SAPR

by Scipio Smith

Fabric Shopping (New)

Fabric Shopping

“Thanks for coming with me,” Ruby said, looking up at Blake as they walked side by side down the street. “You didn’t have to.”

“No, but I wanted to,” Blake replied. “I know that we haven’t spent much time together, but I’d like the chance to rectify that a little bit, if you don’t mind.”

Ruby smiled. “I’d like that too,” she said brightly. “Though that doesn’t mean that you have to come fabric shopping with me. It might not be the most interesting thing you’ve ever done.”

“Who do you think made this outfit?” Blake asked, a wry look upon her face as she gestured to her clothes.

“Uh…” Ruby began, and then trailed off because she realised that she’d never really thought about it before. “I kind of thought that you bought it.”

“There aren’t a lot of stores out in the wilderness,” Blake pointed out.

“Fabrics don’t grow on trees either,” Ruby pointed out in turn.

“No,” Blake allowed. “I admit that I got the fabrics in Mistral, but I put it together myself. I wanted something that allowed me flexibility for the way that I fight, but I also…” Her face fell, and her head fell with it, bowing towards the ground. “I wanted to look…”

She wanted to look good for that guy, Ruby thought, as the memory of that mask flashed before her eyes. Adam Taurus. He didn’t scare her the way that he scared Sunset – which was maybe a little strange, but at the same time, it had all happened so fast for her that she hadn’t had time to really think about it before she was… not really thinking anything at all – but all the same, the thought of him still made her shiver. And to think that Blake had been his... his prisoner. Was that right? Ruby wasn’t sure if that was quite the right way to think about it, but at the same time, it felt like the right way to think about it, if that made any sense. She’d been his prisoner, and then she’d gotten out, and now… now she was getting better.

When she didn’t have to think about him.

Ruby reached out and took Blake by the hand. “Hey,” she said gently. “It’s okay.”

Blake’s golden eyes widened as she looked down at Ruby’s hand, clasping her own. “Ruby.”

“It’s okay,” Ruby repeated. “I’m right here, and he’s not.”

Blake was silent for a moment, her chest rising and falling as she breathed in and out, before she smiled. “Thank you,” she said.

“Don’t mention it,” Ruby said. “Do you want to sit down, go get a coffee or something?”

“No, I’m fine,” Blake replied rapidly. “It’s just… I can’t deny that he was a part of my reasoning, just like I can’t deny that he was a big part of my life for a long time.”

“You’re not that person anymore.”

“That’s kind of you to say, but that doesn’t change the fact of who I used to be,” Blake said. She brushed a few rogue strands of hair back over her shoulder. “Do you remember how, in the fairytale book, Professor Ozpin writes that faunus stories don’t have endings in the same way that a lot of human stories do?”

Ruby nodded. “Because faunus believe that their story hasn’t ended yet; it’s still going on.”

“We reject the idea of endings in that way,” Blake agreed. “But the inverse is true as well: there are no such things as beginnings, and certainly not easy beginnings. I could say that my life, my real life, started when I came to Beacon, or when you all fought for me at the docks and I was able to be myself without hiding, or even when I ran away from the White Fang. I could say all of that to make myself feel better, but none of it would be true. My story didn’t begin after I left Adam and the White Fang; he’s a part of my story, whether I like it or not, because my story has been going on since… before I was born.”

Ruby frowned. “How can your story have been going on since before you were born?”

“Because we’re all shaped by our world,” Blake explained. “Our world and the people in it: the people around us who raise us, teach us, help us, hinder us… and the people more distant who set the rules that govern the land we live in. And they in turn are shaped by others and by their world, all going further back beyond even the Great War. I could write a memoir of my own life and easily end the book before I was even born.”

“But then you wouldn’t be in it?”

“Yes, but all the things that made me who I am would be in place,” Blake explained.

Ruby thought about that for a moment, before she shook her head. “I don’t buy that,” she said.

Blake raised one eyebrow. “Why not?”

“Because like you said yourself, your story isn’t finished yet,” Ruby said. “So how do you know who the people are who will shape you the most?”

Blake blinked. “That is a very good point,” she admitted. “When I came to Beacon, I couldn’t imagine what kind of influence some of the people I’d meet here would have on me.”

“Me neither,” Ruby agreed as they resumed their journey down the street. “When I was on the airship over here, the only thing that I wanted was to get through these four years without being noticed by anyone. If everyone wanted to see right through me, that would have been fine by me. I could never have imagined how many wonderful friends I’d make here.”

“Same here,” Blake said. “Well, you know that I was hiding myself under a bow, and you remember how I acted when you came over to talk to Sunset. I didn’t want anything to do with anyone; I was… I was afraid of letting anyone get close enough to find out who I really was… afraid of letting anyone get close enough to hurt me.” For a moment, Ruby was afraid that she would slip into melancholy once again, but she seemed to shake it off this time, visibly shaking her head and shoulders as if there was something physically there that she could dislodge. “Who would have thought that someone like me would be able to make so many friends who accept me for who I am, even though they know… everything about me, and who I used to be? I guess… we both got very lucky.”

Ruby nodded. “Blake,” she asked, “do you like it here, at Beacon?”

Blake’s answer was delayed by a little bit. “Are you asking me if I like it here, or are you asking me if I’m going to stick around?”

Ruby shrugged. “Both?”

"Those are two different questions," Blake pointed out. "Yes, I like it here at Beacon. I like the school; I like all of you. The way that I've been accepted for who I am instead of what I am, and after everything I've done, it… it's more than I could have hoped for."

"Then stay," Ruby said. "It doesn't sound like you've got any reason not to."

Blake smiled slightly. "It's not that simple," she said.

"Isn't it?" Ruby asked. "It sounds simple to me. You can learn to be a huntress in any of four schools, so you might as well stick with the school you already know you like, right?"

The smile remained on Blake's face, a fond smile if not a particularly wide one, and Ruby thought that Blake would answer her in some way before they were both interrupted by the stirring to life of one of the big public screens, set high up above the level of the street, on the corner where three roads intersected. The screen flashed green for a moment before the bright green light was replaced by the image of Lisa Lavender, sat in a comfy red chair in a studio somewhere, with large windows overlooking the city of Vale.

"Good afternoon; this is the Lavender Report with me, Lisa Lavender," she said. "Our first guest today is Councillor of the Interior Aspen Emerald. Thank you for joining us, Councillor."

Ruby was surprised to see that Councillor Aspen was a deer faunus, with pale skin and a regal set of antlers, broader than his shoulders, sprouting from his head; he was dressed in a dark suit, contrasting with the fair tone of his skin, and even sat upon a red settee opposite Lisa Lavender, he towered over the newscaster. His green eyes stood out even at this distance and over camera.

He smiled. "It's my pleasure to be here, Miss Lavender."

"Crime rates in the city have been dropping since Atlesian forces apprehended Roman Torchwick," Lisa said. "Is it time for the citizens of Vale to breathe easy once again?"

Aspen chuckled as, with one hand, he made a slight adjustment to his green tie, the only splash of colour in his outfit. "Let me begin with an important clarification: Roman Torchwick was not captured by Atlesian forces; he was taken in a joint operation by students from Beacon and Atlas academies; we of the Valish council are very proud of our students, and it is only right and proper that they get the credit that they are due."

"But those Beacon students were not all from Vale, were they?"

"No, but that in itself is something to be proud of, that we have in Beacon this centre of excellence, this shining pillar if you will, that draws the best and brightest from across Remnant to study here in our kingdom and immerse themselves in our culture. I think that's something that we have worked very hard to accomplish and something that we can take pride in."

Lisa Lavender smiled like a shark. "But didn't you say, during the last election campaign, that you thought there were too many non-Valish students at Beacon Academy?"

"I don't recognise that statement," Aspen said smoothly.

Lisa Lavender leaned forwards and picked up a scroll that must have been lying just off-camera. "At a town hall meeting you said, and this is a direct quote, 'There are many problems with the current system under which huntsmen and huntresses operate. If you're asking me if I think it's fair that Valish taxpayers should pay for the education of foreign children who will then go back to their own kingdoms with the benefits of their education, no, I do not.' Your words, Councillor."

"You're misinterpreting my words," Aspen said.

"You said that you didn't think it was fair that Valish taxpayers should pay for non-Valish children to study at Beacon."

"No, I said that it wasn't fair that they should pay for the education of huntsmen and huntresses who will not stay and operate in Vale," Aspen insisted. "It has nothing to do with nationality except in so far as those students not from Vale will often return to their own homes once they graduate, and that, Miss Lavender, is where the unfairness comes in, because their education at Beacon has been funded by the Kingdom of Vale, and yet, the Kingdom of Vale sees no return on its investment."

"But you remain very proud of, for example, Pyrrha Nikos, who will almost certainly return to Mistral after her graduation."

"Ah, but you see, Miss Nikos has already provided a signal service to Vale through her assistance in the capture of Roman Torchwick," Aspen replied. "If she and her teammates do nothing else for the next four years, they will have made good on the kingdom's investment in them."

"Do you think we could use that to get out of homework?" Ruby asked.

"I doubt it," Blake replied.

"That brings us back to my original question, Councillor: can the people of Vale sleep soundly once more?"

"Let's not sensationalise, Miss Lavender; I don't believe that the people of Vale were ever not sleeping soundly-"

"He's got a point," Ruby said. "I mean, think of all the times that we've been in Vale; has anyone ever seemed frightened because of the dust robberies?"

"No," Blake admitted. "Although I'm not sure how admirable that is."

"Why not?" Ruby asked.

"Because there are a lot of things that the White Fang could do with so much dust, and none of them are good," Blake murmured. "And the fact that nobody – well, very few people – seem to be thinking about that is… I'm not sure what it is, except perhaps a little concerning."

"I don't know," Ruby said. "I think it's a good thing."

Blake glanced at her. "Really?"

Ruby nodded. "If you think about it, we're all going to die," she said. "And not just us huntresses, but everybody. We might die on missions, but other people might perish because we screwed up, or the grimm might get through the walls; there are so many terrible things that could happen that the White Fang is just one more, even with a load of stolen dust. But we can't let ourselves think like that, none of us, and not just because if we let ourselves get scared, then it will bring the grimm, but because… because how can we live if we're afraid all the time? Maybe it seems stupid, but we have to smile and laugh and pretend that things aren't as bad as they are, because it's the only way we can stop moping around and work to make things better."

Blake hesitated for a moment before she nodded. "I guess you're right," she said. "Worrying really won't solve anything."

"Nope," Ruby agreed. "And besides, I'm sure that people like Professor Ozpin are right on top of everything."

"So you don't share any of Sunset's suspicions?" Blake asked as they resumed their journey.

"Nah," Ruby replied. "Sunset is one of those people who really needs to learn to worry less."

"I thought worrying less was for when there were things to worry about?"

"Worrying about things that aren't real is even worse, don't you think?" Ruby suggested.

"Yes," Blake granted. "But it seems that the headmaster does know more than he's telling you."

"And I know more than I've told people," Ruby replied. "I haven't told Ren or Nora about my Silver Eyes, so if Professor Ozpin doesn't want to tell me about it, I'm sure he's got a good reason for keeping it to himself, just like I do."

"Would you prefer it if he did tell you?"

Ruby had to think about that one for a little bit. "Yes," she admitted. "Not just because I'd be able to fight grimm with my laser eyes," – she chuckled, drawing a laugh from Blake as well – "but because maybe he could tell me about my Mom. I know I have her diary, but there are times when it seems like she doesn't have much confidence in herself. I'd kind of like to find out what other people saw, you know? Only Dad and Uncle Qrow don't talk about her much; it hurts them to remember. Yang remembers more than I do, but not that much. I'd just like to hear some stories, you know?"

Blake put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I won't pretend to understand exactly what it's been like for you," she murmured, "but there's nothing strange about wanting to know more about your mother." She paused. "Have you considered going and asking Professor Ozpin, or Professor Goodwitch if that's easier?"

Ruby frowned. "I'm not sure that Sunset would like that."

"It's not Sunset's mother, or Sunset's decision," Blake informed her, a touch of sternness entering into her voice. "Sunset needs to learn to let other people make their own choices, and I'll tell her that myself if she gives you any trouble about this."

"But I don't want to get her into trouble," Ruby replied. "And how do I ask about my eyes without telling them about the diary?"

"Maybe you don't have to ask about the eyes?" Blake suggested. "Maybe you can just ask to hear some stories about your mother, about what they remember of her."

Ruby hadn't considered that before and felt like an idiot for not thinking of it herself. Now that Blake had suggested it, it seemed like the most wonderful idea in the world. "Do you… do you think they would?"

"The worst thing they can say is 'no.'" Blake pointed out.

"Right," Ruby murmured. "Okay then, I'll do it!" she cried. "Thank you, Blake."

"For what?"

"For… for being smarter than me," Ruby said.

The street down which they walked was not one of the nicest in Vale. The Kingdom was prosperous, so they said, but that prosperity didn't look as though it had reached down here; half the shops fronting onto the road were betting shops, where hopeless-looking men with unkempt beards and the eyes of those who hadn't slept for longer than was smart sat in front of fixed-odds betting terminals, mechanically pressing buttons and inserting lien so that they looked more like robots than people.

Except that the robots might not smell so bad.

The men in there reminded Ruby of her father after Mom died: the same blank stare, the listless obliviousness to the world around them. But Dad had lost the love of his life; what was these guys' excuse?

Amongst the betting shops, charity shops were the next big thing along this particular street, but more important for Ruby's purpose, there was also at least one prints and fabrics place: a narrow-fronted but deep-looking place by the name of Dunoaks, the name painted in red letters upon a white background over the door. It wasn't somewhere Ruby had been before, but it got some good reviews on-line, and it wasn't as though she could go back to Patch for this.

Ruby pushed open the door – it made no sound except the squeaking of the hinges – and walked inside. Blake followed shortly after.

Behind the simple wooden counter was a faunus, a fox faunus with a pair of tufty ears sticking out from the top of her red hair. She started a little as they came in and seemed to stare at Blake for a moment with her hazel eyes.

Blake’s eyes narrowed. “Is something wrong?” she asked softly.

“Ahem!” the woman behind the counter exclaimed. “No, nothing, nothing at all! Ahem, so, what can I help you with today?”

“We’re just browsing for now,” Ruby said.

“Is there anything in particular that you’re looking for?”

“I’m making some outfits for some friends of mine, for the school dance,” Ruby explained. “But, I don’t really… I’m still thinking about... everything, really.”

“Hmm,” the faunus woman murmured. She smiled. “Well, feel free to take a look around and let me know if there’s anything you need.”

“Thank you,” Ruby said brightly, turning away from the counter and the woman behind it as she walked deeper into the shop. Bolts of fabric were stacked in rolls in wooden alcoves piled high on top of one another, extending downwards into the interior of the store. Samples, demonstrating colour and pattern, were attached to the front or side of the alcoves for reference.

As Ruby walked down the shadowy corridors formed by the shelves, she was struck by a thought that made her turn around to face Blake. “You never answered my questions,” she declared accusingly.

Blake blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I asked if you were going to stick around, and then-”

“Then we got sidetracked, right,” Blake agreed. She then fell silent for a little bit. “If it was just a question of ‘am I happy here?’ or ‘do I like Beacon?’ then I’d stay,” she said. “I wouldn’t trade the certainty of happiness at Beacon for the chance of happiness at Atlas. That… that’s not what makes this a hard choice.”

“I… I don’t understand,” Ruby said softly. “What else is there?”

Blake reached out and ran her fingertips over a bolt of dark grey fabric. “Do you remember our first night on the train back from Cold Harbour, when we all talked about what we were doing here? Why we wanted to be huntresses?”

Ruby nodded. Her voice was quiet. “I remember.”

“Of course you do,” Blake replied. “You were so solemn then, so… so intense and full of righteousness. If you don’t mind me saying so, I think that you’re chasing a ghost.”

Ruby’s brow furrowed a little, her pale forehead wrinkling. “What if I am?”

“What are you going to do when you catch her?” Blake asked.

Ruby opened her mouth, but no words came out, not at first. Chasing a ghost. She hadn’t thought of it that way before, but, now that Blake had said, Ruby couldn’t deny it. It was… well, it was what she was doing, wasn’t it? And she didn’t see that it was a bad thing either, even if Blake had kind of implied she was. There were worse things to chase than ghosts – glory, ambition, power – and worse examples to follow than a true huntress.

Much worse.

“I don’t know if I ever will,” she murmured. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be strong enough, fast enough-”

“You will,” Blake assured her.

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

“I’ve seen more of real combat than anyone in our year, and more than most in the four academies, I’ll bet,” Blake said, without any pride in the fact. “I’ve seen warriors. I’ve fought alongside them. Adam… Adam haunts my dreams, but that doesn’t change the fact that he is a fighter to his fingertips, and he isn’t the only one in the White Fang who knows how to fight for the cause. I know when I’m looking at someone with the heart of a warrior and when I’m not, and you… you have so much heart in so many ways. It’s true that you’re not as strong as Pyrrha, that you don’t have Sunset’s versatility, but you have something they don’t have and will never have: the heart of a hero, the will to put everything on the line, to give everything for the sake of what you believe in. And if that’s not enough, then gods help us because nothing else will suffice.”

Ruby stared up at her. No one had… it had been some time since she had been praised like that without qualifiers. “Sunset and Pyrrha… they don’t like that about me.”

“Sunset and Pyrrha care about you,” Blake corrected her, “and that care blinds them to the fact that, sometimes, all we can do is close the wall up with our valiant dead. If closing the wall is what you hope to achieve.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you become a huntress, when you catch your ghost,” Blake said, “what will you do then?”

“I’ll fight, of course,” Ruby declared. “I’ll protect Vale, I’ll protect mankind… I’ll protect the whole world, if I can.”

“You want to hold the line,” Blake said, a statement, not a question.

“Against the grimm and the darkness? Sure,” Ruby replied. “Isn’t that what huntsmen and huntresses exist for?”

“And that’s the reason why Beacon is perfect for you,” Blake declared. “Because you want to be a hero to humanity, and Beacon trains the greatest heroes in Remnant. But for me… I’m not sure that holding the line is enough, because for me… for me and mine, the line that you hold is also a ceiling, holding us back. I don’t say this to disparage your aims and ambitions, but I want more than to just hold the line for a world that denies my people the equality that they deserve.”

“There’s a faunus on the Council,” Ruby pointed out.

“And how many faunus who aren’t on the Council are stopped by the police for no reason but that they’re faunus?” Blake asked. “The White Fang is dangerous, and it needs to be stopped before innocent people are harmed by their methods, but the only way to permanent defeat the White Fang is to eradicate the system of injustice that created it.”

“Like you said on the train,” Ruby reminded her.

“Yes,” Blake agreed. “Like I said on the train. I… I aim to fight more than just the grimm. I’d like to defeat more than just the grimm. And I’m just not sure that I can do that as just another huntress.”

“But you can as an Atlesian Specialist?”

Blake hesitated. “Maybe,” she murmured. “I don’t know – I’d need to be able to see the future for that – but I think… I think that it might be my best chance.” She sighed. “That’s what makes it such a hard choice.”

“No,” Ruby said. “No, it isn’t.”

Blake frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean you’ve already made up your mind,” Ruby said. “You’re just… not sure that you’re happy about it yet, but you’ve already chosen.”

Blake’s eyebrows rose. “What makes you say that?”

“The fact that I’m right,” Ruby said. “The fact that it’s obvious.” She grinned. “Am I wrong?”

“Yes,” Blake declared. “I’m not even close to making up my mind yet. I have no idea what Atlas is like, or about the general character of the other students-”

“And none of that will matter,” Ruby said, “because all that matters to you is doing the right thing, and you’ve already decided what that is.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed. “You think you know me so well, don’t you?”

“Only because we’re kind of a lot alike,” Ruby said.

“Well, maybe you don’t know me as well as you think,” Blake said.

“I kind of doubt that,” Ruby said. “After hearing what you just said, I know there’s no way you’ll do anything else… I’ll miss you, Blake.”

“I might not be going anywhere!”

“Yeah, I doubt that, too.”

Comments

[Mastermind4892]

I’m glad that we’re almost at the school dance!

Should I be worried about that shopkeeper?

[LostUmbrella]

I love that Ruby is wise beyond her years

[ChaosDX1]

Lotta people sew in this story. I'm a little jealous. I'm trying to pick up that skill.

[The Scarlett Mare]

The men in there reminded Ruby of her father after Mom died: the same blank stare, the listless obliviousness to the world around them. But Dad had lost the love of his life; what was these guys' excuse?

something worse probably

[The Scarlett Mare]

10778616
or just as bad