Ruby Rose sat among the trees with the moon high above her, simply enjoying the peace. She closed her eyes and breathed deep as the smells of nature embraced her. She allowed her ears to perk up as she listened to the sound of flowing water from the nearby fountain, letting its serenity wash over her. While it couldn't quite match the untamed wilds, the lack of Grimm gave the garden a sense of calm that was hard for most places to achieve.
Not that Grimm could sneak up on her. Despite her relaxed state, her Faunus senses were still acutely aware of everything around her. She knew where every tree in the garden was as their leaves rustled in the breeze. She knew of all the students that had passed by her unaware, chatting away without a care in the world. She knew about the group of squirrels a short distance away, about the birds settling in the nest, and about the brute who was currently trying to sneak up on her.
"Touch my ears and I'm going to cut your hair in your sleep Yang," Ruby called out without opening her eyes.
Yang Xiao Long froze with her hand outstretched, unsure if she was willing to take the risk. As tempting as it was to continue, Yang thought it best not to push it. They both had a long day ahead of them, and it would be unwise to force herself to stay up all night just to protect her hair from her sister.
"What gave me away?" Yang sighed as she sat next to Ruby.
"Where should I start?" Ruby pondered as she rubbed her chin. "There was the twig you stepped on about 20 feet back, your grunt as you walked straight into that branch, and we can't forget that poor squirrel you scared away."
Yang just shook her head. "It's that damn wolf hearing of yours. It's no fun when I can never sneak up on you."
"That and I could smell your hair conditioner as soon as you stepped into the garden," Ruby added with a smirk.
"Why are you out here anyways sis? We got a big day tomorrow and I know how you get without sleep," Yang said, choosing to ignore that last detail.
Ruby's smile faded and she sighed as she recalled the day's events.
Ruby stood in awe as she gazed upon Beacon for the first time. She had seen pictures, but none of them did the school justice. The magnificent arches and towering, well, towers, all but took her breath away. The only thing that managed to tear her attention away from the school was the waves of students that walked by, each carrying their own unique weapon. Pistol-Daggers, Sword-Shotguns, a couple Bazooka-Bats; she even saw a Claymore-Assault Rifle. Ruby feigned dizziness, leaning back for Yang to catch her.
But the support never came. Ruby has been so enthralled that she hadn't noticed when Yang had run off with friends from her class, leaving Ruby alone to topple backwards. Before Ruby could regain balance, she fell straight back onto a cart, loaded to the brim with heavy duty cases.
"What are you doing?! Do you have any idea the damage you could have caused?!"
The owner of the angry voice stood right in front of Ruby, impatiently tapping their foot. 'Who is this person, and how did they manage to sneak up on me in heels?' was the first thought to come to Ruby's mind. 'Why would they even be wearing heels to begin with?' Ruby couldn't even begin to imagine confining herself to anything so uncomfortable.
Ruby mumbled her apologies as she raised her head, making sure to keep her ears pinned down to her head. Lucky for her, the dark fur on her ears blended perfectly with her hair, concealing them from all but the most observant of eyes. She wasn't ashamed of her Faunus heritage, but she was more than aware of the prejudices that people tended to display towards her and her kind. Now she just had to hope that this person, who was now in mid-lecture about whatever was in the cases, didn't notice what lay just beneath her hair.
By the time that Ruby actually looked at the face in front of her, she had already lost interest in whatever it was they were scolding her about. Her interest, however, was suddenly rekindled when took a closer look at the girl that stood before her. Her clothing was normal enough for Beacon, a white combat skirt, white shirt and a white jacket with a red lining. However, in Ruby's 18 years of living, she had never seen a more beautiful person. The near-flawless skin and the snow-white hair quickly caught her attention, but what held it were the piercing blue eyes. Even filled with anger as they were, Ruby felt that she could stare into them for days. The only imperfection that Ruby could find was the scar that ran over the left eye, but even that seemed to contribute to the overall majesty of the face.
The entire time that Ruby was admiring her, the beauty continued to berate her, shaking around a small vial she had received from the case that now lay at her feet. Ruby finally started to listen only to hear the word Dust before her nose started to tingle.
'Oh no," was Ruby's only thought as she noticed the faint haze of red floating around her. 'This is gonna hurt.'
The resulting explosion could be heard across the campus, causing many to wonder what was happening. None, however, cared enough to check it out. Such noises were commonplace here, as students constantly trained with and maintained their weapons. The shouting that followed, however, was enough to capture the intrigue of one cat Faunus.
"Wait, so you literally exploded?" Yang interrupted. "I thought that you were just being sarcastic earlier."
"No, Yang, I blew up. I managed, on my first day here, to cause an explosion at the steps of our school. I don't think I'll be able to live this one down."
"Relax, sis, I'm sure that no one even knows it was you and that white girl. And I doubt that she's going to brag about it any time soon."
"I doubt she'll say anything, but someone else definitely knows. So if you're done, I can finish telling you why I just needed to get away."
Ruby just stood still in shock, as the flames around her finally subsided. The entire time, the girl in white had never once stopped shouting. Even after Ruby's attempt to say sorry, the girl never once lost her steam, proceeding to call Ruby's a dolt, dunce, moron, and everything in between. Eventually, Ruby had enough.
"I said I was sorry, Princess!"
That stopped the girl in her tracks. Her face said that no one had ever once dared talk to her like that, and by the way that she was acting, that was more than likely true.
Thankfully, the silence was finally broken by a third party, who had been quietly observing up until that point.
"Its heiress, actually," came the calm voice, breaking the sudden silence that had fallen between the two. "This is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and the one who is to inherit the Schnee legacy."
"Finally, some recognition," Weiss triumphantly declared.
However, the tables soon turned as the new stranger started to list of the countless atrocities the Schnee Dust Company had committed against its workers, particularly the Faunus. Ruby was already more than aware of the Schnee Corporation and their recent mishaps, so she instead found herself focusing on this new arrival. Dressed in black, this girl confidently glided forward, with the grace of a hunter cornering its prey. Her amber eyes glowed with that same confidence, while the smirk on her face showed that she had Weiss right where she wanted her.
The woman before her was clearly a beauty, so why was it that Ruby didn't find herself gazing at her as she had at this Weiss girl? They were equally matched in looks, so what put one above the other? A gentle breeze carried the answer for Ruby. Cat. A wolfish smile crept across her face as Ruby recognized the distinct sment. Ruby personally didn't have a problem with cat Faunus, but cats and dogs, or in this case, wolves, still tended to oppose each other.
By the time Ruby finally focused back to the argument at hand, the girl in white had already turned and stormed off. Ruby noted that even angry as she was, she still seemed to walk with a refined grace. Ruby and the other Faunus turned to face each other at the same time, a smile dancing on the new girl's lips.
"Sorry to cut in there little pup, I just saw my opportunity and took it."
Ruby continued to smile as she replied, "Sounds just like a cat. You see the dog with a new toy and you have to get your fill."
"You don't know how right you are. My name's Blake. Good to see another Faunus in our class, even if it is a wolf like you," Blake commented with a sly smile.
Ruby hesitated for a moment before replying. "Am I that obvious? I'm Ruby, and yeah, you caught me, I'm a wolf Faunus. Like the bow, by the way, looks far more comfortable than keeping your ears pinned down."
"Everyone has their own method," Blake replied with a shrug before turning away. "I need to go, but I'll see you around pup."
"My name is Ruby, not pup! Remember that kitty," Ruby shouted back. She then quickly looked around, making sure that she didn't give away both their secrets in one go. Satisfied that no one was around, she began to make her way towards the central buildings.
"So what does any of that have to do with my little wolf cub of a sister sitting out in the garden when she should be inside getting ready for tomorrow?" Yang pressed at the end of the story. Ruby had left the part about Blake being a Faunus out of her story, keeping it as a fond memory. She had simply told Yang her name. It was Blake's call on who to reveal her Faunus identity to, not Ruby's, even if it was Yang.
"You didn't let me finish, but I guess that's good enough. Long story short, I just needed to get out for a bit before I went back in there," Ruby trailed off.
"They assigned you the cot right next to that Weiss girl, didn't they?" Yang guessed.
"Yup. I'm trying to get myself as much relaxation as I can before I go in there to get yelled at by her once again," Ruby confirmed.
'That and that room smells completely of cat. She hasn't even been there that long and she has already filled the room to the brim with her scent,' Ruby thought to herself.
Yang simply laughed at the thought. "I'm sure she's cooled down by now, so you have nothing to fear little sis. I, however, want to meet this Blake girl. Sound like just my type," Yang added as a devilish smile crossed her face.
"Yang, according to you, everyone is your type," Ruby said as she smiled at the thought of her aggressive sister trying to hold a conversation with Blake. Her smile grew wider as she thought of all the ways that the cat Faunus would toy with Yang.
Then Ruby picked up on what Yang had said. "Wait, what happened to the last one? I thought you already had a boy toy?"
"We broke up," Yang said without a care in the world. "Something about me not being worth the effort or whatever."
'Its only been a week,' was all Ruby could think. 'I swear you burn through boyfriends and girlfriends faster than people chew gum.'
Yang suddenly stood and put her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Well, come on sis, we should head back, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow, what with initiation and all that."
"I suppose you're right," Ruby replied with a sigh. The moon still called to her, but she knew that it was time for her to call it a night. Taking one final deep breath, she turned and followed her sister back to the common hall where the first years would be spending the night.
Weiss
Weiss lay in her cot, thinking back over the day's events. One scene, however, kept rising to the surface, as much as Weiss had wanted to ignore it.
'Just who was that girl? She looked too young to be a student here, but I guess anything is possible.' Weiss continued to ponder what had happened earlier in the day, until she suddenly found herself smiling. Why would she be smiling? That explosion earlier almost cut her trip to Beacon much shorter than she had anticipated. That should have made her madder than hell, yet here she was, smiling like an idiot.
"How did this even happen," Weiss wondered aloud as she played through the events in her head one more time.
Weiss stepped off of the airship with an air of confidence. She was the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, and soon she would be a huntress in training. She felt herself crack a smile as she looked out on the campus. This would be her home. Her escape from the media. Her release from her parents. Her safe haven from her uncle and his insane ravings about the Faunus. Here, she could was free to live as she wished, instead of by a strict code laid out for her.
Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and walked towards the courtyard, looking to take in the sights before she started her new life. She expected to see a beautiful grove of trees and the path leading to the famous campus garden, but she instead found herself gazing at a strange girl bouncing around excitedly. With each student that passed, she seemed to get more and more energetic, eventually squealing as a large boy with a massive weapon strapped to his back walked by. This only made Weiss more confused, as the boy was nothing special to look at. Weiss was about to ask if this girl was going to be okay, but lost all train of thought when she finally caught a glimpse of her face. She was indeed younger, but it couldn't be more than a couple of years difference. Her black hair was tipped red, which seemed to match her outfit and cloak perfectly. But what stopped Weiss in her tracks were her eyes. The silver orbs were filled with excitement as they darted around, seeking out newer and better things. The wonderment that they held was something very foreign to her, something unexpected. When Weiss had finally recovered from her initial shock, the young girl suddenly toppled backwards, straight into the cart carrying all of Weiss's Dust.
"What are you doing?! Do you have any idea the damage you could have caused?!" Weiss shouted, her previous trance now shattered. The girl mumbled sorry as she slowly stood, but Weiss wasn't done with her yet. "You could have blown us all away with that little stunt! This is Dust!"
Weiss was rewarded with a blank stare, and this only angered her further. 'How was it that you amazed me with your excitement a second ago,' Weiss thought, 'and then you turn around and pull this moronic stunt?' Weiss picked a vial out of the case to ensure it was okay, and then turned back to the young girl before her.
"Do you have any idea how volatile dust is?! Especially in its powdered form!" Weiss continued to lecture the girl. "You do know what Dust is right? The purest form of energy? Our source of elemental control? Is this getting through to you at all?!"
As Weiss lectured the girl before her, she shook the vial in her face, hoping to get the point across. As Weiss finally started to calm down, she noted the red haze that had surrounded them. 'Damn, looks like the seal on this canister broke.' That's when the younger girl sneezed.
The resulting explosion only managed to reignite Weiss's anger. "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" Weiss shouted. When the young girl mumbled apologies, Weiss was too angry to even hear it. "Did you even realize what you could have done you dolt! You could have ignited all the dust I have in these cases, and then we wouldn't be standing here! Only a moron like you would sneeze directly into a cloud of dust! How can you be a student at this school yet still be such a dunce?! Just what were you thinking?!" Weiss continued on like this for a least a minute. Usually yelling like that helped her feel better in the end, as a way to release all the stress caused by her family. And while she did feel less angry, she definitely didn't feel any better. 'Maybe is should apologize.' Weiss thought as she faced the younger girl again. Before Weiss could even open her mouth, however, she found herself on the receiving end of a sharp tongue.
"I said I was sorry, Princess!" Weiss froze to the spot. No one beside her family had ever dared talk to her like that. While there were far worse things to call her, this was still a new experience for her. Unsure of how to react, Weiss just stood there transfixed until a third voice entered the fray.
"Its heiress, actually. This is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company and the one who is to inherit the Schnee legacy."
Weiss turned to see a girl clad in black and wearing a black bow walking toward them. 'Finally, an out,' was all that crossed Weiss's mind. The younger girls seemed enthralled with the newcomer, so Weiss turned away from her and acknowledged the new player. "Finally, some recognition."
What Weiss wasn't expecting, however, was this new girl to immediately start drudging up every bad thing that her parent's company had done. All the recent incidents with the Faunus workers, her father's recent involvement in the slave market, even the recent factory fire that had killed quite a few people. This girl seemed to know about all of it, and was now using it against Weiss.
"I don't have to deal with this," Weiss said angrily as she turned and walked away. What the other girls didn't hear was Weiss's crestfallen mumble, "I'm not my family, so why does everyone keep comparing me to them. I thought this place was going to be different."
Weiss shook her head as the sad thought returned once again. She wasn't her family. She was her own person, and she was here to prove that. She would prove that girl wrong. This place would be different. Weiss wasn't the one that would cause more sadness, she would be the one the end it. She would take all that she learned here and make the world a better place.
Her train of thought was broken when the door to the common area opened once again. When Weiss rolled on her side to get a better view, she saw the blond that had left earlier walked in, followed shortly by a girl in a red hood. Weiss felt her stomach drop, as she recognized the girl in red as the girl that had exploded earlier in the day. Embarrassed, Weiss lay back down and closed her eyes, hoping they wouldn't come her way.
Much to her disdain, the girl in red walked right up to the cot next to hers and sat down. 'That just had to be my luck. This girl, who probably already hates me, just had to be assigned the cot right next to mine. Guess I'm not making any friends tonight.'
"You just gonna pretend that I'm not here, Princess?" Weiss's eyes shot open as amazement coursed through her.
"I just figured you wouldn't want to talk to me after what happened earlier. Especially after you found out who I was, and what my parents have done," Weiss's voice trailed off.
"Everyone has bad days, so don't worry about it," came the chipper reply. "I could honestly care less about what your family's company has done. I already knew about all of that. I'll make my own decision about you."
A smile crept across Weiss's face. Perhaps tonight wasn't a total loss after all. Weiss sat up and faced the girl across from her. "In that case, my name's Weiss. And you are?"
"Ruby Rose. A pleasure to properly meet you Weiss Schnee," Ruby said as she stretched out her hand. Weiss took it and looked the younger girl in the eyes.
She didn't know how long they sat and talked after that, or even what they talked about, and she didn't care. When Weiss finally lay down to go to sleep, she did it with a smile on her face and those silver eyes on her mind. What she didn't know was the same smile was plastered on the face of the girl that lay in the next cot over.