Ruby and Weiss are separated from Blake and Yang as part of a partnership-building exercise. Their task? Several days of wilderness survival far out in Forever Fall. It'll be just like a campout!

Chapter Text

The silence over Forever Fall was serene; animals wandering through the area thankfully devoid of Grimm, making their way back towards their dens and nests. The warmth of twilight made the brilliant red foliage seem to glow as the sun set, adding to the serenity of the evening. So quiet, that even the faintest whisper drew the attentive ear of every animal in the vicinity.

"There're a few rabbits to your two-o-clock; wait for my signal and you should be able to snag a couple no problem."

"Ugh, rabbit? Really? Couldn't you, I don't know, shoot a deer?"

"Oh~? The Princess wants venison, does she?"

"It certainly sounds better than rabbit..."

"I don't know what to tell you; do you really think just the two of us could eat a whole deer before it started to spoil?"

"I could freeze whatever we don't cook toni-"

"Would you please just try the rabbit? More reasonable portions, and you might really like it!"

"Fine, fine. On your mark."

"Alright... adjust to three-o-clock... little bit back towards two... hold... now!"

The quiet of the forest was shattered, a cry like a blade cutting across ice accompanying a white blur darting out of a red bush, a flash of silver goring two rabbits unfortunate enough to be right beside each other. Immediately, every other animal in the vicinity scattered from the site of the kill; silence gradually descending upon the area again as the sounds of fleeing grew distant.

"Alright, dinner!" Ruby shouted happily, hooking Crescent Rose on a tree branch, swinging to the ground from her high perch, "That was perfect Weiss!"

"Hmph, of course," Weiss replied, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder. "Thanks to your direction, that is," she added with a small smile.

Ruby returned it with her own beaming grin, collapsing and storing Crescent Rose on her back as she bent over to take a look at the two rabbits impaled on Myrtenaster. Weiss lifted the blade a bit higher while Ruby slid their catch off it. Retracting her sword once Ruby had their dinner in-hand, she pulled out a handkerchief, wiping it clean of blood.

"This is why I prefer just killing Grimm. No clean-up," Weiss muttered in distaste, tucking away the dirtied bit of cloth, sheathing her cleaned weapon at her side.

"Hey, gotta eat, and Crescent Rose is kinda unwieldy for something this small," Ruby said, shrugging.

"All the more reason just shooting a deer would have been preferable," Weiss said, crossing her arms.

"Fi~ne, if you're still craving venison tomorrow I will shoot a deer for you, happy?"

Weiss rolled her eyes, dropping her arms as she turned to walk away, "Come on, we should get back to camp."

"'kay," Ruby chirped, falling into step beside her, "Hey, do you think Grimm are drawn in by frightened animals like they are by people?"

"I'm not sure. I've never heard of anyone testing such a thing... or at least, not living to tell of their research," Weiss answered, fingers cupping her chin thoughtfully, "But all the more reason not to linger here."

Ruby nodded in agreement, the two quickly departing from the location of their hunt. Their chosen campsite was located deeper in the woods, an easily defensible cavern conveniently close to a river. Better yet, it was apparently unoccupied by any local fauna, or worse yet, Grimm. Still, as they returned they did so cautiously, weapons drawn as they entered, one of Weiss' glyphs spinning to life to provide a bit of illumination in the dying light. Finding their supplies untouched and no unexpected guests waiting in the shadows, the two relaxed, putting their weapons away before beginning to set up for the night.

"Mind going and getting some firewood while I get these guys ready?" Ruby asked, holding up the rabbits for emphasis.

Weiss agreed readily, not much relishing the idea of having to prepare the rabbits herself. Kneeling over one of their packs of supplies, she pulled out a wood-cutting axe and a cutting knife.

"You do actually know how to skin them and such, right?" she asked, handing the knife off to Ruby.

"Of course!" Ruby scoffed, laying some scraps of cloth over a fairly flat rock she could use in her preparations, "Dad taught me and Yang plenty of survivalist stuff. Always told us we'd need to use it someday."

"I see," Weiss muttered her reply, sounding rather somber all of a sudden.

A shift in tone which Ruby took note of, looking up at her partner as she lingered over her silently, seeming distracted, "...I could teach you, if you wanted?"

Weiss snapped from her trance, noticing Ruby gesturing to the rabbits she had laid out, ready to be prepared for dinner. It took her a moment to process the offer, shaking her head slowly once she did, "Another time, perhaps. I'll go get the firewood."

Ruby watched her turn on her heel, stalking out of the cave with ax in hand, turning back to her task once she was out of sight. While she used the knife to prepare their catch for dinner, outside Weiss hacked away at a few tree branches with the axe, gathering enough to both kindle and fuel a fire for the night. Once she was satisfied she had enough, she returned to the cave, grimacing at the scraps she saw Ruby had set aside in the course of her cleaning their dinner.

"You're going to get rid of all that, right?"

"Huh?" Ruby looked up as her partner returned, tossing the last of the animal bones into the pile; she then noticed that was exactly what was being referred to, "Oh! Yeah, sure. Here, hold these."

Weiss' grimace deepened, her skin crawling as Ruby had her hold the skinned carcases. Gathering the discarded scraps in the cloth she'd been working on, she disappeared in a burst of rose petals. She returned as a red blur mere moments later, sans bloody fur and bones, taking the raw meat from a thankful Weiss' hands.

"Mind building the fire while I check what we have to work with?"

Giving a little hum of agreement, Weiss moved back to the cave's mouth, setting about digging a small fire-pit, encircling it in stones before adding the kindling she'd gathered to it. A few larger branches and a bit of fire dust, and soon she had a roaring fire going, chasing away the growing shadows as night set in. Ruby knelt by the fire shortly after, setting chunks of rabbit meat up on some spits by the fire.

"So? Anything useful in the supplies?"

"Uhh... salt, pepper, couple of potatoes..."

"Not much in other words," Weiss noted, sighing.

"Well, there was a pot, so we could make a stew another time?"

"Wonderful," Weiss remarked dryly.

Ruby just smiled at her, giving a little shrug as they both sat by the fire, waiting for their meat to cook.

"I wonder how Yang and Blake are doing?"

"Knowing Blake, probably grilling fish right now instead of rabbit."

Ruby laughed at the joke, earning a faint smile from Weiss. The two planned out their night as they waited, deciding who would take the first watch, and how they should manage in the morning. Soon though, the scent filling the air had Ruby declaring that the meat should be fine to eat now.

Picking up one of the skewers by the fire, Weiss eyed her dinner warily, glancing up to see Ruby happily chowing down on hers. Sighing, both at her partner's lack of decorum and in resignation at having no other options for a meal, Weiss took her own first, hesitant bite. Perhaps it was that she was just that hungry, but the fire-cooked rabbit wasn't as terrible as she'd dreaded. Soon she'd finished her first portion, and reached to take another chunk from by the fire. As she did, she noticed Ruby staring at her, looking just a bit smug.

"...what?"

"Not bad, is it?" she teased, grinning still.

"...it could be worse," Weiss conceded, taking her second helping, "It is rather plain, however."

"Well, yeah, not a lot to work with out here," Ruby agreed, already on her third piece, "Oh! Maybe sometime I could cook you something more flavourful? Really show you how tasty rabbit can be!"

"I didn't realize you were such a fan of rabbit," Weiss remarked, smirking wryly.

"Uh, well I... I mean, there are worse things, right?" Ruby replied, blushing just a bit, her free hand scratching at her cheek.

"You just want to prove that you're right about it being a better choice to venison, aren't you?"

"...maybe," she admitted, smiling at the short laugh Weiss gave in response.

"Alright, fine. Once we're back, you can properly cook some rabbit for me; see if I find it genuinely appealing."

"It's a date!" Ruby declared, grinning happily, not noticing the blush that briefly warmed Weiss' pale features at her phrasing.

Once they had both finished eating, they stayed up chatting by the fire for a short time, before deciding that Ruby should turn in; Weiss having been decided on as taking the first watch. While Ruby retreated inside the cave, pulling out her sleeping bag to rest in, Weiss tried to get more-or-less comfortable by the fire. She gazed out over the crackling flames, eying the darkness of the woods beyond, looking out for any sign of curious wildlife. Or worse, as ever, Grimm.

Trying to focus on her task, and not on how much or little time was actually going by, was the best way she had to combat the boredom of her watch. Occasionally her focus would wane, her attention straying back to the cavern where her partner was resting. She could just barely make out the shape of her sleeping on the floor in the flickering light of the fire; her pale features standing out regardless in the darkness. She looked so at peace as she slept, almost content, despite the less-than-ideal situation, even as far as camping went. More than once, Weiss found herself staring back at Ruby's sleeping face; somehow finding it easier than gazing out into the darkness of the forest. She almost missed the sound of breaking undergrowth growing closer and louder.

When Ruby awoke, it wasn't to the gentle stirring of her partner waking her for her turn at watch. Instead, it was to her name being screamed, accompanied by an unnatural screeching that echoed into the night. Her eyes snapped open, sleep long forgotten as she instantly sprang out of her bag; Crescent Rose unfolding as she rushed from the cave. At first, she saw nothing, looking out into the black and red of the dark forest. Then a flash of white caught her eye, followed by more, and small glimpse of gold.

Her Semblance brought her to the fight in an instant, trees crashing around her as a Deathstalker chased after Weiss, who danced between her glyphs, deftly avoiding its claws.

"Weiss!" Ruby called to her partner, dashing backwards when the Grimm took notice of her, abruptly spinning around to try and take a swing at her.

"Took you long enough!" she admonished, coming to stand beside her.

"S-Sorry. At least you can get some sleep after this?"

"I can try," Weiss muttered, hoping that paranoia wouldn't keep her from sleep that night.

The two separated when the monstrous scorpion's stinger plunged into the ground right between where they'd been standing. They ran in opposite directions around the Grimm, dividing its attention.

"I've got its stinger!" Ruby called out.

"Roger!" Weiss shouted back, understanding instantly.

If Ruby was to manage the stinger, then that left its claws to her. She stopped running, coming to stand right in front of the skittering creature, causing it to still as she drew its attention. When it advanced on her, claws snapping dangerously as it neared, she captured one with a glyph, locking it together. She leapt up onto the other when it went for her, another glyph appearing between her legs and the carapace, locking her in place, resistant to the Grimm's attempts to throw her off. Once it realized she was properly stuck onto its claw, and that it couldn't open the other, it reared its tail back to stab at the offending Huntress.

The moment it did, Ruby practically flew right over it, Crescent Rose hooking around the raised stinger. Firing a shot, the powerful recoil fueled a slice that cleanly severed the tail in two, golden stinger falling harmlessly. Well, harmless to Weiss at least; the Grimm itself was not so lucky as the stinger embedded itself in the armor platting on its back. Flipping up in the air after severing the stinger, Ruby transformed her weapon into its gun form, taking aim in mid-air, firing several rapid shots around the stinger, further compromising the Grimm's armor plating.

As a chunk fell away, Weiss shot off its claw, seeing her opportunity to embed her blade deep into the monster. Its screeching again echoed through the night as her strike pierced the weak spot, hanging on as it flailed about before finally collapsing to the ground. Within moments, it had begun to dissipate, leaving Weiss to let out a sigh of relief.

"Aw yeah, nice one Weiss!" Ruby shouted, landing beside Weiss as close to gracefully as she could seemingly manage.

"Shh!" Weiss hissed at her, holding a finger up to her lips, whisper-snapping at her, "I'd rather we didn't draw in another one of those things!"

"Eheh, sorry," Ruby whispered back, rubbing the back of her head, "Oh! Gotta remember to thank Jaune for telling us about that trick with the stinger. Makes things so much easier."

"Indeed. Come on, let's get back. Sleep sounds... desperately good right about now," Weiss said, moving back towards the faint glimmer of fire through the trees; earlier worries of more encroaching Grimm largely replaced by exhaustion.

"Don't worry, anything else comes along, I'm sure I can handle it! You get your beauty-sleep," Ruby reassured her with just a grin.

"Don't be ridiculous," Weiss snapped at her in response.

"Huh? O-Oh! Not uh, not that you need beauty sleep, I mean," she said with a bit of a nervous laugh, "Well the beauty part at least, 'cause you definitely look like you need sleep-sleep."

"Not that," Weiss said, rolling her eyes, "If another Grimm appears, I expect you to wake me up immediately to deal with it, together. We're partners, are we not?"

Ruby blinked, lighting up with a warm smile as she nodded her head firmly, "Yeah! Definitely!"