Weiss frowned. “You didn't tell me how you're in my mirror.”

“Oh… right,” Ruby chuckled sheepishly, pushing her hood back to scratch the back of her head, revealing short, raggedly cut black and red hair. “Um… I dunno. I found the Mirror World years ago, and I guess you just found a way here, too.”

“Mirror World?”

“Yeah, it's a really cool place! There's all kinds of fun adventures, and neat people, and monsters to beat up and everything! And I can eat as many cookies as I want, and nobody can tell me what to do. It's the bestest place ever!”

“R-really?” Weiss asked.

“Yeah,” Ruby said, nodding. “Hey, why don't you come with me? I know where we can get a plant that'll heal you right up!”

Weiss bit her lip. Ruby seemed nice, but she was kind of a lot. Fighting monsters? Adventures? That all sounded scary, and she knew she wasn't supposed to run off with strangers. Plus, how could she go into a mirror? It sounded more likely that she'd gotten brain damage from being hit than that there really was a portal to some kind of magical world inside of her bathroom mirror.

“Weiss!” her father shouted, making her flinch in terror. He was close. “If you don't come out right now… I assure you you will not like the consequences, young lady!”

That settled it. As much as she was afraid of going with Ruby, she was more afraid of staying with her father. Gathering up what courage she could find, she stumbled out of the bathtub and rushed over to the mirror. Ruby stepped back with a grin, and after taking one more deep, steadying breath, Weiss stepped from her world.

It was like stepping through water, a cool, giving membrane that she passed through quickly, but on the other side it was comfortable, a little cool and foggy, but no colder than her father kept the manor. The air was fresh and crisp, full of the smell of growing things and new opportunities.

“Come on, let's get you something for your eye!” Ruby said brightly, grabbing Weiss's free hand.

She flinched for a moment, the sudden movement after what had happened spooking her, but Ruby's hand was warm and gentle in her own, firm but soft as she was pulled away from her bathroom. She only had time to look back briefly, enough to see a mirror identical to the one hanging in her bathroom suspended in the boughs of a great pine tree and rapidly fogging over like a too hot shower had been taken, before she was pulled away.

“Don't jerk my arm so hard,” Weiss grumbled.

“Sorry,” Ruby said insincerely. “I just want to get your eye fixed! It looks like it really hurts.”

“It doesn't hurt that much,” Weiss said stoically, puffing her chest out.

“Oh good!” Ruby said brightly. “I was scared you'd lose an eye or something. I mean, an eyepatch would be cool an' all, but I don't think you'd look as good as a pirate. I mean, you look like a princess! And princesses don't usually lose an eye, right?”

Ruby continued chattering away as she lead Weiss through the forest, following a seemingly random path through the trees. After a while Weiss began to hear a distant rushing sound, and soon enough the forest opened up into a beautiful meadow with a swiftly flowing river cutting through the center of it.

“Be careful!” Ruby warned. “Its spring, so the snow's melting up in the mountains, so the water's real cold and fast! Real, real cold! My sister Yang fell in once, and she got so cold I thought she'd never get warm again. We had to find the Good Witch to heal her up, and that was a whole big thing.”

“You have a sister?” Weiss asked.

“Yeah, Yang, she's the best,” Ruby said. “Now, why don't you clean your face off, and I'll get the herbs to heal you! And remember, be careful. The water's really cold, and sometimes you just get dragged in if you aren't careful!”

Weiss bit her lip, but when Ruby skipped off to gather some plants growing further down the river, she delicately sat down and washed her hands in the water. It was just as cold as Ruby had promised, her fingers swiftly turning red and burning with the chill, but she ignored it with all the grace of someone Atleasian born and bred, getting as much of the dried blood off of her hands as possible before wiping at her face.

She had just begun making headway when Ruby shouted, “look out!”

Weiss pulled back, before gaping in shock at what she saw in front of her. Just beneath the water was a hideous woman, with a long, warty nose, wrinkled, leathery green skin, solid black eyes, and long, seaweed-like hair. Her figure appeared distorted, with short, bandy legs, and long, sinewy arms ending in cruel, grasping fingers. Upon being noticed the figure gave up on stealth and simply lunged, long green fingers seeking to grab onto Weiss, and in that moment she knew that the creature wanted to pull her into the river.

And then Ruby was there. Before Weiss could do more than awkwardly sprawl onto her back the other girl had pulled a huge red scythe from nowhere and brought it down between them, embedding the large blade right between Weiss's ankles, inches from the foot long, spindly fingers about to grab onto them. There was a long, long moment where everything save the rushing water was still, and then the creature returned under the water.

“I'm so sorry,” Ruby shouted, the scythe breaking down into a smoky vapor before floating away. “I didn't think Nelly Longarms would be this far into the forest! She usually waits way downstream from here.”

“Wh-what was that!?!”

Ruby smiled sheepishly, before helping Weiss move back from the water's edge, sitting her on a smooth stone. She then began to crush the leaves she'd gathered against the rock with the flat of a knife, creating a sticky green paste that smelled like peppermints. “That was Nelly Longarms. She's a water hag.”

“Water hag?”

“Mmhmm,” Ruby hummed, gathering some of the sticky goo and carefully smearing it on Weiss's injury. She flinched from the pain, but soon relaxed as that faded, leaving a comforting warmth behind. “Hags like to grab stuff that gets too close to the water. One time Peg Powler almost got Yang under, but then she grabbed her by the hair and Yang got so mad! Peg swam away so fast, and she hasn't tried anything since.”

“There's more stuff like that here?!” Weiss shouted, looking around the clearing. What had once seemed pretty if mysterious now gained a sinister air.

“Yeah, there's all kinds of monsters and adventures and stuff here!” Ruby said brightly. “Don't worry, it's not all bad! There's also all kinds of cool stuff living here, and I've made a bunch of friends with 'em. I'll sure they'll love you!”

“There are other people here?” Weiss asked.

“A few,” Ruby said with a nod. “There's Yang, and Jaune, and Pyrrha, and Nora, and Ren, and-”

“Who are they?” Weiss asked. “Are they from here?”

“Nuh, uh,” Ruby said, shaking her head. “The only humans come from the other side. There're not humans here who're nice, too, though. Pitys is a dryad that lives pretty close; I was on my way to see her when I saw your mirror gate! And there's Ovinnik, and Blake, and-”

“What do you mean by mirror gate?” Weiss demanded, cutting off Ruby before she could ramble more.

“Oh, well… sometimes when people really, really want to be somewhere else their mirror turns into a gate to here!” Ruby said. “I don't know what was happening to you, but…”

Weiss flinched, looking away when Ruby trailed off to gesture at the cut on her face. Clearing her throat, Ruby continued in a softer tone. “Anyway, sometimes people come through, and that's where most of our friends came from! I was so lucky that my sister came with me. Jaune has like, seven sisters, but he's here by himself. Anyway, this place is great! I mean, it's kinda dangerous, and there's scary stuff too, but… that just makes it better! It's like being in the best story book ever, but its all real! And we can stay here instead of having to go back home.”

“So you just… stay here? You don't go back?”

Ruby looked solemn. “Some people go back. I know Jaune used to go back and forth a ton, but… this is our home, you know? Our real home. Anyway, when he started hanging out with Pyrrha and Ren he started staying more, and I don't think he's gone back in years. Are you… are you gonna stay?”

Weiss bit her lip, looking at the friendly, if kind of scary girl, and then over at the icy cold river, where she now saw the hag peeking just out of the water, looking at the two of them hungrily. This mirror world was obviously a dangerous place, but…

Back home she was never allowed to make any friends, and after her sister left she was all alone, and now she wasn't allowed to have any fun anymore. And her father… but here, they could do anything they wanted, and… and there may have been monsters, but her father wasn't here.

With a shy smile Weiss reached over and grabbed Ruby's hand. It wasn't nearly as hard of a choice as it should've been.

#white rose week #white rose #fanfic #rwby #ruby rose #weiss schnee

39 notes · View notes