We Are Eternal

Chapter 3: Short, Sweet, Rolls Off The Tongue

Ruby looked up at the man with a kind smile and an outstretched  hand.

"Oh!" She yelled out quickly before grabbing it and pulling herself up. "Yeah, sorry I was-"

"You have silver eyes..." The man interrupted., squinting as he looked at her eyes.

"Y-Yeah..." Ruby said, deflating a bit as she did so. The man noticed this and smiled, his eyes returning to their natural state.

"Right! Sorry, it's just... You know what they say. The eyes are the windows to the soul," HE said with a smile before something Ruby thought sounded like "At least I think they still do..." The man continued, "Ah, but where are my manners?" The man said before taking a bow. "The name is Jaune Arc. Short, Sweet, Rolls off the tongue," He looked back up at Ruby. "And ladies love it."

"Do they now?" Ruby joked, a small smile on her face. His head tilted slightly as he conceded that wasn't his best.

"Well, they love other things more." He said with a sly grin. Ruby tilted her head in slight confusion before shaking it away and smiling. "And yours?" He asked. Ruby raised her eyebrows in confusion before widening her eyes in embarrassment.

"Oh, Ruby. Ruby Rose." She said. He smiled. The two began to walk, searching for the auditorium eventually, during a bit of silence which Ruby found awkward, but Jaune found calming, Ruby pulled out her weapon a large red and black scythe, going with her red and black theme. "So, I've got this! Her name's Crescent Rose!" She exclaimed in excitement at the one thing she knew about.

"Ah, a scythe..." He said, a small smile on his face. Xìngzhì loved her irony.

"Do you use that cane as your weapon? Oooh! What can it do, can it change into a gun, a pistolmaybeariflenotsurethoughsinceyouhaven'ttalkedyeti'mtalkingtofastright,improbablyramblingbutijustcantseemtostop-" Ruby said, slowly getting more and more distressed as she went on, before Jaune put his finger to her lips, causing her to stop.

"I do use a cane as my... 'weapon'." He said, answering her first question. "That is all it is though. A cane." He finished as Ruby drooped in sadness. She thought it'd be more cool than that. "But, it is special." He whispered. Her eyes lit up at that.

"What can it do?" She asked, whispering as well in excitement. He smiled at that. Just like Xìngzhì.

"Well," He looked around to make sure no-one watched. "Look." He said, holding the cane up to her eye level. Watching intently, Ruby saw the wooden hands move away from the glass ball, which then raised up about an inch. The hands then shot out multiple forces. One shot lightning to the ball, another ice, another fire, another water, one small leaves twirling, indicating wind, multiple forces of Nature. The cane was gifted by Xìngzhì with their powers. Maybe, he'd be able to help gift Crescent Rose with it too. The ball floated down once more, the wooden hands grasping it.

"That's..." Ruby started her eyes wide. Oh dear. Did he break this one too? Strange, the people seemed more resilient than before. "SO COOL!" Ruby finished, a wide grin on her face. So this one works? Good, for a second, he thought he'd need to get a replacement for Yang. "That was powerful dust! I could feel the power!" She exclaimed.

Dust?

What in bloody hell did she mean by that?
Wait... Did she mean...

Did she mean the Viritutis Specula? The gift of nature in a crystal? The thing making up the very windows of the Golden City?

By this point, Jaune was so rooted in his thoughts he hadn't heard anything Ruby had said. Even if he had heard, he probably wouldn't have been able to get a word in with Ruby's nervousness and excitement powered ramblings. Eventually they had arrived at the auditorium, where Ruby saw Yang.