Aeon of Roses

Act 0-1 Rubedo part 3

Discovery of something new

Reality_and_Illusions

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"Ah."

Ruby awoke.

Silver eyes moved back and forth, attempting to recall her whereabouts. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes, causing her hazy sight to improve slightly. The first thing that caught Ruby's attention was a table, indicating that she had been asleep. The young huntress realized her location as she gradually became more conscious of her environment; she had found herself inside the Beacons Library.

Located on the west side of the campus, Beacons Library presents a wide range of books encompassing various genres. The collection spanned from factual works like Grimm biology to literary offerings like mythology and folklore. The youthful huntress stretched lightly as she attempted to remember the events that had brought her to this moment. It had been just the day before that Ruby encountered Gerda and visited the orphanage.

Seeking refuge with the disciplined yet kind Mr. Aureolus, Ruby couldn't help but recall the recent agreement she had made with him concerning Gerda's situation. The memory of Gerda's condition troubled her, causing a slight frown to appear on her face.

Aura Disruption.

A rare condition occurs when Aura is prematurely activated, but it can generally be treated except in a few cases. Unfortunately, Gerda is an exception to this. While Ruby was skilled at hunting Grimm, she was not knowledgeable about medicine. Her training focused on hunting, not healing. Her basic knowledge only went up to basic first aid, which she learned from an early age at Signal Academy. The young huntress was basically useless in this kind of situation. That was what Ruby thought, at least. There was still hope. There was still something that could be done.

A small grin appeared on her mouth. Mr. Aureolus claimed to have a remedy for Gerda's ailment. He only required a helping hand and someone to ensure Gerda's contentment. Despite her initial reservations, Ruby ultimately agreed to the proposition. Following that, they dove into a conversation that meandered through uneventful twists and turns, eventually guiding Ruby back to this very spot. As always, Ruby found herself clueless about the whereabouts of her teammates.

Therefore, being idle and having no tasks at hand, the girl wearing a red cape decides to seek solace in something other than her cherished weapon, Crescent Rose. She turns to books. With a sigh, Ruby rested her head on the table, sitting in silence as she made herself comfortable

"... It's kinda boring, huh."

Ruby muttered to herself, feeling a subtle ache in her heart intensify. Returning to the dorm room left her feeling a little discouraged. The rest of the team was unaccounted for, which was nothing new for Ruby. It wasn't the first time that anyone, especially Blake, turned up later than anticipated.

Was Ruby irritated by it?

Of course she was. It bothered her that things were like this. This wasn't the vision she had when coming to Beacon. Beacon was meant to be a place where Team Ruby would work together and be a team of badasses, kick Grimm's ass, and save people, but they barely met the minimum level of interaction!

With a slight shift, Ruby rested on her palm.

"Gerda and the other kids seem to appreciate me, at least."

Ruby didn't mean to imply she wasn't being respected. Weiss, Blake, and Yang were considerate enough to give clear answers when they made decisions. Moreover, it wasn't within her purview to pry into their activities. Ruby aspires to be the kind of leader her team can depend on, not one who insists on knowing every intricate detail. Being overly noisy was a buzzkill anyway.