The Huntsman of Red V2

Chapter 21 The Pride of Vale: Part 3

There was little in the way of distraction that could so thoroughly rattle a teenage girl than the thought that her seemingly innocent and socially awkward little sister was vying for the same crush.

C'mon, it was Ruby. Ruby.

Yang was more likely to believe Ruby had seen a giant cookie and grew infatuated with it rather than be able to approach a random boy from Signal let alone Archer. She stutters when caught at the center of attention and loses whatever confidence she has if abruptly called out on anything. The worst was during first meetings and when she was trying to impress new friends which in a combat school meant only one method: Combat.

Let Yang be the first to say this, but in terms of combat Ruby was...special. Uncle Qrow had offered to start teaching her fighting lessons only after she'd finished her custom weapon to make sure she wasn't useless if she was ever disarmed. Tiny Ruby in unarmed combat? It was a nightmare both to her and to her opponents for reasons known throughout her year. The majority of her time in Signal was spent at the lowest fighting rank. Her sour grades and short attention span had teachers discussing whether or not being a huntress was a viable future occupation for her.

Depressed and dispirited, Ruby coped in her own creative way and developed a case of eighth-grader syndrome to stand out.

Yang blamed all the comics, cartoon, and her late mother's bubbly imagination.

Ruby had gotten better since Qrow started training her, but the tendency was still there. But enough about combat classes, she was getting side-tracked!

Ruby was Ruby. Socially awkward Ruby who eeped when called out in class, or trapped in a crowd of cool girls in the girl's washroom while in a stall. 'They move in herds, Yang,' she'd complain after being too self-conscious of herself to be anywhere near the popular kids to escape.

How could she possibly have approached someone as mysterious and attractive as Archer?

Yang was going crazy. She was biting on the nail of her thumb and pacing back and forth enough times that the floor would creak beneath her. She'd actually feel bad if Ruby's first crush was the same as her first crush. Worse, she was guilty of steeling people away from Ruby at Signal because she was the cooler big sister. How could she do that to her little sister?

Now hold on!

Ruby was the one going after her man after she'd explicitly called dibs on Archer with how clear it was that she liked him. Ruby was the one breaking the sister code, not her. Moreover, Ruby even had the audacity to avoid her before she could grill her for answers.

Yang spotted the cookie jar at the far end of the room while pacing, a vindictive light flashing over her features before she walked over. "No more cookies for you, Ruby," she said while taking the cookie jar. She walked around the kitchen and grabbed all things sweet which she placed into a plastic bag. "No candy, chocolate bars, or anything else either until you tell spill the beans."

In a single motion, she emptied the cookie jar, and then moved to the fridge.

"You get only vegetables!" She began filling the cookie jar with anything she could get her hands on. "Broccoli! Peas! Peppers! Mushrooms! Be healthy!"

She even hid the baking ingredients for good measure.

The thing about siblings, was that each knew exactly what ticked off the other, and for Ruby it was sugar. Ruby would cave eventually, and it was only a matter of waiting until she gets home.

Nodding solemnly to herself, Yang pulled out a folding chair and positioned it right in front of the front door. The moment Ruby came back, there would be no escaping.