8

Chapter 8

Chapter Text

Chapter Seven

Akelarre saw the first signs of land just as the sun started to crawl towards the horizon.

The island below was huge, big enough that even from her vantage she couldn't see the half of it. Forests with trees covered in a sparse layer of springtime snow were competing for her attention against cliffs that overlooked the ocean's churning waters and little paths left in the ground by packs of travelling Grimm--and the more common though also more skittish wildlife.

She was perking up, ready to start looking for the first signs of human life, when something caught her eye.

It was a flash of red on green. A tiny figure moving at absurd speeds while a flanking force of black creatures rushed after it.

With a mental command, the swarm around her buzzed to a stop, a hundred Lancers and a few million smaller Grimm bugs tensing up. There was something in the air, something interesting that made her swarm want to dive down and... and kill that red figure.

She held them back, attention dipping to the human girl below as she jumped back, swung around and slashed out with a long polearm, its wicked tip cutting the arm off of a lunging Beowolf a half second before she ducked, fired an explosion that tore apart the chest of another and used the recoil to tear the head off a third.

Akelarre's eyebrows climbed as she watched the girl pirouette out of the path of more Grimm, dancing out of their way only to cut at them with wide, sweeping motions that tore the Grimm apart like chaff.

She was keeping them away, always moving out of the path of the Grimm and sending probing shots into the pack that would tear the heads and bodies of the Grimm apart, forcing them to rush over the fallen to get to her.

It was the work of only a few moments to have some of her smaller Grimm tumble down to the ground and land on her cloak. They scuttled across her body even as she ducked under a wild swipe, grit her teeth and shifted out of the path of another claw that was racing towards her head.

The Grimm were circling, and while Akelarre doubted the girl would be unable to escape, it was clear that that wasn't her goal. At the speed she moved it would have been simplicity itself for her to rush into the forest and lose her opponents. Instead she stood her ground, almost taunting the Grimm as she took potshots into the pack.

She should have moved on, or at best spied on the girl for some time. Salem had warned her about Huntsmen and how dangerous they could be; seeing the girl in action, she could understand why. "Mover, Blaster, Brute," she said to no one, the words having been on the edge of her lips the entire time she watched the fight.

She wanted to help.

***

That, Ruby decided, was a lot of Beowolves.

She narrowed her eyes, pulled the bolt back on Crescent Rose and prepared herself for another charge at the pack. She didn't have forever to practice. If she didn't end this battle in the next half hour she wouldn't have time to visit Summer's grave and make it back home before dad and Yang started to worry.

Her heart was beating hummingbird fast and despite the chill in the air she was warm and sweaty under her combat uniform.

One of the Beowolves growled, glowing red eyes locking on hers.

She smiled, her legs tensed, her breath filling her lungs with quick, excited gasps, her eyes searching for the optimal target. She was ready.

With a blast from her baby to propel her forwards, Ruby cut the distance between herself and the nearest Beowolf, then spun in mid-air to bring Crescent Rose's blade around in a lethal arc. The Beowolf didn't stand a chance.

"Need help?"

"Eeep!"

Ruby didn't squeak. Squeaking would have been embarassing and just plain mortifying. She knew, because the last time she didn't squeak Yang had pinched her cheeks and cooed for, like, an hour.

Spinning around and bringing Crescent Rose to a stop next to her, she faced off against the mysterious lady with the mysterious and totally creepy ability to--mysteriously--sneak up on her.

She didn't see any weapons on the woman, but her cloak could be hiding all sorts of goodies. Ruby was starting to get a little excited at the idea of fighting next to an actual, bonafide Huntress. She was about to ask and introduce herself when the hot breath of one beast along the back of her neck reminded her that she had some Grimm to take care of.

The Huntress grabbed Ruby's wrist and flung her behind her. Ruby caught a flash of something white and a Beowolf fell to the ground missing its head. "I'm sorry." she said while facing the dead Grimm.

Ruby rubbed at her sore wrist. "R-right!" she called back as she spun around and tried to regain some of her previous momentum. Uncle Qrow always told her that stopping in the middle of a fight was a good way to lose more than her head.

"Duck," the woman called.

Ruby took a half-second to figure out what the woman meant, but she obeyed in time to avoid a black thing that whipped above her fast enough that it hissed through the air. Grimm blood splashed onto her, almost instantly turning into little black plumes and fading away.

That took care of the Beowolves nearest to them (and Ruby was so totally going to gush over whatever that weapon was later) but it still left a few dozen to go. "I've got them!" she said.

She was still getting the hang of her semblance, but for something like moving in a straight line towards a large pack of Grimm there was nothing better. Crescent Rose sang as she spun through the pack, arms and legs and heads flying all over while the occasional echoing retort shot her forwards even faster.

Her feet slid across the ground and she brought Crescent Rose to a rest along her back while, on the path she'd travelled, a dozen Grimm faded into motes of black dust.

"You fight well," the Huntress said as she started walking towards Ruby.

She was tall, a whole lot taller than Ruby and a bit taller than Yang, with a rather flat chest (score!) hidden under a cloak that was almost as cool as Ruby's. What little Ruby could see of her skin from under her hood was super pale, like someone who spent too much time indoors or maybe the few people from Atlas she'd seen, but most people from Atlas wouldn't tattoo their faces like this lady did. She had red eyes that glowed faintly within her hood. Kinda like Yang's when she was using her semblance, actually.

The woman moved her arm up, revealing that it was covered in a sort of white armour that turned into a wicked-sharp blade aligned with her wrist. Then the armour shifted and with an almost liquid-like motion the entire thing transformed into a perfectly ordinary black hand. "So cool," Ruby whispered.

That had to be some sort of mechashift, and the really good kind if the motions were so smooth. Maybe the attack earlier had come from the hand too. Maybe it had a concealed gun, or could turn into a flail? Ruby wondered if her dad would be angry if she replaced all her limbs with mechashift weapons.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your fight," the Huntress said.

Ruby waved both arms dismissively, "N-no no, it's okay. No one was hurt and the Grimm are all dead. So it turned out for the best." She grinned at the woman. "So, why are you here?"

***

Akelarre tried to decide how to answer the question. She couldn't say that she was here because she wanted to meet a human, that would probably have alarm bells ringing in the girl's mind.

The girl's casual dismissal of the Grimm she'd just killed rubbed her the wrong way.

Salem would probably not have approved of her talking to the girl, but for all of her prowess with her frankly oversized weapon, Akelarre couldn't give herself the push to hurt her. Not unless she proved to be a threat.

"Saw you fighting," she finally said. "I was a little worried. Perhaps for nothing. You're very... good at killing."

"What? Pfft," the girl dismissed even as a dusting of redness climbed onto her cheeks. "Those were just Beowolves. And I got lucky." Her eyes dipped down to the ground and it didn't take a genius to see that she wasn't taking the compliment all that well. She fiddled with her strange weapon, then folded it into a neat box that she tucked under her cloak.

"What are you doing out here?" Akelarre asked. "Is there a settlement nearby?"

"Huh? No, not really. We live nearby." The girl's eyes suddenly widened and Akelarre prepared to fight. "I didn't introduce myself!" she said. "Yang would be so disappointed. I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose."

Akelarre stared at the hand Ruby extended, then shook it. "Akelarre," she said. "What were you doing here?"

"Ah," Ruby said before she looked away. "I'm kinda, sorta not supposed to be here on my own," she admitted. "But I had a long day at school and I wanted to visit mom."

"Your mother?" she asked. She couldn't sense anyone around, and the Lancers she had high above couldn't see any signs of civilisation.

"Oh, she's over here," Ruby said as she slid past her.

Wary for any traps, Akelarre followed a few feet behind the red-cloaked girl as she marched through the mud and snow and early spring grass towards the top of a cliff. There, a plaque waited embedded into the stone.

Summer Rose

Thus Kindly I Scatter

Akelarre instantly felt out of place. She stood stock still as the girl bent forwards and cleared a bit of snow from the gravestone then gently let her thumb glide over the name. "I come here sometimes, when I'm not feeling so good. It feels nice to talk to her."

"I... understand," Akelarre said.

Ruby glanced up and gave her a sad smile. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Me too," she replied. "How did... no, I'm sorry."

"She died a hero," Ruby said, and if her voice sounded a little less exuberant and bubbly than it did before, Akelarre didn't comment. "She died fighting the Grimm. That's why I'm going to become a Huntress. To protect people like her from those monsters."

Akelarre nodded, not that she really agreed with the sentiment, but she could understand it. "I'll give you a moment."

"Are you leaving already?" Ruby asked. "Did you have somewhere to go? I can probably guide you. I know all of Patch like the back of my hand!"

She considered it for a moment. "I was just visiting. I wouldn't mind company, but I can wait while you visit your mother."

Ruby's smile only grew at her words. "Thanks, Akelarre."

She moved a good distance away from Ruby, far enough that she couldn't hear, and pulled away any Grimm bugs that were near Ruby and her mother.

The girl was strange. Strange but nice. And strong too. If every person on Remnant was as strong as Ruby then Salem was going to have a difficult time with her plans for the future. Something told her that wasn't the case, though.

"All done!" Ruby said as she popped back towards Akelarre, a scattering of rose petals falling in her wake. Strange. Probably a side effect of her Mover ability. "So, were you going somewhere special?"

"Not really. I'm travelling from elsewhere. I just... wanted to see the sights."

"Oh, like a vacation?" Ruby asked.

"Yes."

"Cool!" Ruby said. "So what do you usually do?"

"I work with the Grimm," Akelarre said truthfully.

There was a gleam in the girl's eyes as she said, "So you are a Huntress. I knew it! Uncle Qrow said that when you become a strong Huntress you can sense when someone is dangerous just by looking at them. It's like a sixth sense, but I think it's mostly because you can recognize their weapons and stances and things. Uncle Qrow also said that all teenage boys are super dangerous but most of those I stared at don't look like they can fight. Anyway, I saw you and it was like 'whoa, she's dangerous', not, not that it's a bad thing, or anything."

"Thank you?" Akelarre said while she tried to parse Ruby's verbal onslaught.

"Where are you going now? Are you heading towards Patch? My dad works there, at Signal. You know, the combat school."

"I don't know. Patch is nearby?" she asked.

"Yup," Ruby said as she made a huge encompassing gesture with both arms. "It's a big city right in the middle of the island. It's kind of a long walk to get there though. How did you arrive here, anyway?"

"I flew."

Ruby's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "You can fly? That's awesome! Is it because of your mechashift arm? Is it a semblance? Do you have a Bullhead?"

Akelarre didn't know how to reply, or which question she should answer first. "Yes?" she tried.

"You must be, like, super tired." Ruby tilted her head to one side, looking like a dog trying to figure out a puzzle. "Hey, did you want to come to my place? You could meet Yang and my dad. Yang would be so proud of me if I made a friend all on my own." Her cheeks gained a faint reddish glow. "N-not that I have trouble making friends or anything."

"I don't know," Akelarre said.

"We have cookies." Ruby stared at her with bright silver eyes that made Akelarre's heart tighten.

She sighed, placed a hand on Ruby's head as though petting a dog, and nodded. "Okay."

***

Ah ha! You thought it was going to be the bunny, but it was me, Ruby!

All aboard the HMS Escalation Acceleration. Destination; Cookie-and-Nookie-Ville.

Big thank you to ChaoticSky and the filthy degenerates on the Raven's Nest Discord for the idea bouncing and encouragement, and CrazySith87 and eschwartz for doing word things! You're all completely insane (see note below), but I like you anyway.

NOTE: I would like to point out for everyone's edification that eschwartz is a completely rational and sane person and is in no way crazy, mad, insane, borked, or otherwise on the same level as the other members of the Raven's Nest Discord. We all hope to be as enlightened and stable as him when we finally grow up