Mythical (RWBY Pyrrha Quest)

Πρωταθλητής 12

Your rest is much needed and much welcomed. Even the hard-packed dirt is a welcome reprieve from the onerous trials of today.

You sleep lightly as all who have undergone sudden surprise attacks in the middle of the night for their childhood training do. Half-aware and half awake, a state that lets you keep an mental awareness for danger. For an enemy to appear without a sentry warning you.

The slightest hint of danger. A rustling along the grass. Something is moving along the perimeter of the camp. It stirs you awake, immediately. You slip out of Yang's arms, which have somehow managed to wrap around you a rib-creaking octopus like grip, and grab Miló and Akoúo̱ off where they lay against a tentpole. You pause, listening again, waiting for another hint to the danger, before stepping outside of the tent.

The cold wind chills you as it brushes across the grasstops without the light of the sun to warm it and you briefly consider ducking back into the tent to retrieve your armor. But putting it on is a tiresome endeavour, to say nothing of taking back off nor of the time it would take to do so. If this midnight sojourn is peaceful, it would be wasteful. If this will be violent, you are needed now. You leave your armor where it sleeps as you prowl, heading into the camp to investigate.

Judging by the light of Selene, it's Ruby's watch, but the girl is nowhere to be seen. Her gunsycthebladstabby is gone as well. You don't think she's abandoned her post - she didn't seem like the type. It's possible that she's just using the bathroom or something of that like. It's also possible that something more sinister has happened.

You tighten your grip on your spear and shield and venture forth.

Selene's light is bright tonight. Shadows flicker over grass and her watchful gaze guards your back. You move carefully, silently through the trees. Bathed in the light of the patron goddess, you are as a primordial hunter from-

Crunch.

You drop. Landing in a kneel, a shooting position. Right knee falling, left one crouched, shield falling down and rifle raising up. Braced and ready - your rifle swings, tracking onto the dark figure breaching the perimeter of the camp. The sights of your rifle hover over it, as it makes its way closer. Your finger smoothly edges onto the trigger and-

Stops before you can shoot Yang's younger sister in the forehead.

You blink. What's she doing there? Shouldn't she be on watch? You drop your rifle to the ground, letting it unfold back into its proper spear form and jog over, feet still silent as ever across the ground floor.

"Ruby?" You softly call out as you near. The girl jerks up as you approach, surprised by your presence.

"Pwytha?" She yells out in surprise, voice muffled by the sound of chewing. You raise a silent finger to your lips and, she manages to see such details, even through the dead of night with only the moon for illumination, and shuts up. A question for later.

You hook Miló and Akoúo̱ onto your back, where they stay even without armor to hold onto. "What are you doing out here? Weren't you supposed to be on watch?"

Ruby makes an odd slurping noise, and you watch something vaguely meaty looking slither down her throat. Was… she eating? Where did she get that?

"Um, I went out hunting for a bit." The cloaked girl rubs the back of her head and stuffs another pieces of whatever she's eating into the corner of her mouth, talking around it as she does so. It gives you a bad feeling. "It's not a big deal, I left a marker so I'd know if something tripped the perimeter wa-"

You step forward and snatch a strip of something coated in dripping dark shadows and curses out of her mouth. Your suspicions were correct. "Ruby, are you eating Grimm meat?"

"Errr-"

"That is incredibly unsafe!" You hiss. What is she thinking eating Grimm meat? Does she want to get cursed? You throw the slice of tendon onto the ground and watch the cursed flesh bubble and melt into the ground. "Even if you're hungry, you can't do that!"

"Um-"

"Are you trying to get yourself cursed? Is this something you do regularly?" You lecture the red cloaked girl over her blatant stupidity. "Does Yang know about it?"

"Pyr-"

You grab a hold of he girl's chin and tilt her head up to examine her closely. Besides the sudden crimson rash spreading across the bridge of her nose, she seems mostly fine. You don't see the curse spreading across her skin, at least. "Open your mouth," you demand.

"Pyrr-" You grip her jaw, pinning it open, and examine the inside. You're not an expert of the Grimm curse, but to your untrained eye it looks fine. You don't bother poking about her mouth. You doubt you'd know enough to see if anything was off if you did.

"Pyrrha!" Ruby squirms out of your grip, face still flushed with blood. "I'm fine. I'm fine! The curse doesn't stick to me."

"Don't be-" You start to say while scoffing, but stop. You don't finish your sentence, because you can see her face. She's telling the truth.

Confusion. You study the silver-eyed girl's face carefully. How? How does she just say no to the Grimm curse? It's unheard of. This is no parlor trick, no sleight of hand. If it was that easy, then no hunters would have to bring provisions in the field. It can't be that easy.

Your eyes glance between her and her surroundings, and almost coincidentally you catch sight of broken Selene behind her, shining bright silver. Just like her eyes, both shining silver. The exact same shade of pale silver.

'And so when Selene dripped open her chest for the secret of Aura, she let precious droplets of her heart's blood scatter onto the base earth. They became women with eyes as pale as their mother. Selene's children, hunters born.'

An old legend idly bubbles to mind. You gaze intensely into Ruby's eyes, silver and bright like the moon as if it were whole. It can't be, can it?

"Pyrrha?" The voice of the girl in question shakes you out of your reverie. You blink yourself awake and look up to see Ruby, ordinary as grass, tilting her head in confusion. "Um, we're good then?"

"We're good." You reply, while shaking away that stray thought. No. That's stupid. There no way that the Children of Selene exist, much less it being related to ordinary hyperactive Ruby. They're legends. Not real. Just myths.

"If you're alright, I'm going back to bed," you tell the girl. Your hand lifts up and you rustle the girl's hair like you used to do the Philia's before she started complaining about it. Ruby makes a little giggling noise as you do so. "Going to try to catch up on sleep before the dawn."

"Kay." Ruby grins up at you. "Night, Pyrrha."

You collapse back into bed and manage to catch a few hours of sleep back before the morning sun rises and washes away the gloom of the morning mist. You wake up to the sound of breakfast.

Hopefully not Grimm meat.

[ ] Start the day right. Getting prepared for battle.

[ ] Take some time to catch a bite to eat with someone.
--[ ] Pick up to two people. Topic optional.

[ ] Check up on Weiss and Nora and see how well the Jaune boy smoothed things over

[ ] Ask Yang about your strange nighttime encounter Nah, I doubt she'd care to hear about an ordinary rendezvous with her kid sister in the middle of the night

[ ] Write in

QN: Basically logic edited this. (With his dong)

Short update. Isn't much to see here tbh. Thinking of just skipping the next update to just go straight into battle planning mode if the first voting option wins.

Also, not really a vote, but just a question. You don't have to answer it if you don't want to. Who do you like better, knights or pirates/thieves?