Chương 1787: 18
Black Rose Blooms SilverCyberQueen_Jolyne
Chapter 18
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Ahhh, Beacon Academy. The finest Huntsman school in Vale. And… really the only big one? The logistics of that didn't make a whole lot of sense to Ruby, but she knew there were at least a few other smaller secondary combat schools that took in applicants that didn't make it to Beacon.
She took in the sight of the school- the arches, the towers, the beautiful architecture that made it stand out from the surrounding forest and city like a shining, shimmering castle- it really lived up to its name, being a beacon of hope for all those that lived in its envelope of protection. She also tried really, really hard to not geek out over all of the weapons on display, but- well.
That was a lost cause, honestly.
"Oh-oh! He's got a collapsible staff! And she's got a fire sword! And that's a variable dust carbine saber! I've only ever seen one on a shelf! I have to know what customizations they got!"
Yang sighed, rolling her eyes as she kept a firm grasp on her sister's shoulder, keeping the younger girl from running off and doing what she always did whenever she saw new weapons that she hadn't had the chance to really get to know yet. It wasn't something that came up much back home, because they were isolated and Patch didn't have a lot of people that open-carried their weapons and Ruby hadn't really spent a lot of time at Signal, but out in public like this? At Beacon? She'd have to make sure Ruby didn't run off and do something stupid. Like accidentally trip over someone's luggage or set something on fire.
"Rubes, I know you love weapons, but there's only ever two outcomes when you try to talk to people at this point," Yang deadpanned, knowing exactly how her sister functioned- or rather, didn't function- in a social setting. "You're either going to ramble a mile a minute about weapons, weapon mods, maintenance procedures, modification procedures, and material science for like ten minutes before realizing you just gave a PhD lecture on weaponsmithing to a random person before blushing and running away… or you're just gonna creepily stare at them for a solid ten minutes while you try to work up the courage to say hi, all while standing within five feet of them and never once looking away from whatever weapon they have. Just- please sit tight and control your impulses? I know you wanna make friends but you gotta be careful and… maybe start a little slow."
"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Ruby protested, whimpering a little as her ears drooped and her tail lashed around behind her, offended at the implication that she was that bad at social interaction. She wasn't! She could talk to the cashiers at stores just fine! Sure, she had to rehearse what she was gonna say in her head when she was ordering stuff at the register and barely said anything when she was checking out at the grocery store, but she could still talk to them! Kinda! She just… didn't know how to talk to other people super well outside of rigidly defined situations where expectations were maintained and nobody had any expectation of anything other than a quick back and forth of premade, easily memorizable lines. Unless weapons were involved. Mostly.
Sure, she'd read articles about "talking about things one had in common" and "putting on a friendly face" and "just being friendly" and "acting like oneself" but all of the advice got really contradictory after a certain point!
"The only people you can actually talk to without rehearsing your lines are your own family, Neo, Emerald and Mercury… and weapon shop owners," Yang sighed, reaching out and ruffling Ruby's hair with one hand as they wandered around campus- Yang almost wanted to go hang out with her friends, but who knew what Ruby would get up to without her? So, ergo, since her friends were capable of acting on their own and her sister was a hot mess of social anxiety and weapon related hyperfixation, she had to make sure nobody ended up being a dick to her baby sister.
"Again, I'm not that bad!" Ruby pouted, huffing and crossing her arms and maybe hiding a little in her own hood as she became well aware of a few people in the area whispering about a faunus girl wearing grimm accessories and thinking that do you think she's in the White Fang, don't they wear grimm stuff?
She shuddered a little, pulling her hood up slightly and pressing herself to Yang as if trying to hide. "M-maybe we should get going, though. I… think maybe wearing the grimm bones was a bad idea."
"Don't change it now- not while people are looking," Yang murmured back, clinging to Ruby's arm and guiding her sister away- glaring vaguely at everyone around as if daring them to say something. She knew damn well her sister's mood didn't change that fast normally, so she must have been feeling or hearing something that made her do a one eighty from being excited about weapons to wanting to hide away again. "Let's get to somewhere isolated- if you really think putting away the grimm bones is the right thing to do, then we can change it there. Just… you'd have to keep it up for a while, and I know it's kinda hard for you to not sprout grimm bones on top of your clothes…"
"I know… but I don't… I have to try at some point… I wanna actually be able to look human for longer than a half hour for once in my life," Ruby sighed, gritting her teeth and fighting down the urge to let her clothes react to her emotions- her cape was one thing, the way it flowed and settled unnaturally and drifted in the wind. It always reacted more to her Semblance than it did the rest of her nature, being made in honor of her mother and scattering into petals whenever she felt strong emotions… but the rest of her clothes? They didn't billow or flutter like her cape did, they writhed . They crawled and writhed and twitched and crackled like the worst and most unsettling of grimm, eyes opening and closing at random as the concentrated essence of hundreds of consumed grimm all struggled to make themselves known in her psyche. "I'm- sorry. I know that you wanted to catch up with your friends- just… I'm gonna… stay out of the way for now. I don't wanna be a bother."
"Hey- none of that. Rubes, you are not a bother. You're my little sister and you're in a new, unfamiliar setting after being socially isolated your entire life. It's okay to be overwhelmed- look. I do wanna go see my friends before Initiation happens tomorrow, but we have plenty of time. Your comfort and well being takes precedence over anyone else's. So… just cry on my shoulder until you feel better, okay?" Yang murmured, pulling the two of them into about as secluded of an alcove as she could find for the moment, setting Ruby down on a bench and sitting next to her, already pulling her baby sister into a tight, comforting hug.
"Thanks, Yang…" Ruby sniffled, burying her face into Yang's shoulder and just letting herself feel - anchoring herself to reality with the comforting feel and smell of her sister's sunkissed leather duster, the way the scent of gunpowder and Fire Dust and oil and sunshine clung to the material and mingled with Yang's lavender shampoo and floral body wash and a million other little scents that marked Yang as Yang in a way that no one else could ever replicate or replace. "I'm… I'll be okay, really. Just… I just need a little space, I think? I don't know if I can handle crowds right now."
"That's fine- look. I'll try and get you something to drink, okay? Maybe a snack? There's probably vending machines somewhere on campus, right?" Yang asked, frowning ever so slightly as Ruby pulled away from the hug and wiped her eyes, her clothes shifting and blurring slightly as she forcefully suppressed the grimm bones and shoved them deep back into herself, her cloak covering up the change while she scooted to the side and let go of her sister. "You mind sitting here while I go check?"
"N-nah. Go ahead- I think I'll be fine if I just… stay here. Maybe just look at weapon catalogs on my scroll…" Ruby muttered, idly touching the beowolf mask that she'd kept all but clipped to her hair- the one bit of her true nature that she couldn't hide because it was her true face more than anything else. A grimm's mask was their entire identity, and the beowolf mask that she wore… she couldn't hide it, could never suppress it because it felt like drowning. "Um… I don't mind if you take a while though. We don't have to be at the auditorium for a few hours, right?"
"Yeah, the email said… seven-ish? Then dinner, then lights out by nine and an early start tomorrow at six," Yang nodded, checking her scroll and pulling up the list of instructions with a little hum of acknowledgement. "Yeah. Three Initiation ceremonies tomorrow- morning, noon, afternoon. Team announcements in the evening, then dinner and dorm assignments, then bed and tomorrow is orientation day, and after that, normal classes."
"Heh… sounds like a packed week…"
"Mhmm. Right- I'll go get you a drink. Try not to let them get you down, okay? You're perfect the way you are, Rubes, and if they can't see what a precious lil flower you are then they're not worth your time anyway."
And with that, Yang sped off to go find a vending machine, leaving Ruby sitting there on a bench, idly browsing through weapon catalogs on her scroll… up until a breeze rolled in and she smelled the distinct aroma of a cat … mixed with sunflower scented soap and goldenrod shampoo?
Ruby blinked, looking around for a moment.
"So… that's an interesting mask you've got there," a calm, measured voice came echoing from above Ruby, revealing a black haired girl about Yang's age reading while nestled in the branches. While outwardly calm, Ruby could sense a fair bit of paranoia and curiosity emanating from the mysterious girl- her hair ribbon twitching strangely as she stared down at Ruby with shimmering golden eyes. "Never seen anything like it before… What's a girl like you doing with a beowolf mask anyway?"
Gulp.
Oh no. Ruby's greatest weakness.
Unrehearsed social interaction.
Notes:
Blake pic tomorrow
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