she awakens, dual moon-colored eyes fluttering open, curled up next to the rose. her ears perk upward at the feeling of ruby's warmth next to her, and the rare sight of blake belladonna's sleepy smile is granted to rwby's leader. "mmn—" she stretches, then lazily sits up and rubs at her eyelids. "wow. i don't even remember falling asleep last night. how late were we up?"
despite all the chaos, an enthralling string of events keeping the entire group on perpetual tiptoe, nothing has ever kept ruby’s internal alarm from waking her just as the sun has begun to crest over the horizon. ( except for the apathy, she recalls. the apathy was an unfortunate set of circumstances ruby would like to forget altogether. she never wants to feel that lack of sensation ever again in her life, nor see it on the faces of those she loves. )
she’s always been the first to wake on her team. it’s a habit that’s followed her across the continents, all the way from the coast of vale to the expansive lands of anima, climbing up the levels of mountain terrain along with her to the high plateau they now reside on during their stay. ruby finds herself awake, eyes peeking through the gap between blake’s unbound ears to watch faint sunlight filter through the blinds, turning floating specs of dust into lit embers. the sight — & the feeling of warmth encompassing her form as she shifts, legs tangled with her companion’s beneath the blankets — is like a dream in & of itself.
dreams, as she’s come to realize, are ever-fleeting, elusive in the hours between dawn & dusk.
ruby doesn’t pass the time with more sleep, as much as her body aches for just another hour of respite before it faces another unforgiving day, fighting against the dark opposition standing against them. her eyes can’t stand to stay closed another second, & her mind runs rampant with the restless thoughts that come to surface when she remains in a standstill. ruby’s chest falls as a deep breath is exhaled, a fruitless attempt to expel her worries.
she reaches over blake’s slumbering form carefully as she can to reach for her scroll, then tucks herself back into a loose ball beside her as the device comes to life in her hand, the screen illuminating her features. her thumb glides deftly over the screen, entering a pin to open up the device’s home screen, from which she selects a news app to scroll through. it’s not a very well thought out distraction in the long run — remnant’s news hasn’t been overwhelmingly positive since the fall of beacon, & now with the attack at haven academy no more than a few weeks prior the media is in a similar frenzy, compiling all the information that they have & all the blanks between motives they lacked due to missing assailants at the scene.
ruby closes the app after reading four separate headlines, forcing her back to the home screen. her thumb circles around the selection wheel & hovers over the picture app, hesitant to open it & scroll through events of the past, wiping the dust off old memories & times when her smile wasn’t always so forced. she feels blake begin to stir beside her & quickly locks the screen instead, dropping the device on the bed in between them. ‘ hey, sleepy head. ‘
she simpers gently, eyes softening as she watches her begin to wake & blink the sleep from her eyes. ‘ the world says good morning. ‘ ruby follows blake’s example seconds afterward, sitting up in the bed, placing one hand gently between the felid’s shoulder blades, slowly rubbing in a circular motion. ‘ it was pretty late. i think it was close to one o’clock, ‘ she answers, a small huff of laughter released. ‘ seemed like you were trying to beat me in a contest of who could stay up the latest. we both knew how that was gonna end. ‘
there’s a moment of silence between them which ruby fills with a sigh before her body leans into blake’s, head nuzzling into the crook between her neck & shoulder. ‘ want some tea with breakfast ? i think there’s still some oolong left from the last time i went into town. ‘
ruby smiles, as if nothing bad had been on her mind all morning. as if the thoughts of their impending doom creeping slowly forward with each passing day hadn’t plagued her since the night of haven’s attack. would she still have enough time with her team before everything fell to ashes around her ? would there be time to salvage a fraction of their happiness from the smothered embers of her life’s tragic wild fire ?
would there ever be such a thing as enough time if their goal was not met ?
‘ i’ll go set everything up. you just focus on shakin’ the sleep out of your bones. ‘ ruby places a soft peck against blake’s shoulder before shifting, scooting to the end of the bed & hopping off onto the floor. she pads over to the doorway, lays her hand against the frame & stops to look back at the sight of blake over her shoulder - still half-drowsy & comfortable in the tangled sheets & blanket. the scene tugs the corner of her lips up into a smile, but the emotion behind it wasn’t happy. more melancholic than it should have been.
ruby turns again & exits. she had to make the most of what time life would provide her in between the chaos.
