"Doug, it's not that I'm refusing. But didn't your son just get engaged? And you want to give shelter to someone who is being hunted by the Spider? It doesn't seem like a smart decision."
"I don't want to hear about smart decisions from you." he replied.
I rolled my eyes, snorting softly while we kept walking.
It was just a comment.
"We're not going to stay at my house, we're going to Roca Town."
I stopped walking and frowned.
"You said I wasn't going to leave the capital."
Doug kept walking without turning around.
"The competition is still going to take a few days to happen, right? In the meantime, we leave the capital to throw the Spider off. Then we come back in time for your little event."
"Excuse me! It's not just a 'little event'" I shot back, speeding up my steps to walk beside him. "It's a high-level shooting competition. The winner will get 30,000 Lien."
"Besides, it's one of the first steps toward my goal."
Doug looked at me from the corner of his eye, raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. But soon after he just grunted, looking forward again and continuing to walk without saying anything.
I frowned, irritated by the silence.
"Aren't you going to ask?"
Doug let out a short sigh.
"And what would your goal be, the great Whitley. Important enough for you to refuse to go back to Atlas and risk your life against the Spider."
I raised my chin, maintaining my superior air.
"Since you insist… I don't have one yet. But this money will help me travel through Remnant while I figure it out. Like they say: what matters is the journey, and mine is going to be legen… wait for it… dary!"
"Legendary!"
Doug snorted and kept walking.
I was expecting some reaction, but it's fine.
"So… are we going right now, like today?"
"Yes. But first you're going to the entrance of the capital. Leave and stay a bit away from the gates waiting."
Huh, he's not coming with me?
"Just me? And you?"
"I'm going to stop by home to get some things. I don't want the Spider to see me too much with you and decide to find out where I live."
Doug turned a corner and went up the stone stairs that led to the upper neighborhood without even looking back.
A black vein appeared on my forehead, pulsing with anger.
"Hey, how are you going to find me later?" I asked, raising my voice.
Doug stopped at the top of the stairs for a moment and answered without turning around:
"I'll find you. Just be careful with the Spider."
And with that he disappeared from sight.
I crossed my arms, grumbling mentally while the vein on my forehead throbbed.
He said he was going to protect me and now he's already leaving alone… Great. Really useful.
I sighed and started walking alone.
.---.---.---. 3º person.---.---.---.
Beacon Academy – Vale
Ruby Rose was sitting alone on the edge of the top bunk of her makeshift bunk bed, with her knees hugged against her chest. She wasn't in the mood to do anything… not even to train with Crescent Rose.
And that was worrying because she always had the mood to train with Crescent Rose.
The problem was that she couldn't be a good leader. No matter how hard she tried, everything seemed to go wrong. The team wasn't coming together properly and except for her and Yang they barely talked to each other.
Everyone on her team had gone out to do their own things. Yang had made a bunch of friends and was at a party with them, Blake had disappeared again and Weiss… was probably training or studying alone in the library, as she had been doing in the last few days.
Ruby really felt bad for her. Losing a sibling… Ruby couldn't imagine a reality in which she lost Yang.
She really thought she was managing to form a friendship bond with Weiss, but after the news of her brother's death, everything seemed to have gone back to square one. Maybe even less than that. At least before she would talk to her, even if reluctantly.
She thought about talking to team JNPR, but gave up. She didn't want to burden her new friends with her own team's problems.
Ruby didn't want to be the clumsy little sister who always needs help like in Signal anymore, so she also didn't have the courage to ask Yang for help, even though she was also part of the team.
It's the leader's duty to bring the team together. At least that's what she thinks.
Ruby squeezed her knees harder, feeling a tightness in her heart.
"Seriously, what was he thinking when he chose me as the leader…"
Headmaster Ozpin told her that choosing her as a huntress wasn't a mistake and Professor Port said that he trusted him with his life and that his decisions had never led him down the wrong path.
But apparently they were going to lead her there.
With a heavy sigh, Ruby lay down on the bed, turning to the side. She picked up the Scroll that was next to her and started scrolling distractedly through the internet. She ended up entering a weapons and hunters forum that she always visited in her free time.
While scrolling through the topics, an idea started to form in her head.
What if she asked for help online, without mentioning anyone's name? Just a generic request about how to deal with a team that doesn't get along. No one would know it was her and she could even delete the post later.
Ruby bit her lip, hesitant, with her finger hovering over the Scroll screen.
'Am I really that bad? Am I?'
She took a deep breath and opened the new topics section. She typed quickly, deleting and rewriting several times.
RedlikeRoses4: How to make a team that doesn't get along work?
"Hi, everyone. I'm new at Beacon and my team barely talks to each other. I'm the leader, but due to some recent events the team has become even more divided. Any tips on how to improve this without forcing things? (´∩｀.)
Ruby read the post one more time, her heart racing. Then she clicked publish.
She stayed staring at the screen, nervous.
'I hope someone answers…'
In less than a minute, a notification appeared. Ruby opened the post excitedly, but the smile died on her face when she saw the username.
theonlymaninthesky67
That troll again. The guy who appeared out of nowhere on the forum bragging about impossible feats and humiliating those who asked for help. Ruby had already seen him annoying half the community and even her.
He kept saying he'd defeated an elite White Fang squad, escaped from a bandit tribe before he'd even unlocked his Aura, and took down criminals in Mistral every day with one hand behind his back.
Ruby wouldn't even have reason to be mad at him, after all he was probably just a bored kid who liked to annoy people and make up stories.
But when she posted a photo of Crescent Rose and its functions, he replied:
"If your weapon needs to turn into five different weapons to work, maybe it's just a bad weapon. Just buy a rifle and stop playing reaper."
At the time, Ruby spent almost half an hour writing a huge response, defending every detail of Crescent Rose, explaining why a high-powered scythe was an amazing weapon and how it had been specifically designed for her fighting style and Semblance.
"Sorry, I couldn't read it, I was busy wiping my ass with that photo of what you call a weapon."
A professional troll indeed.
Ruby felt her face heat up with anger just remembering.
"That little idiot…"
She shook her head, trying to push the memory away. At least in this post he'll say something useful… right?
theonlymaninthesky67: HA! What a loser! Asking for advice on the internet.
Ruby rolled her eyes and immediately deleted the post and buried her face in the pillow.
But soon after the Scroll started vibrating non-stop. She opened the app and saw that the troll had sent a private message.
Irritated, she almost blocked him before seeing the message.
theonlymaninthesky67: Sorry, I was just kidding. I saw that you deleted the post and felt a bit bad. I can help with your situation, you can believe me.
theonlymaninthesky67: I'm great with people. :P
Ruby blinked, surprised. She stared at the message for a few seconds, still suspicious.
'Is he going to mess with me again?'
RedlikeRoses4: And how exactly are you "great with people"? Because so far I've only seen you being a jerk. ಠ_ಠ
'Was I too rude?' she thought worriedly.
theonlymaninthesky67: Lol, relax I was just kidding. Just like I was just kidding about your weapon.
RedlikeRoses4: You remember that?
theonlymaninthesky67: It was too well made for me to forget. Whoever made it must be very talented.
Ruby loves when people compliment her weapon. A silly little smile appeared on her face as she read the message.
RedLikeRoses4: Hihihi ^^
'Maybe he's a nice guy after all.'
theonlymaninthesky67: But I still think scythes aren't good weapons.
Her smile twisted a bit.
'Yeah, not that nice.'
theonlymaninthesky67: So… do you want help?
Ruby stared at the last message, biting her lip. She was still suspicious, but curiosity spoke louder.
RedLikeRoses4: Okay, what would you do?
theonlymaninthesky67: Calm down, I need more information, like what they are like and general characteristics.
theonlymaninthesky67: But I don't recommend using names.
RedLikeRoses4: We entered Beacon not long ago. One of them lost a relative recently, so she became very closed off. She's also very smart, but quite proud and always tries to solve everything alone. Another is quiet, lives reading books and disappearing without warning. My sister is chill, but made several friends and spends a lot of time with them. It seems like everyone is living alone and I don't know how to bring everyone together...
theonlymaninthesky67: (typing…)
Ruby nervously tapped her foot on the edge of the bed while waiting for the reply.
theonlymaninthesky67: Well, I didn't think you were actually going to send it. Kind of stupid.
Ruby felt her face burn with shame and anger at the same time. Her fingers squeezed the Scroll tightly.
'He's messing with me again?'
She rolled to the side, hugging her knees again. Maybe it was better to delete the account and pretend none of this happened.
theonlymaninthesky67: I'm still going to help, but you trusted way too fast.
theonlymaninthesky67: What if I was lying? What if I was someone from Beacon wanting to mess with you?
Ruby felt a chill run down her spine.
She hadn't even thought of that.
For a moment, the image of Cardin Winchester appeared in her head. If someone like him found out about all this... he probably wouldn't miss the chance to turn the situation into a joke in front of everyone.
The leader of team RWBY asks for advice on the internet.
She could already imagine the suffering the next few years would be.
RedLikeRoses4: Cardin?
theonlymaninthesky67: …
theonlymaninthesky67: Yes.
theonlymaninthesky67: It's me.
Ruby widened her eyes.
theonlymaninthesky67: Relax. I'm kidding. I don't even know who that guy is :P
RedLikeRoses4: Don't do that! I believed it. (╥﹏╥)
theonlymaninthesky67: And you? You talked about your team but not much about yourself. You're also part of it, aren't you?
Ruby hesitated a bit, twirling a lock of her red hair around her finger while thinking about what to reply.
RedLikeRoses4: Ah… I'm the youngest on the team (and in the class). Actually, I entered Beacon two years early. Everyone here is older and has more experience than me.
RedLikeRoses4: I end up comparing myself to them all the time. It seems like everyone already knows exactly what they're doing, while I'm still trying to figure out how to be a good leader.
RedLikeRoses4: I also don't want to keep running to ask my sister for help every time something goes wrong... I want to be able to solve things on my own, but sometimes it feels like I'm just getting in the way. (´;ω;｀)
RedLikeRoses4: I know I shouldn't compare myself so much with others... but it's hard not to when it seems like everyone is better than me.
theonlymaninthesky67: Comparing yourself is great.
theonlymaninthesky67: You just have to know how to compare yourself with the right people.
theonlymaninthesky67: You're not going to compare yourself to a guy like me, who is a prodigy and is handsome and does whatever he wants.
theonlymaninthesky67: You're going to compare yourself to a guy who's more screwed, like an… orphan, broke and eats dirt to trick his stomach.
theonlymaninthesky67: Then you'll realize how much better you are.
Ruby reread the message several times, trying to understand if that was some kind of joke.
She brought her hand to her face and sighed.
'...What a terrible thing to say.
'For a second I almost forgot that this guy is kind of egocentric...'
RedLikeRoses4: That was quite the advice… but I don't think I'll be able to use it.
Ruby knew very well what kind of person she was. She wouldn't be able to feel better by comparing her life with someone who was in a much worse situation.
Especially if that someone had to eat dirt to trick hunger.
That alone already made her sadder.
theonlymaninthesky67: Strange… it always works for me.
theonlymaninthesky67: I guess it's not for everyone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
'I think this isn't going to work… I should make up an excuse to leave.'
She was already typing a message saying she had put cookies in the oven and needed to take them out now, when…
theonlymaninthesky67: Back to your team, have you tried talking to them?
RedLikeRoses4: Yes, of course I have. I always try to talk to Blake, but she's always quiet in the corner reading books. I play a lot of games and tell everything to my sister. I also try to strike up a conversation with the other one, but now she's always studying and training.
She started typing so fast that she didn't even notice she mentioned Blake's name.
theonlymaninthesky67: That's not what I meant but cool.
theonlymaninthesky67: Have you tried talking about the difficulties you're having as a leader and that you want help?
It was obvious she had already thought about it. She just didn't want to and didn't have the courage.
'What if they realize I have no idea what I'm doing?'
Weiss had already questioned whether she deserved to be the leader from the beginning. Telling them she was lost would only confirm everything she must think about her.
RedLikeRoses4: I think not…
theonlymaninthesky67: No one will know how you feel if you don't say it.
RedLikeRoses4: …
RedLikeRoses4: Thank you so much… it helped more than I expected.
theonlymaninthesky67: Of course it helped. Just who the hell do you think I am?
RedLikeRoses4: ?
And suddenly his status changed to "Offline".
Ruby blinked, surprised by the sudden exit. She stared at the screen for a few seconds, then, without thinking much, clicked on the profile and sent a friend request.
She dropped the Scroll on the bed and got up with a burst of energy and a smile on her face.
"I'm going to bake some cookies."
-----------
NOTE: So... what do you guys think of Whitley so far? And did you like his conversation with Ruby?