Ruby: A Different Path

Chapter One

        Gotta find Yang.... Gotta find Yang... Gotta find Yang...

        The forest wasn't silent but it was irritatingly free of the sound of Yang calling for her. As she ran and called for her sister, Ruby made a mental list of people she had met that she would like to be partnered with... and those she would love to avoid. The mean yelling girl was high on the 'run the other way' list.

        She fell silent as she sprinted between trees and listened for a familiar voice. Then she had a face full of fallen leaves and was being dragged back by her ankle.

        "Pay attention, kid!" A harsh, unfriendly whisper came. She froze, glad Crescent Rose had gotten embedded in the ground in the fall or she might have swung at whoever was pulling her under the cover of a bush. "You almost got eaten!"

        She refocused on the direction she had been running and saw that the shady section of trees was less shadow and more massive ursa. Eyes wide, she looked to the one who may have saved her life.

        Carefully styled burnt orange hair accented indigo eyes but what might have been a handsome face was completely ruined with an arrogant expression. "It heard some noise to the west. Hold still and it'll be gone in a minute."

        "What?!" Ruby protested only to have a hand quickly clapped over her mouth.

        "Are you stupid?" He snapped quietly, glaring at her. "I don't care how big that weapon of yours is, we need more than the two of us to take on a Grimm that huge."

        She ripped his hand away, instantly despising this guy. She did, however, match his volume. "If we don't do something it will attack others! Maybe someone who doesn't have a partner yet!"

        She couldn't help but think of poor vomit boy...

        "Not our problem or our mission." He shrugged. "We just have to get to the temple and back."

        "Seriously?! Where is your sense of community? Your concern for your team?!" Ruby demanded.

        "As soon as I have a team, I'll let you know. Until then I just have to keep you alive and I've done that successfully once already. The question is are you going to do more than complain for the rest of this mission?" He asked as he watched the danger lumber out of sight. Once it was clear he stood and started walking north.

        Muttering to herself, Ruby followed and kept Crescent Rose ready.

        By the time they got back to the cliffs things were even more tense. She had to admit he was a good fighter... too focused on brute strength but they worked well together because of it. When she could talk him into 'unnecessary risks', mostly by charging in whether he liked it or not, he made direct attacks that had a lot of power to them and distracted the opponent while she got in more strategic hits. As much as she hated him... Well, there were worse people she could be partnered with than Cardin Winchester.

        At the end of the day they had the rest of the team and things.... were much worse. She was now leader of team Rubies. RWBS... And the other three were all guys. Not particularly happy or friendly guys, either. Since teams traditionally shared the same room, curtains were hung around her bed for privacy and peace of mind. It didn't work. At least not for peace of mind.

        The only thing they disliked more than having to answer to a girl was answering to a girl two years younger than them. Add to that the clear favor of a few important people and she could virtually feel the fury radiating from them. So much for making friends.

        Of course she was sure it was just a matter of time before they saw her for the fun and friendly person she really was, she just had to prove that she wasn't going to take advantage of her position as leader! It was hard to tell what her teammates were actually like since they were too upset to really be themselves... but she was still sure it wouldn't be hard to get to know them and figure out how to get them working together better than any of the other teams!

        "Cookies..." She grinned. A little bribery couldn't hurt and who could stay mad with a mouth full of chocolate chips?