‘ flyboy ? a primadonna ? ‘ her smile blossomed, eagerly flitting to the gnome’s side. pike was always depicted as an angelic badass in scanlan’s songs, and much to ruby’s delight — it seemed accurate. for a stranger barging in to use their home and bath, she treated ruby like a guest. there had to be a way to properly thank them for everything.
for now, a meal sounded more than welcome. ruby followed pike, adjusting her hand to hold pike’s ( she had a tight grip for a healer ). it didn’t feel as threatening to walk in to several pairs of eyes staring at her. kaylie situation ? ‘ yeah, no, too fucked up. probably another demon situation. ‘ scanlan offered as he walked in, setting a sandwich and a bowl of stew on the table. he gestured for ruby to sit.
‘ we can help you kill a demon, kid, but you might have to hand over the gun. ‘ the bard finished. ruby blinked, sitting down nonetheless. ‘ well, i don’t have a demon hanging around. those men outside aren’t from here, though. they steal and collect illegal products - usually weapons and drugs, or both. they had some poison made that’s particularly dangerous to elves, which they were resting on customers. ‘
ruby resented the fact her hands trembled. she tried holding the sandwich to calm herself, even if it didn’t work. when she noticed vax’ildan and grog standing at the door, ruby nearly leapt from her skin.
‘ i had a plan to destroy their supplies. half way through i … got caught, a fight started, and suddenly percy was helping. the guards chose to target us instead, aaaaaaand we were chased by both parties. i made percy go down a garbage shoot to lose them and then we snuck into this lovely manor through the sewers. ‘ ruby took a deep breath, still forcing herself to meet vax’ahlia’s gaze. ‘ i didn’t mean to steal your thunder. they’ve hurt my friends. they’ve hurt me, and i didn’t think anyone else cared. ‘
“if anyone else brings a demon into this house, i’ll kick your ass a dozen times over.” vex warned, and keyleth raised her hands in self-defense, snorting. “understood, vex. we don’t need to worry, though! this girl doesn’t seem like the type to be possessed by one -- but then again, neither did percy...”
“anyway--” pike interjected, rolling her eyes at her companions. everyone fell silent as ruby spoke, her story unsurprising given what they had learned about the gang in question. vex’s hand rested on her chin, looking thoughtful. pike bit a laugh behind her hand at the mention of garbage, but once ruby finished, percy stepped into the dining room. his hair was still damp, a new set of clean clothing on his body. he settled in the chair next to keyleth, knocking their knees together affectionately.
“i didn’t realize you had such personal connections to them.” percy admitted, frowning at the elf. “and we didn’t know about the poison. the weapons and drugs, yes, but... not that.” his gaze drifted to vax, stomach sinking. what if someone tried it out on his half-elves? this was something he could not allow to go on any longer. “we’ve been trying to stop their trade at the behest of a good friend of ours, but this is worse than we feared. ruby... perhaps allying with one another is in all our best interests.”
pike placed a hand on ruby’s shoulder. “where did you come from, kid?” percy met ruby’s gaze, and nodded for her to continue. it was her story to tell, not his.
