How did Ruby and Danielle meet?
Oh! An OC question! I'm glad you asked! So I'll do my best to explain!
(Do note that since a lot of this isn't fully thought out quite yet, a lot of details are missing and may be subject to change in the future. This is more my idea of how I want it to go down.)
Danielle and Ruby ended up meeting about two weeks to a month (haven't decided a timeline quite yet, but somewhere around here) after the former ended up in Farside. The latter had been lonely wolfing it there for about a year and a half before then (so Ruby knows a thing or two about some stuff, though Danielle quickly catches up). As Danny had only been in Farside for so little time, she isn't anywhere near the level of troublemaker she ends up becoming by even the midpoint. This means that while she is certainly more on the cunning side, she's still a wimpy college student with only a bit of spellcasting knowledge and maybe one or two spell cards (which probably aren't hers to begin with). Ruby has four or five spellcards at this point, and knows nothing of the magic she is capable of. But since she's a really good swordswoman, she's more reasonably strong for the start, but can't cross the power gap a lot of does have over her like she eventually can later on quite yet.
Danielle and Ruby's first met when Danielle got attacked by a cunning pack of fairies, and found herself in over her head. Ruby, by a very lucky coincidence, happened to be on the exact same forest trail due to a bounty. As Ruby saw someone in danger, she quickly rushed in to fight them off. After one of those "Holy shit I'm still alive moments," Ruby ends up walking her to the next town (haven't decided what to call it yet), before continuing onto her bounty.
After that first meeting, Danielle and Ruby crossed paths on occasions throughout their stay in the same town. Not always on the right foot, since Ruby had an annoying penchant for catching Danielle stealing grimoires and more expensive ingredients she needs in order to run her makeshift shop. Though since (by this point in the story) Danielle was relatively harmless, Ruby regarded her as more of an annoyance than as anything worth worrying about.
It wasn't until after Danielle returns the favor that they start developing the close friendship (and eventual queerplatonic relationship) they eventually end up having. Due to a complex mystery solving gimmick Project Farside has that I haven't completely fleshed out yet, this arc will eventually accumulate into a major battle against a type of Creature called an Embodiment. An Embodiment of Wraith specifically. This Creature had been going around this sleepy village and subtly showing random people the thing guaranteed to make them angry, and then feeding off the wraith mana spawned from the resulting fights. This is a fairly weak Creature overall (as a stronger wraith embodiment is typically far less subtle), but it is the first time Danielle has had to actually fight a Creature. (That's not to say she hasn't encountered them before; she just always had to take the stealth route until then.)
Danielle eventually figures out who it is. And, knowing that it is eventually going to tear the town apart, ends up deciding to warn Ruby about it. Ruby, of course, decides to go teach them (haven't decided on a gender, if at all, for the Creature quite yet) a lesson. Danny actually was hoping she would go to deal with them, but there are a few problems with this she wasn't aware of.
The main issue here is that Ruby is a vengeful little motherfucker. She may have all the chill factor between her and Danny, but when she loses it, she really loses it. So what happens when she confronts a monster that can glimpse into her mind and gets a significant boost (and heal) from Ruby's own resulting anger and magic? Bad times all around.
Fortunately, Danielle realizes that deliberately trying to get that friendly swordswoman who saved her life to battle the monster she discovered for her could end pretty badly (especially since Danielle failed to specify a lot of details, just pointed her at them). Getting paranoid, she ends up running all over town trying to find her. When she does, she finds Ruby badly injured and on the cusp of defeat.
What proceeds can best be described as a puzzle boss for Danielle as she uses her wits to not only avoid being angered by the Creature, but to turn their strengths against them by effectively timing out all their spell cards (so it can't use the emotions released by Danielle trying to shoot them down). This part is effectively me trying to plan out a boss battle, so forgive the less detailed explanation. Writing clever characters (especially inconsistent and fickle ones like Danielle) is very hard.
After all that (and some cheesy antagonist motive reveal), Danielle ends up having to take Ruby back to where she is currently staying in order to patch up her injuries. It is here that she learns that Ruby is not only a fellow Nearsider, but that she's pretty much homeless and spends most of her days wandering Farside and using what money she learns to pay for essentials. Fearing the worst, Danielle makes the offer to let Ruby stay and work with her until her injuries get better.
Now, Ruby doesn't exactly like Danielle at this stage. Finds her good company, yes, but she still goes against a lot of Ruby's principles and objects to some of hers (mainly about murder). But since Ruby feels like she owes her a debt after she saved her life (as well as other factors like Danielle wanting to go to the same town next as her and just being slightly more stable financially than Ruby), she reluctantly agreed to assist Danielle at the shop. Just until her injuries are better and she can battle again.
Of course, that didn't end up happening. But that's another lengthy story! And so the odd friendship between some slightly unscrupulous college student turned magiscientist and a stoic upright swordswoman with a bloodthirsty side was born. There are a lot of other details (mostly tied to the undecided ideas mentioned) here, but this is the main idea I had in mind for their meeting!
