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timelordthirteen · 3 years

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Desperate Souls 1/?

Mr. Gold/BelleFrench, Explicit

Summary: A broke and heartbroken Belle French comes to an agreement with Mr. Gold to do a little modeling, just for him, in exchange for the money she desperately needs, but it isn't long before they both realize they've made a deal they didn't understand. Based on this prompt.

Chapter Summary: Belle makes a depressing discovery and considers her options.

Notes: OKAY. Here we go. Chapter 2 is almost done, but everything was getting stupid long and in spite of my plan I had to break it up. The entire story is all fully outlined now, but I make zero promises about my ability to keep it updated because I'm the worst. In total it will be anywhere from 10 to 15 chapters.

[AO3]

Belle stared at the paper in her hands.

$37.23

That was all that was left in the account. She staggered and then dropped down onto the old sofa. Her heart was thumping in her chest, her face felt hot, and her vision blurred. The page fluttered away, sliding over the coffee table to fall off the edge and onto the floor on the other side. The corner of the paper fluttered in the air from a heating vent in the floor, and she watched it for a long moment before her head dropped to her hands, palms pressed to her face as tears stung her eyes.

Her heart, her hopes, her money; Garrett Gaston had taken everything.

Well, almost everything. Apparently, she still had thirty-seven fucking dollars and change left. She shook her head and laid back against the cushions, breathing slowly. Calming down was step one, step two was figuring out a logical plan to fix things. Most of the regular monthly bills: car payment, cell phone, and utilities, had already been deducted before Garrett had a chance to clean out their shared account. That left whatever was on the credit card and the rent to pay. She let out a short, humorless laugh, and sat up. There wasn’t much on her Visa, some books she ordered from Amazon last month and her Netflix subscription. Even if there was more she could get away with making minimum payments if she had to and eat the interest until she got back on her feet. The rent was a whole other story.

Mr. Gold didn’t do minimum payments, but he did do late fees and interest.

There was also her promise to her father. Moe French was always just barely making ends meet, and she had agreed to loan him some money to buy extra stock for the flower shop ahead of Valentine’s Day, something she had done last year as well. That holiday always put the shop in the black for a while, and she hadn’t been concerned that she wouldn’t get her money back. Now she was wondering if she would also need a loan of some kind just to keep a roof over her head.

Maybe she’d even have to move back in with her father.

Belle blinked, letting the tears roll down her cheeks, leaving trails through her makeup. Living with Moe was not an option, not if she wanted to maintain any semblance of a relationship with him, which left her with few choices. She pushed to her feet, wiping at her face with her hand as she crossed the small living room to pick up the bank statement. Her eyes immediately went to the top of the page.

Beginning balance…$4,737.23

The statement crumpled in her hand, her fingers squeezing it into a tight ball, digging the sharp edges of the folded paper into her palm before she spun on her heel and threw it across the space. It smacked against the door to the bathroom. She followed it up by yanking the ring off her left hand and flinging it in the same direction. It made a satisfying ping as it careened off the doorknob and rattled to the floor.

Rage fueled her as she stomped through the apartment, snatching up the handful of things her now very ex-fiance had left behind before he fucked off to Mexico with a woman who wasn’t her, taking all of her money with him. She felt like an idiot for agreeing to sign Garrett onto her account before they were married, but in the moment it had made sense to pool their funds. They were starting their new life together, supposedly, and he made a point of saying he wanted to help pay for the wedding.

Belle and her father didn’t have much, and from the outside it seemed like Garrett was far better off financially. He had a decent job selling insurance, a nice car, nice clothes, and his parents were very well off real estate agents in Boston. Or at least that was what he had told her. She had never met them, and that, combined with the fact that he had yet to make any deposits into their now shared account, told her all she needed to know. Garrett Gaston was a lying asshole, and for all she knew his parents could be dead or have disowned him. It was clear he had used her, though she wasn’t sure the year long charade was worth the four thousand-seven hundred dollars he’d stolen from her.

She let out a ragged breath and ran her hands through her hair. A hooded sweatshirt with a rip in the front pocket, a paint splattered t-shirt, a pair of work boots that had seen better days, a phone charger, and a mismatched pair of socks lay in a pile on the sofa. Everything else he’d taken with him, including half the hangers in the closet. He must have crammed it all into the same large suitcase and duffle bag he’d used to move in just three months ago. She wondered if he’d had it all planned before then, or if it was a spur of the moment decision. When had he met this other woman? Had he cared about her at all, ever?

Belle sniffed loudly and rubbed her nose. She refused to shed any more tears over Garrett, and looked around the room for anything she might have missed. A thought hit her then, and she hurried into the kitchen, took one of the chairs from the small table by the window, and used it to reach up on top of the fridge. Her heart sank when she felt nothing but dust. He’d even taken her emergency fund, mostly made up of spare change and small bills shoved into an old jar. She wasn’t sure how much was in it, but it had to be a couple hundred dollars. That brought the total to almost five thousand.

Deflated and exhausted, she climbed down off the chair, and placed it back at the table. Then she walked back into the living room and briefly contemplated setting Garrett’s things on fire. There was a burn barrel in her father’s backyard that he used for yard waste. Maybe she could invite Ruby and Ashely over for a bonfire, and roast marshmallows that they imagined were ex-boyfriends.

That thought made her smile, but a few seconds later, she sighed and reluctantly went to pick up the bank statement and engagement ring. Being angry might make her feel better temporarily, but it wouldn’t solve any of her current problems. Unfortunately, neither would anything Garrett left behind, which were clearly items he no longer cared about and which had no value. At least she’d been wearing the ring when he packed up and left, or he likely would have taken that as well.

She went into the bedroom and sank down on the end of the bed. The mattress dipped and the frame creaked, yet another reminder of her less than stellar financial state. A couple of weeks ago, they’d talked about getting new furniture after they were married, in particular, a bed, and Belle rolled her eyes at the memory. She put the engagement ring back in its box on her dresser, and decided to take a shower. As the hot water ran down over her neck and shoulders, she made a mental list of what she needed to do, and felt calmer after she was done.

After drying off and changing into some comfortable clothes, she shoved Garrett’s belongings into a trash bag and set it by the door to take down to the dumpster in the morning. Then she sat down with the little notebook she kept in her purse and a pen, and started writing out her expenses for the next month. By the time she was done, and after considering the amount of her usual paycheck, the total she would at the end of next month was...fifty four dollars.

She fell back against the sofa and blew out a breath. There was no way to make the math come out any better. Rent included the usual utilities, but there was food, her cellphone, car insurance, and those incidental costs of existing like laundry detergent and toilet paper and probably a hundred things she’d end up running out of next week. It felt like life was out to spite her. The cushion she had worked so hard to build up was gone, as was the paycheck that had just deposited. Garrett probably waited until Thursday just for that reason, to squeeze just a little bit more out of her and make her ruin complete.

She got up and went back into the bedroom. The ring box seemed to be mocking her as she reached for it, and she flipped it open and scowled down at the princess cut diamond. It was about one carat in size, flanked by two smaller diamonds, which gave the ring a total weight of about one and half carats. It was huge as far as engagement rings went, and she supposed that was more of Garrett showing off money he didn’t actually have. The truth was she didn’t care for it at all, the squared off princess cut being her least favorite, and the set of three gems gave it a bulk and gaudiness that wasn’t her style. But it was what he had picked out and proposed with, and because of that she made herself like it. The band was rose gold, her favorite, which was at least one thing he managed to remember about her.

Belle snapped the box shut and shook her head. The ring had to be worth something, and though there was only one place in town she could take it she was confident that Mr. Gold would give her a fair price. He had always been fair, even if he often came off as cold and eccentric. She’d never had a problem with Gold, though she didn’t really know him that well either. A few times she had gone out of her way to try to be nice and talk to him, but he seemed annoyed and eventually she gave up. She was friendly and polite when she saw him, not just because he was her landlord, or because we wielded some strange power over most of the citizens of Storybrooke, but because she sensed he was someone who didn’t have a lot of kindness in his life.

She set the ring down and yanked open the bottom dresser drawer. Inside was a small collection of what could only be described as ugly Christmas sweaters, leftover from the annual holiday parties that Granny would throw at the diner. Those were taken out and set aside. Beneath them was something that made Belle frown all over again, a pile of silk and lace, with a few price tags caught up on each other. It was the pile of lingerie that she’d been reserving for her wedding and honeymoon.

The sting of tears made her blink and she felt her earlier anger bubbling up again. She knelt down in front of the drawer and pulled all of it out, throwing it behind her on the bed. Then she set about separating it, untangling tags and eye hooks, and pairing up the things that went together. She hadn’t worn any of it yet, but the items with tags had been purchased too long ago to return, never mind that she had probably thrown out the receipts weeks ago. It wasn’t designer stuff or anything, but it had to be worth something, so she folded it all into a neat stack and placed it on top of the dresser. Then she set the ring box on top and resolved to take all of it to Gold’s shop tomorrow.

None of it would be missed.

#rumbelle #rumbelle fic #belle x mr. gold #lemon fic #;)#my rumbelle fic #fic #deals and debts #desperate souls

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astoria00 · 5 years

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Atonement Day is finally here

This was everything she had ever wanted.

The chaos, the mindless brutally of how humans tended to trample over one another to get themselves to safety first.

How they were broken down to reveal their true selfish nature.

The power to invoke these feelings in them, to destroy everything they held dear…

And yet…it felt almost hollow.

The icy wind blew sharply in her face, carrying with it a distinct smell of fresh snow and ashes.

Forcefully moving one foot in front of the other, Cinder stumbled through the burning ruins, ignoring the screaming citizens around her.

At long last Atlas had fallen, crashed, like the egocentric monopoly of power that it regarded itself to be.

Driven into Mantle, leaving only a pile of ruins and blood in its wake.

This was her victory…her ticket to be welcomed back home with open arms, so why…

‘Why do I feel like this?’

Cinder wanted, no, needed to get back to Salem and yet her feet carried her away from the Beringel searching for her.

What was wrong with her?

It was her only option.

Her master was the only one who hadn’t betrayed her. To the contrary, she had given the dark haired girl so much and promised even more.

This was the only mother figure she had ever had…

The cold air stung in her eye, causing it to tear up once more, the salty fluid burning down her skin, joining the dried streak on her cheek.

Pressing her right hand even harder against her stomach, she tried to even her breathing.

Her being wounded added to the stupidity of not returning to Salem immediately.

She didn’t have a death wish!

She wanted to live!

Cinder was endangering herself and for what?

I know I messed up, but you have to know-

What had Emerald wanted to tell her?

Not that it mattered anymore.

Her subordinates had betrayed her.

Neo had betrayed her.

She had been so stupid to actually let her guard down around her, to trust that they actually had an…understanding.

Two mismatched, sorrowful eyes flashed through her mind, the horrible pain erupting from her back to her stomach. The easiness by which she had been chased off.

Of course Neo had never abandoned her quest on killing her.

It had been ludicrous to think after Atlas it could go back to how things were in Haven and Beacon.

Cinder had known the smaller girl was different from Emerald and Mercury.

There was no blind reverence.

Neo had been…her equal in a sense.

Not beating around the bush when she didn’t agree with her decisions.

And if she was honest to herself, it had been quite refreshing.

Why had it all gone so wrong?

I didn’t kill your boss, girl.

She hadn’t and yet…she had felt remorse.

For Roman.

For Neo.

For not having been able to look for her after the Fall of Beacon.

But it didn’t matter anymore.

Nothing did.

A loud screech startled Cinder, as she whirled around as good as she could, staring right into the terrifying eyes of a huge winged Beringel.

Instinctively she wanted to back away, but she appeared to be frozen in place.

‘Everything is fine.

It’s not going to attack me.’

The grimm cocked its head at her, reaching for her frame with its giant paw.

The burning intensity of its inhuman, crimson, hollow eyes made her hair stand on end.

This was nothing like the grimm she had encountered before. Even the Wyvern had felt different…more approachable.

Forming bonds with them had never been too difficult, but this one was nothing more than an empty husk.

Roughly, she was grabbed by the Beringel, a short, painful gasp escaping Cinder’s lips as it pressed almost harshly against her wound.

‘This is fine!

It’s just bringing me home…to Salem.’

Of course.

She had been foolish to go against Salem’s will.

Remember Firefly, your desires can only be found through me.

Despite knowing that Cinder had still tried to outsmart her, only to be reminded that there was no bending the rules with Salem.

She had played a game she could have never won.

Squeezing her eye shut, she tried to surrender to her fate, only to rip it open once she heard a horrifying shriek, followed by a deep growl.

Something had cut clean through the Beringel’s wrist, its paw loosing the iron grip it had on Cinder, making it possible for her to slip through its fingers.

Landing unceremoniously on her butt, a slight moan managed to tear itself from her throat, as the impact rocked through her body, unsettling her wound even further.

Her head began to spin and she had to squint hard as to not black out from the burning pain erupting in her back, as it spread through her whole torso.

Everything happened so fast.

The dark haired girl wasn’t even able to catch her breath, when she was abruptly dragged to her feet and pulled into niche.

Her eye had trouble to focus on its new surroundings.

A loud roar pierced her ears and her left arm twitched violently.

It was as if something tried to force itself inside her head.

[Stop defying me!]

Cinder’s breath hitched, her hands pressing against her ears in desperation, her left one digging painfully in her scalp to make the voice stop.

Someone shook her wildly, but she couldn’t respond or react in any kind.

Out of desperation she felt her aura flaring up, trying to shove whatever pulled at her, only to hear a sudden shattering noise, as if something had just broken a window, splintering it to million pieces.

Then…everything went quiet.

Cinder’s pain ebbed away slightly, helping her to finally spot the person responsible for her rescue.

Her eye widening in disbelief.

“Neo?”

And just like that her remaining power was spent, even as she fought violently to keep her eye open.

Dropping to her knees, Cinder fell forward, her senses dwindling, only dimly realizing that someone stopped her fall…before everything went dark.

xxxxxxxxxx

Cinder didn’t know how long she had been out.

When she came to she seemed to be underground, only the dim flames of the candles spend some warmth and light.

There was a strange pounding in her head, but at the very least her back and stomach felt slightly more agreeable.

Shifting on her apparently self made mattress, she realized that there was a bandage around her midsection and right shoulder. Granted, it was stitched together out of different clothing items. But it had put enough pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding completely.

Letting her eye wander over the sparse room, she could spot her top lying neatly folded atop a broken table.

Slowly she rose on unsteady feet and wobbled more than she walked to her belongings, cautiously putting the rest of her clothes back on.

Her cloak was missing oddly enough, but Cinder had other things to worry about.

She probably lost it when the Beringel caught her earlier…depending on when earlier was.

But first things first.

She had to disappear before-

Just in that moment the door behind her creaked open, revealing the short frame of her savior, causing Cinder to stumble backwards involuntary.

So it hadn’t been a dream.

It really had been Neo who saved her.

The only question was…

“Why?”

‘Why am I not dead yet?’

Not that Cinder wanted to die…but it just didn’t make any sense for the short girl to not finish her off when she had the chance.

Neo stared at her seemingly at a loss herself, a troubled look crossing her features.

She made some sort of silly motion with her hands, before rolling her eyes, searching for her scroll.

Come to think of it, Neo had used that from time to time to talk to certain people on their way to Atlas, hadn’t she?

What was it called again?

…sign language?

Either way, it wasn’t one the dark haired girl understood.

Having found her scroll Neo began to type out her answer, presenting it to Cinder.

/I don’t know./

‘Seriously?!’

Sighing loudly, she rubbed her temples to alleviate the building pressure there.

Annoyance bubbled in the pit of her stomach, as she did her best to appear as imposing as she could, stemming her right hand into her hip.

Her glare following the shorter girl, who hopped on the broken table, making herself comfortable.

“First you stab me and then you just, what?

Changed your mind?”

She couldn’t help but let a very dry, sarcastic edge slip into her tone.

If Cinder wanted anything right now it was answers.

Neo shrugged, letting her feet dangle over the edge of the table, trying to be as nonchalant as possible, to bridge over the time it took her to reply.

/You didn’t kill Roman./

The text on the screen stared at the dark haired girl almost tauntingly, adding to the layer of anger building up inside her.

“I didn-

That’s what I’ve been telling you the whole time!

It was little Re-”

As soon as Cinder had started talking Neo vigorously typed as well, holding her scroll under the taller girl’s nose to interrupt her, while not moving one inch from her position.

A perfect illusion.

As much as the taller girl hated to admit it, that semblance was definitely one of the more impressive one’s out there.

/Ruby didn’t kill him either.

It was my fault. I just…didn’t want to see it./

‘…huh?’

“What are you talking about, you-”

/If I had been there, he wouldn’t have died!/

That’s what this was about?

Taking Roman’s fate on herself now?

Ridiculous!

Rolling her eye she took a step closer to the smaller girl, who still sat on the broken table, her face falling more and more.

Was she expecting Cinder to just forget how she almost killed her?

From behind her back no less?

“So why blame me then?”, she asked pleasantly, her voice evening to a softer tone,

“Payback for hiring your boss?”

She had seen Salem use these tactics before and as far as Cinder knew they always worked…even on her.

Her master was truly the epitome of power.

Oh how foolish she had been indeed.

This time Neo took even more time to reply, visibly struggling to find the right words.

/…no…I just don’t want to be alone again…/

Your punishment is to toil in your isolation, Cinder.

Only completely alone can you truly grow.

No!

This was not the same.

She had overcome this weakness of hers.

She didn’t need anyone!

‘Then why was I being punished with it again?’

Cinder felt a sense of helplessness wash over her.

Oh how she hated this dreaded feeling.

Catching Neo’s concerned and oh so expecting look, the dark haired girl smirked.

“So you saved me for yourself?”, she asked with a mix of faux surprise and false gentleness,

Isn’t that just touching?”

Tightening the grip around her scroll, Neo jumped from the table, her parasol running along the stony floor, tossing the electric device at the taller girl.

Reflexively, Cinder caught it, narrowing her eye to read what the now angry girl had written her this time.

/Stop trying to make me sound like I’m in the wrong here.

I’m not one of your cronies!/

‘True…you’re not one of them…’

But this was exactly why it hurt so much.

Why she tried to cause Neo as much pain as she could.

…because they had been equal.

They had…

‘A relationship?’

…something!

Still, it was so easy to fall back on her anger.

So familiar.

“You STABBED me!

Excuse me that I don’t particularly care whether you like my tone or not.”

Cinder’s headache increased.

She just wanted to be done with this.

She needed to get back to Salem, before her victory became hollow in regards to her lapse of judgment.

The smaller girl had backed away slightly at her outburst, anger giving way to sorrow, as she began to let her hands run through different motions.

Feeling her rage dwindling, Cinder rolled her eye once more, her tone losing the vicious edge it had held before.

“I can’t understand this signing language you love to do.

Either spit it out or get out of my way!”

Staring at the dark haired girl in disbelief, she lowered her eyes at the scroll still in Cinder’s hand and back again in the hopes of getting it back.

She didn’t know why she caved and dropped the communication device in Neo’s outstretched hand, but something compelled Cinder to do it.

Maybe it was the same feeling that wouldn’t let her return home.

This horrible sense of foreboding…or these strange powers she couldn’t control.

Either way she wanted to hear what Neo had to say…as strange as that sounded.

The smaller girl offered her a weak smile, before writing just two short words on her scroll.

/I’m sorry./

“You’re…sorry…”

‘…why?’

Wasn’t Cinder supposed to apologize?

Was that not what Neo was after?

An apology?

Apologies have no worth if you don’t mean them.

Do you really regret what you did, girl?

‘I don’t!’

She didn’t regret Beacon, she didn’t regret anything…but Neo’s sorrowful eyes made her wish so badly things had gone differently.

Was that…how it felt like?

To regret?

How could Neo apologize when she didn’t?

Sinking down on the table Neo had sit before her, she tried desperately to sort through her emotions.

“I destroyed it…I destroyed Atlas.

I don’t know how, but I did…”

‘I hated every second of it!’

“I don’t want to go back home!!”

‘I don’t want to drown again!’

She didn’t know whether she said any of it out loud, until she felt a soft tab on her shoulder.

Neo gave her a hesitant smile, handing Cinder her cape back.

So it hadn’t been lost after all.

Taking it with a quick nod, she unfolded it, her brow rising when she spotted a crumbled…card?

Glancing at Neo out of the corner of her eye she caught the expectant look on her face, appearing almost…nervous?

Cinder turned the card in her hand and froze.

It was one of Roman’s business cards. And right under the giant logo was something written, in this so awfully scratched mess that Torchwick had called his handwriting. Something that had taken the dark haired girl so much time to decipher back then.

/Wanna run away together?/

Run…

Away…

‘Together?’

Raising her head in shock, Cinder looked utterly dumbfounded.

This was a horrible idea.

Neo had already betrayed her once, she could never be too sure if she wouldn’t do it again.

There was her quest for power.

…there was Salem…

Nothing good would come of this, so why…

Why did it make her so…happy?

It had been the same when the short girl had given her the apology.

It felt good…but also twisted something inside her stomach.

“I…

‘I’m sorry I left you all alone.’

But she couldn’t get the words out.

…not yet.

The realization hit her like a brick.

‘I don’t want to be alone as well!’

She erupted in laughter.

Cinder couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so freely.

If both of them didn’t want to be alone in this world, why not stick together?

Salem wouldn’t be pleased, she would get into so much trouble…and she couldn’t care less.

Fastening her cloak around her neck she stood up, offering Neo a grateful smile, who returned it just as eagerly, lending Cinder her shoulder to help her walk outside.

Whatever conflicting feelings she had regarding the other girl, she would sort this out on her own terms.

This was what she wanted.

“You know, Neo, I am glad you came back for me.”

‘Thank you for rescuing me!’

AN: Hello again ^^

Kinda felt inspired today, so I took one of my other oneshots

as a basis, but it can be read as a standalone,

and wrote a spin off scenario for Spicecreamweek.

I hope it qualifies for an entry, never did this before ^^’

#rwby #cinder fall #neo rwby #spicecreamweek #Change of heart/redemption #spicecream

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scarletroseofrwby · 5 years

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TCSE AU Chapter 5:

Something wasn’t right.

Uneasiness filled atmosphere for longer than what anyone of the girls would have wanted. As soon as they moved into their dorm, the girl in white and the girl in black immediately moved further away from each other, eyeing the other skeptically with the slightest hint of fear. Ruby opened her mouth slightly to ask what was wrong, but then decided against it. At least for now. This tension was all too much to address for the moment.

It felt weird while they unpacked. Although they were each content with how they were organizing their belongings, everything felt weird. Perhaps it was homesickness of some sort? None of them truly knew. Once they had all unpacked, the room was now cluttered with the beds piled up in the middle.

“This...isn’t going to work,” Weiss said, crossing her arms.

“It is a bit cramped,” Blake added.

“Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff,” Yang recommended, caressing her chin in thought.

“Or we could ditch the beds...and get bunk beds instead!” Ruby said, immediately excited at her great idea.

Weiss glanced at her partner. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

Ruby only shrugged. “Top or bottom?”

The heiress’ face reddened, flustered by misunderstanding. “Excuse me?”

“I said top or bottom?” Ruby didn’t understand exactly why Weiss was confused by the question.

Yang leaned closer to Weiss’ ear and cupped her hand so that nobody else could hear. “Hey Ice Queen, I hope you know that she isn’t aware of that stuff yet.”

Now Weiss was even more embarrassed. Not only did she misunderstand what her partner meant, she actually thought of going that far for a moment. She shivered, mentally face-palming and scolding herself. Things were already going wrong, and they haven’t even spent an official day in their dorm yet.

Before things could get any worse, Ruby and Yang already started configuring the beds. Blake jumped in to help Yang, leaving Weiss standing there. She might as well help Ruby since standing does no good right now. Although Yang and Blake’s bunk beds looked relatively safe--one bed stacked on top of a few hardback books under each leg--Ruby’s was completely unsafe. Her bed was dangling from the ceiling by a few measly ropes. If one were to snap, it’d be the end for one of them.

“I got top bunk!” Ruby called out.

Scratch that. It’d be the end for Weiss Schnee. Of all the ways she could die, the most likely scenario would be death by bed. Quite pathetic. Especially for a huntress.

But Weiss had other things to worry about right now. One of them being the issue with the Faunus on her team. Neither one knew what to do with each other, and all they could do as of right now was glare from a distance. Obviously it wouldn’t get by Ruby without suspicion, so the young leader decided to drag her sister out of the room. Yang followed, confused as to why Ruby left their partners in the dorm.

“What’s going on, Rubes?” Yang asked, crossing her arms.

“Don’t you think something’s up with Weiss and Blake? They keep glaring at each other, and the atmosphere is too tense for comfort.”

“Hmm,” Yang rubbed her chin, “I guess you aren’t wrong there. Something’s definitely up.”

Blake only stared at the door, waiting for Yang to come back. But a few minutes passed, and still nothing. She thought she’d leave, not wanting to make any contact with Weiss. Walking over and reaching for the doorknob, she paused when Weiss called out to her.

“Faun--erm--Blake, I...I want to apologize for what I said yesterday. You didn’t deserve it, and I shouldn’t have been so biased. I’m sure you’re different and not like ones that I’ve met.”

The bowed girl eyed the heiress suspiciously. “And why should I believe you? After all your family has done to my people?”

Weiss sighed. She really wanted to show that she can be different. That she wouldn’t end up like her father. “Because I don’t want to be like my family. I want to change, and I’m really trying, but it’s just hard. I don’t want to be cold and difficult. I realized that I’ve been that way for far too long. I want to change, and I want your help.”

“Help with what?”

“I want you to be a friend. You have no idea how difficult this is for me. Working with Ruby was a task in and of itself. Doing this is completely out of my comfort zone.”

Blake’s eyes lightened up, her expression less serious. A faint smile appeared on her face. It was slightly unfriendly, but it was trustful. Which was a great start.

Weiss held out her hand for Blake to shake. Blake took it, but her grip was still uneasy.

“Acquaintances. Only time will tell for sure, but no more and no less.”

Ruby and Yang had their ears perched up against the door, listening in on their conversation. To nobody’s surprise, Yang didn’t get a single thing they were saying, but Ruby was baffled by how oblivious Yang could be sometimes. She never paid attention to anything, even in the heat of battle.

But with that out of the way, Ruby burst back into the room with a cheerful smile. Yang entered after her, upholding the same exuberance as her sister.

“We’ve finally moved in! We should celebrate!” Yang suggested.

“Let’s get tacos!” Ruby yelled, bringing smiles to Weiss and Blake. “What do you guys say?”

How could anyone refuse when Ruby makes puppy eyes? Even a cat couldn’t refuse those sparkly silver eyes. Blake shrugged and nodded at the young girl. “Why not?”

They all looked to Weiss. “Shouldn’t we be studying?”

“Weiss, classes don’t start in a couple of days! We still have plenty of time to study, but for now, let’s just live! It’s not like it’s life or death if we miss a few questions anyway.”

Inside, Weiss kept debating with herself. She wanted to celebrate with her new friends, but old habits are too hard to break. She’d only hear her father’s voice followed by a stinging sensation on her cheek. How much it had hurt could not be described. She went through hell and back to attend Beacon. Isn’t that something worth celebrating?

Ruby took Weiss’ hand, ready to drag her out the door. “C’mon Weiss, let’s go have fun!”

The voice inside her had overtaken her father’s voice. “I suppose we can. Show me around Vale, Ruby. I want to see everything in this city since it’s now my home.”

This brought absolute joy to Ruby.

“Yes ma’am! You will not be disappointed!”

------------

Later that night, team RWBY slept soundly within the comforts of their new home. The following couple of days flew by quickly. Weiss got her studying done as promised by Ruby, and Yang managed to get Blake to spar with her. When classes came up, the team of four young women dressed up in their uniforms, preparing for their first official day of school.

Ruby sat on her bed while looking at all of their schedules. “So we have a few classes together today. We all have Vale History at nine, then Sparring Class at 10:15, then--”

Weiss widened her eyes as she checked the clock. “What time did you say our first class was?”

“Nine, why?”

“It’s 8:55, you dunce!”

The team suddenly realized how close they are to being late, rushing out of the dorm immediately. Team JNPR, who lived across from RWBY, completely forgot their classes. Running after the four girls, they all made a desperate attempt at not being late on the first day. Weiss kept a close eye on her watch as they all started using their semblances to reach the lecture hall. Time was running out.

Jaune was falling behind everyone, his stamina surprisingly low for his figure. “How far is this classroom?!”

They all made it in time. Pyrrha ended up throwing Jaune into the lecture hall while she sprinted. Ruby made it first with the help of her semblance. Weiss was next, using her glyphs to speed into class. Yang and Blake tied with Ren and Nora, with Jaune flying in before Pyrrha. Luckily the professor let them off the hook, but Weiss would not tolerate it. She planned to yell at Ruby after class to keep track of time so that this doesn’t happen again.

Of course, class itself could have been better. Professor Port only talked about himself, but allowed one student to demonstrate fighting techniques against a Grimm. It was a smaller one, a Boarbatusk. Weiss was chosen to fight against it, only to end up nearly losing because of a few mistakes in her strike pattern. It costed her, and if it weren’t for Ruby’s shouting, she might not have known where to strike to kill the Grimm.

As the team exited class, they prepared for their next one, which was sparring with Ms. Glynda Goodwitch. Although she was still relatively young for a teacher, she was an exceptional huntress. Ruby looked forward to this class, wanting to be able to spar someone other than her sister for once.

The students entered the arena, sitting in the stands while their teacher stood in the large ring below.

She began teaching them about their aura first, explaining how it works and everything else they needed to know. Ruby already knew this, having her dad teach her everything about it in her younger years. But her silver eyes affected how her aura worked. Her aura could not heal the pain done by the curse because there was no physical damage done. It really messed up her battle performance one time when her sister decided to be reckless and broke her leg while fighting an Ursa. Ruby couldn’t walk until Yang’s leg had fully healed.

Ruby would never stop nagging about it since then. Yang didn’t understand how or why Ruby felt the same pain, but she just assumed it was a ‘sister’s intuition’. That was incorrect, obviously, but Ruby never bothered to explain it to Yang.

A tap on the shoulder was all it took for Ruby to stop thinking about the past and refocus. She looked to whoever tapped her, which happened to be Jaune.

“Hey Ruby, Glynda asked us to go first,” he whispered to her.

“Oh, right, right. Sorry,” she whispered back.

As they made their way to the ring, Glynda moved to the stands above. Spotlights were on the two students, and everyone had eyes on them. Especially on Ruby. She could feel the nerves tensing up on the both of them, but Jaune seeming even more so.

“Ready your weapons!” Glynda commanded, her voice echoing in the arena.

Jaune drew his sword from his scabbard, his shield forming on his left arm. Ruby pulled out her scythe, allowing it to surge into its fullest form. Many of the students were impressed with her weapon.

“Begin!”

Ruby immediately rushed in to strike Jaune. He blocked with his shield, but the mass of the scythe brought him to his knees. The cloaked girl pulled back, looking for another opportunity to attack. As Jaune stood back up, he was wide open, giving Ruby the chance to attack. She struck him in the chest, dealing a large amount of damage to his aura. He stumbled back, but quickly recovering to gain an attack on Ruby.

The two went at it, but it was clear that Ruby had the upper hand. She was more experienced in combat, while Jaune had little to no experience whatsoever. By the time the match was finished, Jaune was pretty beat up. Ruby had no damage done to her whatsoever, but she could feel Jaune’s pain. She could feel the impact on Jaune’s dignity, his self-esteem sinking.

Helping him up and off of the ground, Ruby smiled, slightly sympathetically. “Hey, you did great.”

“Pfft, don’t lie to me, Ruby. We all know who won the match. You don’t need to do this.” He stretched, only to feel a wave of pain throughout his body. “Ow, that hurts. You really did a number on me.”

Ruby’s eyes flashed for a moment, and suddenly her body felt as sore as Jaune’s did. “Y-Yeah, sorry about that.”

Hiding the truth was the easy part. Hiding the pain was sometimes difficult.

“Ruby, are you okay? I didn’t hurt you at all, but yet you seem like--”

“It’s nothing. It’s nothing at all. I’m fine, just...tired is all.”

He bought it. Which was a great relief to Ruby. But it’s hard to mask the pain completely. Especially the pain of that one day. Ruby could never forget that. How could she forget it? It was her birthday, and then the first thing she saw was...

Ruby shook her head. I refuse to think of that right now. Weiss saw the look on Rub’s face, feeling slightly concerned for her partner.

“Are you alright Ruby? You did exceptionally well during match, despite the fact that your opponent had no skill at all,” Weiss said.

And once more, Ruby smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine. And thanks. Jaune’s trying his best, but i have to agree with you.”

“If you’re ever in need of an actual sparring partner, I’d be happy to spar against you.”

This made Ruby giggle. “Thanks, Weiss.”

The day continued on, and by the time they were all dismissed, Ruby was already worn out. Never had she ever had such a tight schedule. It was class after class after class with no warning. But she would have to get used to that, assuming it would never get easier from there.

Within a few days, they were all assigned their first mission. Although it was more like a field trip, Ruby still liked to think that it was a mission. In a way, it was like a mission. Gather tree samples and try not to get killed by Grimm.

It was during that time when Jaune had immensely improved in his fighting skills. Ruby didn’t know how it happened, but it did. It surprised everyone the next week when Jaune managed to take down Ren during sparring class. Apparently he had been training with his partner Pyrrha to improve.

But as the weeks went by, it was already the second month of their school year. Ruby was now becoming well known among the school, and although she didn’t mind the attention too much, there were times when it was overwhelming. Everyone heard about her, which meant everyone wanted to know more. And one student in particular wanted to know everything about her.

He hides well among the students, but keeps an even darker secret. His team gathers around him as they keep an eye on the young girl, watching as she leaves her class.

“Looks like we found our next target.”

~~~~~~

Wowie, I’m alive and finally updated this fanfic! Forgive me for posting this way late. It was either getting an A or writing this. Although I’d much rather do the second option, I still want to do my best in school. Also reached over 100 followers! Thank you all so much for supporting me and loving what I do!

Now some things about this story: White Fang will be N/A and Weiss won’t be as cold as in the actual story. She’ll still have a bit of coldness and bitterness in her tone at times, but it won’t be as distant. This is all for the sake of the story flow. Also this chapter is kinda short because I’m just trying to get the story going and prepare it for what I have planned.

Until next chapter!

-Scarlet

#tcse au #tcse au chapter 5 #rwby #rwby au #MY FANFICS

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larkwinters-a · 6 years

Text

The light was blinding. Bright, painfully so, and everywhere, he had to lift a hand to shield his eyes from the intensity of it.

It was normal, he told himself, to be confused by the light of the sun when he’d just woken up, the curtains pulled back to allow it in, in all of it’s unaltered shine. But there was something off about it, something too artificial and too white to be the light from the sun. He narrowed his eyes -- both to see his surroundings better and to block out more of the light -- and looked around.

There was something off about that too. He was standing up.

That was when the lights shut off. Or, at least, dimmed down. Lark dropped his hand from his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. They were familiar, too familiar, despite how barren they were. A stretch of tan floor, made out of some material that looked, to the unknowning eye, like dirt or sand in colour, but it was actually solid. All around, there was walls of silver, steel panels that formed the walls of a cage that had no spaces save for the one he stood in.

He was in a doorway and he heard the roar of cheering. In a paradox, the cheering was so loud that it was nothing but static noise to his ears, like someone had put a dampener over it, or like he was under water, just below the surface so he could hear sound but it wasn’t clear enough to make out what was being said.

It was the sound, so familiar it caused him to shiver, that made the last piece fall in place. It was what made him realise where he was, and that made his eyes widen in shock.

“No,” slipped out of his mouth and he took a step back.

The side of a long barrelled gun was shoved against his back, and whoever held it pushed forward, sending him further into the arena. The force made him stumble over his feet but Lark kept his balance. He was in the arena once more, he was right back where he didn’t want to be, where he couldn’t be. Ruby and Black and safety had slipped through his fingers like sand, small particles managing to escape through even the tightest of spaces. He’d lost everything.

“No,” he choked out. His heart thundered in his chest. “No.”

Across from him, a door slid open, painfully slowly but far too quickly. Lark moved back, his back hitting the wall with a sort of plasticy thud he didn’t have the time to investigate. When the door opened fully with a soft hiss, Lark saw who he was being put up against. Sendak. Again.

The infamous Galra general stepped out of the shadows, his ears twitching happily at the sounds of the cheers of his name. Sendak they screamed, the excitement in their tone was clear. It was one of their own against their favourite little toy.

But it couldn’t be happening again, he had lived this before, they had done this to him before, it couldn’t be happening again.

He had been safe, he had been free and all of that couldn’t have been robbed from him again, it wasn’t fair.

“Paladin,” the word was growled and it caused Lark to frown. It wasn’t possible for Sendak to know that he was a paladin, Sendak shouldn’t have known he was a part of Voltron. They hadn’t caught a glimpse of each other in such a long time, he should have been thought of as dead to the Galran general.

And that was when Lark looked down.

He was in his armour, the black and white shone back at him, strips of blue reflected against the visor of his helmet. It didn’t make sense, it couldn’t have made sense, why would the Galra allow him to keep him? Did they think it would improve their entertainment? Did they want to see him fall from the highest perch possible?

None of that mattered, however, because Sendak lunged at him, metal arm extended towards him. It was too familiar, too real, and Lark ducked under the attack, his movements slower and less coordinated than he remembered being. It was like his limbs were weighted down by lead, making him an easier target. It must have been the armour.

“The lion picked you?” Sendak asked, suddenly right in front of him. Lark almost tripped over his own feet in shock. “For an ancient being, she’s not very smart, huh?”

Lark felt a unbridled rage in him them, his overactive mind reading between the lines; lion he had said, instead of Ruby. It was like acid, corroding everything in it’s path, destroying his resolve as it went.

She picked me, his mind yelled back, because she loves me.

As though Sendak could hear his thoughts, he laughed. He swung, his claws sharper than Lark remembered them being, and they tore through his midsection. The pain was almost too much, it was unbearable, and he let out a choked sob, dropping down to one knee, in the proposal stance. His hands instantly went to the wound but all he felt in response was the material of the bodysuit. It was dry. He was unharmed.

His gaze shot up to Sendak. But he was gone. In his place stood her. Lark cried out in fear, scrambling backwards.

The crowd was gone now, nothing but a solid floor and walls stood around them. The ceiling was dark, like he was looking up into the expanse of space itself. She moved slowly as she advanced on him and he kept moving backwards, back, back, back, until his back hit the wall. The thud rang out around them like an echo. The hem of her cloak dragged behind her as she got closer and Lark desperately searched for a way out. There was none.

Ruby, he begged, Ruby, please.

She was at his feet now and he pulled them up, to his chest, to get as far away from her as possible. His eyes stung but remained dry, they were wide as he desperately searched around. He couldn’t see her anywhere, he couldn’t see where she would come in or how she would. He couldn’t see her; she wasn’t here.

Roo, he pleaded, where are you?

Her hand reached out, jagged sparks of pure black energy fell from her fingertips like snowflakes. His chest rose and fell quickly, the panic gripping him like an icy hand, rooting him in place. Under the shadow of her hood, he saw her jagged smile -- he had never seen her smile --, the yellow of her sclera brighter than ever before. She looked more evil than he remembered, though it never occurred to him that that was just how he saw her in his mind.

“No,” he gasped out. “No, no, leave me alone.”

“Champion,” she breathed out and it was the last word he heard.

The energy shot out from her hand and he remembered the pain before he felt it. And it was worse now, latching onto him like ivy and wrapping tightly around his spine, attacking his nervous system, white hot jolts of agony shot over his body and he --

Lark shot up then, a cold sweat covering his forehead, the droplets running down his spine.

He panted, his chest rising and falling quickly. There was something in his throat, sharp and raspy, and he realised he had just very narrowly avoided screaming. The panic he had felt in the dream carried over into his waking hours, his chest aflame with terror, and his heart pounding in his chest at a rate that would have worried him if he wasn’t used to it by now.

His wide eyes searched their room, for some semblance of where he was, and he clocked the door to the bathroom, the bag of their things on the floor, the pile of their clothes on the ground, the slightly open curtains that allowed the bright morning sun to shine into their room, the --

Their.

It hit him hard and quickly then, exactly what he needed in that moment. He turned and looked at her.

Ruby was still asleep but there was something odd about her. Her brow was creased slightly, the corners of her mouth had tugged down into a frown and one of her arms lay strewn across the space he had once been asleep in, as though it were blindly reaching for something. Her other arm lay over her own body. She seemed slightly rigid, still asleep, but like worry had clouded over her even then.

Her hair was bunched up under her head, a mess from both last night and sleep, and he nearly missed the little purple marks that coated the skin on her neck. They all served of reminders of the previous night and what she had said to him before they had both been lulled off to sleep; if you do, wake me up.

He hadn’t done so that morning, too afraid of what she would have thought of him, and instead, he had sought out other methods to deal with his fear and panic. But that had been before he had shared everything with her, told her of what he had done and endured, and before she had promised him that she would always be by his side, no matter what. There was nothing to be afraid of anymore, in more ways than one, so he felt a level of comfort, of safety, by moving then.

Lark shifted back down to where he had been previously, bringing himself closer to her and that alone helped to ebb the panic still present in his chest. But it wasn’t enough, he needed her. While she had merely been a thought in his nightmare, she was a physical being now. He needed her.

“Roo,” he whispered, his hand reaching out to gently shake her awake. “Roo. Hey,”

She stirred then, blinking awake, and he let in a soft gasp when he met her eyes. They were still filled with sleep, the grogginess clear in both her eyes and how she lazily moved then, but he caught sight of something else, the question, the worry.

“I had one.” he told her, without further prompting. “I -- I -- It was bad.”

She understood, he saw it in how she was becoming more alert, but he couldn’t wait any longer. He moved again, shifting until his arms were around her waist and he buried his face against her neck, eyes shut tightly.

And he knew the stern and unforgiving part of him was telling Lark to apologise to her, to say sorry for waking her up and being an inconvenience, a burden, but the more rational side to him felt how he trembled against her, it knew he wouldn’t have been able to say the words without his emotions pouring out, each syllable polluted by fear. So it won out and he reserved his apologies for another time, as he wrapped his arms tighter around her.

That, and he knew Ruby wouldn’t have accepted it.

#1803

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luckyfirerabbit · 6 years

Text

Savage Season: Garm pt 2

It's dusk and she struggles to run, to get just a little further away from the tiny town she left behind what felt like hours ago. Ruby had to get as far as she could or else risk being driven back there once the sun fully sets. Driven back to kill again. The scarred over, jet black wound in her side has begun to pulse with a dull, heated pain, a throbbing reminder of what's coming. Already she feels the edges of her canines against her tongue.

And all the while the Maiden mark on her wrist burns.

She rips her way through the alpine forest, withered osiria in her wake, the red-white petals steadily turning more dry and gray as the sky darkens. In her maddened hurry, Ruby's foot catches the upward bend of an exposed root, spinning through the air with her own momentum behind her. She drops and skids and rolls between the timbers, eventually coming to a rough stop with her face in the dirt. For a moment she simply lays there, gasping for air and trying to stomach the burning in her side and in her ribcage. Rolling onto her back she forces her eyes open, feeling a clench in her gut at the fading orange of the sky into indigo. She might have a few minutes left.

Gotta get up...go further...

Ruby struggles to her hands and knees, each movement painful and leaving her feeling raw, like an exposed nerve. There it is, the change is coming on, the Grimm is just beneath her skin now. Her stomach clenches again, followed by her whole body, and then a wash of crackling pain that erupts from the marrow of her bones. It surges through her chest and up her throat, erupting through a clenched jaw and steadily sharpening teeth.

---

Having two pairs of working ears allows Blake to hear a great deal of things, particularly the grinding echo of what sounded like some wild animal. Normally that would have been enough to keep her from investigating, keep her close to her Guardian, but that hadn't sounded like any creature she had heard before. Going against her better judgment she slips away, mentally reprimanding herself for ignoring the old adage about curiosity and cats. And the moment she breaks through a wall of laurel bushes onto a game trail and sees what is there -emphasis on the what- she wishes she had listened to her common sense.

At first all she can make out is a thrashing tangle of limbs, the vague shape of a humanoid body, and a messy wash of bloody crimson and silver splashed over it all like wet paint. The agonized noises coming from it tear at the Maiden's heart, not just from a natural sympathy towards another's obvious pain, but because it's somehow familiar. It's too much like Yang's, and as the creature before her fully manifests and twists out of a crumpled heap into a wolfish looking beast, questions she hadn't even thought to ask yet suddenly have answers.

"Ruby," she whimpers just above a whisper, just as silvery eyes settle on her and slavering lips pull back to reveal a mouth full of fangs. This time her instincts screamed for her to turn and run, and she obeyed without a second thought. She was afraid, mortified even, and knew that fear would travel back to Catastrophe and likely wake it, the hybrid heeding it like a distress call. She didn't want that, but she had no other choice.

Garm chases the Maiden through the trees, ripping through the clones she puts out in an attempt to distract it. It feels the heat of her magic, the tainted life of her aura, and hungers after it. It would devour her whole if it could just get its claws in her. It grabs a mote of the host's Semblance to propel itself forward, connecting with the Faunus' and dragging her to the dirt. Chunks of dirt and leaf litter kicks up into the air as clawed hands and paws rake the earth, searching for flesh as the Maiden desperately uses both hands to keep Garm's clenching jaws apart. The hard ground grinds into Blake's shoulders as she's shoved along the trail, all that murderous weight and force pushing on her, and somehow she manages to produce another host of clones through the startling distraction of hot drool and heaving breaths against her face. The body doubles come out of the shadows, dark specters that are only half there and half solid. They pile atop the morphing hybrid in an attempt to distract or tear it away, only to be shred apart into little more than tatters of smoke. A wild twist of its whole body scatters the last of them, and Garm is quick to grab hold of the Maiden before she can get to her feet, holding tight with its monstrous hands as it calls on its host's Semblance again.

Blake feels the momentum of the dash against her back, and the blistering, crushing impact between her shoulders as the two of them collide with something she can't see. There's the commotion of splitting wood and the bristle of slivers hitting her skin, and the distinct, sucking pain of the air flying right out of her lungs. That's why she can't scream when Garm swipes at her, the first strike glancing off her flickering aura, the second pushing right through it and ripping her open.

Blake expects to die, she believes the gray wash of her night vision on the blood-spattered ground will be the last thing she sees. She can make out the hind legs of the hybrid, how they're suddenly backpedaling, and somehow she acknowledges the riot of crashing noises over the pounding blood in her ears. The gray is suddenly broken up by shades of crimson and sunlight, though she's still faintly aware that the sun had just gone down. It's the colors of fire.

The canopy of branches over them comes alive with heat and light, fire swallowing the caps of the trees in mere seconds and then descending just as Catastrophe rips through the forest floor. It lands between Garm and the Summer Maiden, fangs and claws bared as sparks flicker at the back of its throat in lethal promise. A tense, wrenching moment passes before the two creatures throw themselves at each other. And the forest continues to burn around them.

#Savage Season #Embers of Autumn #rwby ruby rose #grimm!ruby #Grimm!yang #blake belladonna

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