19

Chapter 19Chapter Text

"I-I um… er… uh… i-it's a… fashion… statement…" Ruby mumbled out, barely managing to contain her urge to run away from the stranger now talking to her- how was it that she was so much better at talking to people when there was someone to protect or something to fight, but when she was supposedly in a calm situation she started stuttering all over herself and forgetting how to actually use words properly!? "A-and um…"

"And?" the girl asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms, bow twitching again as she narrowed her golden eyes at Ruby. "Most of the time when a faunus is wearing grimm symbology, they're part of the White Fang. Given your shyness and the fact that your mask looks more like an actual grimm than a White Fang mask, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt… but I don't know how you managed to think that wearing grimm bones and a mask wouldn't make people stare at you. Especially when you seem so close to your… sister, was it?"

"Y-yeah… Yang is my big sis… s-she's… I mean… I… grew up pretty isolated… a-and I didn't talk to a lot of people," Ruby murmured, poking her fingers together and studiously avoiding looking at the girl before her about as much as she could- focusing instead on the girl's boots, which she distantly recognized as being from the same brand that Cinder wore. Certified faunus worker owned co-op, premium leather, cruelty free, handcrafted on request. "I-um… s-sorry… I just… I can't really… help it… I-I mean… I killed a lot of grimm while I was growing up. S-so…"

She shrugged almost helplessly, letting her hands flop back down into her lap as she went silent, her ears drooping and tail falling limp- moreso than they had before- while her mask's eyes focused subtly on the girl. 

"It's… just… a thing I use… to um… honor? I guess… like… I kill grimm… s-so I should get to wear their bones?" Ruby winced, drawing her shoulders up further. "Like how um… all of those hunter guys back home acted whenever they hunted a deer or something…?"

"I see…" the girl hummed, then tilted her head and sat down with a quiet huff. "Sorry for the interrogation, I just get a little antsy when I see faunus openly wearing grimm inspired clothing- it usually tends to mean someone to avoid, either because they're terrible people or because they're part of the White Fang. I… faunus are a lot more than the White Fang, but…"

Ruby said nothing, just listening to the girl talk. She didn't want to interrupt, but… there was a persistent smell of cat, and she couldn't help but keep noticing that the girl's bow kept twitching a lot for some reason- Ruby had no idea why, but she was pretty sure her new… acquaintance… was a faunus that was hiding her traits for some reason.

"U-um… sorry if this is… personal… but your bow keeps twitching and I keep smelling cats… are you um… are you a faunus?" Ruby asked, tilting her head slightly before startling a bit, shaking her head in sudden embarrassment as she held out her hand. "A-also sorry! I'm Ruby Rose, sorry for not introducing myself earlier!"

"... Blake. Belladonna," the now named girl sighed, one hand reaching up and fiddling with her bow as she grimaced slightly. "And… I suppose there's no sense in hiding it. Yes, I'm a faunus- I suppose I should ask you not to tell anyone. I'm… kind of hiding from someone who I'd really rather not find me if at all possible."

Ruby blinked. "Hiding? Like… criminal past hiding or like a really bad breakup hiding?"

She shook her head, wondering what possessed her to actually ask that question and continue the conversation with Blake- was she actually getting comfortable around the rather stoic, low-key girl?

"... Both, sort of. I fell in with a bad crowd in the past and my shitty ex-boyfriend is still in that gang," Blake sighed, shaking her own head and looking down. "Sorry to trauma dump on you… guess I needed a friend more than I thought. I left all mine behind a few months ago to get to this point… and you're one of the only faunus here right now… so… yeah. It's been tough."

"I can't imagine… sorry you had to go through that," Ruby murmured, bowing her head slightly and actually meaning what she said- as much as she was socially anxious and more prone to hiding away than talking to people, she preferred to help people as much as she could. It was her job, after all. She was trying to be a Huntress- trying to make the world a better place. "And… sorry for making you worry about me being part of the White Fang. I'm not- but… I guess I can see how they'd think I am."

"Just… maybe tone it down on the grimm accessories in the future?" Blake hummed, a slight smirk of a smile forming on her face as she looked over at Ruby. "That's the part that I think gets most people worried after all."

"Y-yeah… I tried but… ugh… I killed all those grimm to get these bones. I should get to wear them…" Ruby sighed, picking at her outfit slightly before slumping back and letting her cloak wrap entirely around her in a flurry of petals, as if cocooning herself in a blanket. "I wish my sister was here… Yang's out getting water and maybe snacks right now- I don't know if you heard while you were in that tree…"

"I heard. Your sister is… very kind," Blake spoke quietly, pulling out a book and seemingly deciding that the conversation was more or less over- not that she wanted to stop talking to Ruby, because Blake wasn't a jerk and knew when someone desperately needed positive social interaction and an expanded friend circle, but she'd run out of things to immediately say. "It seems like she cares about you a lot."

"Hehe… yeah… Yang is great. She and my bigger sis Cinder basically helped raise me when we were all kids after… after Mom died," Ruby shrugged helplessly before shaking her head, looking away in embarrassment as she basically told her life story to Blake. "A-anyway. Um… so… what kind of weapon do you have? It must be pretty cool if you made it to Beacon, right?"

"It does its job," Blake nodded as she snapped her book closed, leaning forward slightly and unclipping her weapon from her back, bringing the entire thing up to show Ruby- sheath and all. "Her name is Gambol Shroud. She's… not the most fancy weapon, but she's been reliable for all these years."

"Oh, she's beautiful…" Ruby whispered, her hand hovering over the matte black surface of the sheath as she took in all of the details of the weapon before her- the name Gambol Shroud etching itself into her memory as she ducked her head and examined it with her weaponsmith's eye. "High carbon steel, dust treated reinforcements, simple yet robust mechanisms hiding a powerful semi automatic dust pistol… folding katana blade, plus a long ribbon on the handle. Sheath is sharpened and has a handle-like cutaway… It's not a proper market weapon- no Huntsman's weapon is, but it looks like you took a variable katana pistol and modified it slightly to accept more powerful rounds and added extra reinforcements… the ribbon probably influences how you fight with it, right?"

"Uh- yeah. I use it like a kusarigama- How did you know?" Blake asked, taking her weapon and unsheathing it while folding it up into its sickle form for emphasis- her ears hidden behind her bow flattening a little at the sudden ramble. 

"Oh, I just know a lot about weapons! They're my passion, after all… and weapons are an extension of a Huntsman's soul- there's so much you can learn about a person just by looking at their weapon, y'know? If I had to give your Gambol Shroud a name… I'd go with a Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe. Good at close and midranges, suffers a bit from low stopping power at longer ranges but makes for an excellent support weapon in gun and kusarigama form, while katana and sheath can be dual wielded- an understated mix of eclectic uses that comes together to form an elegant, well rounded, and utterly lethal combination. Just like her user," Ruby nodded to herself, not even noticing as her hand came down to start stroking over the surface of Gambol Shroud's sheath as she waxed poetic about the weapon before her. She almost winked. Almost. 

"... You… certainly know your way around weapons, huh," Blake muttered, blushing ever so slightly at the compliment and clearing her throat as she re-sheathed her sword and clipped it back to its proper place. "Do you do this with every weapon?"

"Only the ones I think are super cool… and only if Yang leaves me alone long enough to actually talk about weapons…" Ruby sighed, shaking her head before turning and waving as the aforementioned sister came around the corner, arms full of assorted bottles and snack foods. "Oh, there she is now! Thanks for talking to me, Blake! It was super cool to get to know you!"

"And you as well. Good luck on Initiation tomorrow."

"Back at you- Good luck!"

[Funny thing is, this picture of Blake is actually a spoiler for chapter 53. Just pretend she looks the same as in canon for the time being]