Ladybug Week Day 6: Scars
Blake opened the door of Ruby’s apartment, pausing as she saw the cut she made for Ruby to feed from had already started to scar up. Another scar added to the collection of cuts on her back from silver weapons and the bite mark on her left shoulder from the wolf that turned her. She turned away from her arm and helped Ruby into the apartment. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
“I am,” Ruby answered as she relaxed once into the dimly lit apartment, taking her cloak off and looking at the burns on her arms. “At least it all looks like a sunburn now.”
Blake nodded and sat down on the couch, watching Ruby as she put ointment over the sunburn. She had wanted to be upset that Ruby didnt trust her enough to tell her about being a vampire, though she knew she couldnt be all that upset with how often she had avoided Ruby and kept being a werewolf her own secret. “How long?”
“How… how long have you been a vampire?”
“Since I was born.” Ruby finished putting ointment on her skin and made her way to the kitchen to start making dinner. “Dad was a bit freaked out, but mom reassured him it was okay. Yang helped keep me safe after mom disappeared, though I did try to act as human as possible to help keep dad sane.”
“And you were able to keep all of that hidden at Beacon?” Blake watched as Ruby grabbed a few potatoes and started to chop them up, licking her lips. “How? There was sunlight everywhere and I know I saw you come out during the day. A-and how did you feed?”
Ruby sat the knife down and started to rinse the potatoes, carefully making sure her hands didnt get into the water. “Feeding was the hardest part. Yang helped when she could, but I always made sure to feed from her when it wasnt going to hurt her. Otherwise, I… went off in the middle of the night and fed from whatever animals I could find. Or from anyone who tried to bully my friends.”
“What about the sunlight? I’m sure we would’ve noticed from that.”
“You remember those gloves I used to wear all the time, right? The red ones with green trim?”
Blake sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I should’ve known that. And your cloak… that would’ve kept the sunlight off you most of the time.”
Ruby nodded and turned the water off. “That, and my umbrella. Plus, most of our classes were indoors, so that helped out a lot. Only had to worry about when we went on training missions and I… kept careful with that.”
Blake nodded, smiling a bit as she watched Ruby continue to cook. Her smile faded as Ruby spoke to her, a hand moving to her shoulder.
“When did you become a werewolf?”
Blake sighed and moved her shirt to show the bite mark scar on her shoulder, still tender to the touch after all these months. “I… I was bit by another werewolf while I was on a mission. It was supposed to be a quick scouting mission for Vacuo to make sure there werent any grimm in the area. Instead, I ran into a wolf during the full moon. It had bright blue eyes and a scar across it’s left eye, and it seemed angry that I was there. I tried to fight it off, but…” her voice trailed off as she pulled her shirt up to hide the scar again, looking away from Ruby. Her body shuddered as it remembered the pain from the bite, how the teeth practically burned as they pierced through her aura and into her. How it felt to shift the first time, her body feeling hotter than normal while her bones shifted, hearing each crunch as joints moved and bones seemed to reform to suit her wolfish form. “Doesnt matter anymore though.”
“Of course it matters.” Ruby walked over to Blake and sat down next to her, gently rubbing her shoulder. “For the longest time, I wanted to be normal. To be just a regular human or faunus, but that was never a choice for me. And while that was taken from you, what you need is someone who can stay by your side.”
Blake slowly looked over to Ruby. “And who would be dumb enough to do that?” she asked. “I might attack at any minute when I’m shifted.”
Ruby grinned and pointed at herself. “Then call me stupid, because I’m not leaving your side for a minute. I might not know what its like to shift like you do, but that doesnt mean I cant try to help keep you safe and maybe get this under control.”
“And if anyone comes to hunt me?”
“Then I’ll make sure they know never to come after you again.”
Blake relaxed a bit and nodded. “Alright, I trust you.”
“Great. But there is one thing I’ll need as payment.”
Ruby kissed her. “For us to go stargazing again. Barring nights of the full moon.”
Blake pressed into the kiss, practically purring as she relaxed. “Sounds like a small price to pay. But, yeah, I’ve missed that too. Stargazing it is.”
