FF Trope Mash-Up. RWBY, Ruby X Pyrrha. 39 & 96. Interesting.
(39) Survival/Wilderness Fic + (96) Scars
set in my Sanguine AU
(fanfic trope mashup requests are open. I don’t promise a fic for each I get, but if inspiration does strike...)
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Pyrrha crouches low on the thick tree branch. To keep her balance, she puts a hand on the tree’s trunk. She feels exposed without her armor, but she can’t risk the metal catching the light of their campfire and giving her presence away.
CRDL is a huntsmen team Pyrrha can defeat in her sleep. Even if they were to have forewarning of her attack, Pyrrha knows she can take them down with ease. Usually. Not under these circumstances. Not when so muck is at risk. Here, she needs to be careful.
They have Ruby tied up on one side of their campfire. Close enough to the flames that the fire would affect her (fire isn’t quite as bad as the sun itself, Ruby had once told Pyrrha, but exposure to it would leave her feeling a little nauseous for a while), but not enough that it would put Ruby in critical condition. A smart move when handling a captured vampire. One Pyrrha wouldn’t have suspected CRDL of being capable of. She narrows her eyes. Either they’ve become significantly more competent since graduation or someone gave them a tip off on how to take down vampires.
Given they’re literally in the middle of nowhere, where no one should have been able to find them, least of all CRDL, Pyrrha has a feeling it’s the latter option. She knows the Guild wouldn’t have just let her and Ruby disappear without retaliation. She is—or was—a (somewhat famous) licensed huntress, the one who caught the notorious Vampire of Patch, reported it, and then decided to go on the lam with said vampire instead of turning her in. Those kinds of things don’t just get swept under the rug.
If they’re ever caught, Pyrrha is more than aware, Salem will publicly (and gruesomely) see to Ruby’s end and make an example out of her. Loyalty is the first vow one takes when they join the Guild. Breaking it isn’t taken lightly.
Sometimes Pyrrha wonders if it’s her destiny to just keep making one terrible mistake after another.
Pyrrha pulls her hood up over her head. No use ruminating on it now. She made her choice when she freed Ruby from the holding cell she’d put the vampire in herself. And, if she were being completely honest, she’d do it again.
So, let Salem send every last capable member of the Guild, Pyrrha can and will defeat them all.
She jumps down from the tree and lands lightly on her feet (which thank her for giving up heels before she left school). As much as she wants to charge in and neutralize the four huntsmen, Pyrrha doesn’t. If one manages to get to Ruby while she’s dispatching the others, well, she’s not sure what they’d do (their orders are probably to take Ruby alive, no use having an execution for someone who’s already dead), but Pyrrha doesn’t really want to find out.
Instead, Pyrrha remains in the shadows. She silently circles the campsite, making note of where all the weapons are and, more importantly, which are made of metal. Once she has all the intel she needs, Pyrrha raises a hand and activates her semblance.
Russel and Dove’s weapons hit them over the head and knock them out before either knows what’s happening. Sky has a moment to prepare himself, right before Pyrrha uses his armor to shove him into a tree. She gives Cardin an extra minute to panic, and then uses both his armor and mace to send him flying. Satisfied that no one’s going to be getting up anytime soon, Pyrrha saunters across the campsite.
She kneels down beside Ruby and shakes her awake. “Sweetie, get up, we need to get out of here.”
Ruby stirs. She grumbles. “Whaddisit? I wanna sleeeeep.”
“We need to go.”
“But sleeeeep.”
Pyrrha frowns. “Ruby, do you know where you are?”
“Camp?” Ruby yawns. She’s having a hard time keeping her eyes open, Pyrrha notices.
Pyrrha asks gently, “What’s the last thing you remember?” She has a sneaking suspicion she knows what happened.
“Camp. You sleep. Went hunting. Hungry. Slow bear. Slow bear makes a good meal.” Ruby tries to snuggle up against Pyrrha. Pyrrha uses the opportunity to cut the ropes around Ruby’s wrists.
“And after that?”
“Back to camp?” Ruby tries weakly.
Pyrrha sighs. “No.” It’s a classic vampire hunting technique. Find an animal the vampire is likely to go after, dose it with a special sedative that’ll stay in its veins, and then wait for the vampire to show up for a meal. Once it drinks and it’s knocked out by the sedative in the blood, move in for the capture.
They would never have known Ruby prefers bigger, stronger animals like bears if Pyrrha never wrote (and sent) such extensive reports to the Guild, she thinks grimly to herself.
“Sorry, sweetie,” Pyrrha whispers so quietly Ruby may not have caught her words. Then, in a louder voice meant to be heard, “You think you can wrap your arms around my neck?”
Ruby shakes her head furiously. “Won’t drink from you. Promised. Won’t.”
“I know.” Pyrrha takes off her cloak and wraps it around Ruby’s shoulders. “But, I need to carry you out of here. You think you can try to hold on to me?”
“Okay.”
By the time Pyrrha’s lifted Ruby onto her back, the vampire is asleep again, and lightly snoring in Pyrrha’s ear. She’s small enough that she doesn’t slow Pyrrha down too much. They make it back to their campsite before the sun rises. Pyrrha gently settles Ruby in her sleeping bag and packs everything up.
Traveling during the daytime is a risk they usually don’t take, but they need to put distance between this place and themselves. As long as Ruby has a cloak on to cover herself (and Pyrrha to watch over her), she should be fine.
Pyrrha jostles Ruby awake again. She holds out her wrist to the vampire. “Here. Drink.”
“No.” Ruby protests. Now that the sedative is fading from her system, she’s more alert. “I—I promised.”
“We need to leave. There’s no time for you to hunt.” Pyrrha speaks more calmly than she feels. “I had some rations already, but you need a meal to keep your energy up. Especially after last night. Please. I’m giving you permission.”
Hesitantly, almost fearfully, Ruby agrees. She takes Pyrrha’s wrist between her hands and lifts it to her mouth. Her fangs sink into Pyrrha’s veins. The whole process makes Pyrrha feel slightly woozy. It only lasts a minute before Ruby pulls away.
The two dots on her wrist where Ruby’s fangs broke her flesh will leave scars, Pyrrha notes while wrapping a bandage around them.
And then Pyrrha blushes when she realizes she doesn’t really mind.