Chapter 17: The River She Chose

Ruby Rose

"Paris, I have to say, is lovely, but the most overrated city in Europe. Sure, they have their cute boys, but that's practically useless to you! I say you stick to your natural calling: German women," Yang joked as they abandoned Bumblebee by the house. The two of them decided they needed time alone together, devoid of interlopers. It was dusk now, dinner would be rushed as they got through the door, Envida and Taiyang would swarm the two of them, and it would be hours till it really got to be just them. Yang decided against that, she wanted to show Ruby something, and she was hardly one to deny.

"Did you spend your entire trip looking at boys?" Ruby questioned, walking down the gravel pathway beside the lone road that cut through the outer village. Here the sea was just peeking into their vision from the cliff face their town rested on. It dumped a vibrant orange streak across their path, the sun's final light reflected around them in tinted waves.

"No," Yang defined, twirling herself around to walk neatly backwards, "I watch for girls as well and everything in between, little sister." Despite being flipped, they were still matched for speed, Ruby trusting Yang didn't need to see for where they were headed. A village has few paths after all.

"What was the most beautiful city then?" Ruby asked, mainly to keep up the conversation. She never needed to travel the world with how vivid Yang told her tales, though Ruby thought it might be fun, take on the Earth a little more, together. Perhaps with Weiss.

"Venice," Yang replied, voice sounding distracted, but not for long. Her smile twitched, but momentarily found itself pulled back up as they approached the town center. The sound of the creek slicing through the hills on its way with the main Vale river could be heard approaching, buildings now on either side.

"Did you like it?" Ruby asked, not thinking much of it, more focused on not tripping as the gravel sidewalk became a cobbled path.

"I hated every second of it," Yang answered, turning back around, not even a little tripped up as the street rose to meet her. "No hot people, I guess, or at least," she paused, caught on what lie to tell, defaulting, tired, and far too drained, Yang tried honesty. "It's Blake's home. It reminded me of her, made me walk around angry, ya know Rubes? Couldn't love it even if it lived up to every one of her stories." All because they were precisely that, her stories.

"She's missed you, asks about you a lot, but I didn't really have much to tell her," Ruby admitted, happy Yang said anything at all. She built these walls made of pure 'I don't care' and smiles, rarely did she let those gates open, and never if someone forced their way in.

"I don't know, Rubes," Yang admitted, hands placed in her jacket pockets, expression invisible to the sister, a mass of yellow hair in the way, not to mention the actual head. "I'm kind of on the dumber side of love, I'm more a heart breaker than a heart maker, ya know? I need tips on how to swoon rich girls from you!"

"Yang, I don't think you need tips about anything from me. You're the cool one, if anything I need a little you to not mess this up," Ruby dared to question. After all it was Yang who was everything: strong, popular, beautiful, funny, and actually a hell of a lot smarter than anyone gave her credit for. Hearing that, the older girl's lips pulled into a smile, but her eyes didn't shine, settling for a disheartening mellow.

"Don't be me," Yang stated, slowing as they matched the river. She did so with no hint of emotion, more like a command a manager dispassionately give to their lessor. Like it was suppose to be obvious. To Ruby, it was not.

"Why?" she puzzled aloud, "Yang, I've looked up to you my whole life. I always wanted to be like you: strong, myself, and just," the last word stuck in her throat, too embarrassing to really say, too close to hero worship, "Driven." No, Ruby admitted to herself only, I wish I was like you because, Yang, you're unstoppable.

"I've driven my life directly into a ditch. Being strong-willed is only as good as your ideas, little sis." The opening square was coming soon, Ruby knew there wouldn't be much reason to go further, wherever Yang wanted to be, it was close. "My stubbornness is the root of everything. All or nothing, right? Be champion, or don't try. Be loved day one or drop them. Get exactly what you want or torch it all behind you. I burned too bright, and dreamed too big."

"Yang," Ruby replied, just barely above a whisper. This was alien, this was not her sister, her confidant, her unbound, unbroken, and unbeatable big sister. This was something else. Yang wouldn't look back at her, the older girl comfortably making her way to the center of the village plaza, one of the only restaurants still serving, their drunks inside and meals outside. Yang waved to one of the waiters, and sat herself. Ruby did the same right across from her on the partnered stool, a simple wooden table between them. Ruby could see her sister's eyes; they were the darkest violet Ruby had ever witnessed.

"Ruby, I had to face some facts out there, be real, which I am not exactly keen on. I'm good, damn good, but being a champion means being the best, and I'm not the best," Yang clarified, quick to hide her gloved hands in the pockets of her jacket. A grimace marred her face in a way Ruby just could not stand, and she couldn't seem to find her sister's eyes. Embarrassed.

"Are you giving up on kickboxing?" Ruby asked beside herself. When Yang lost the finals, it wasn't the first setback she had ever had. The girl was beaten gold, formed from a lot of losses, that's what she always said, what Ruby always emulated. "You always tell me to not give up on my dreams, now you're saying just throw it all away? This isn't you, Yang!"

"That's kinda the point, Rubes, me fucked up everything," the older girl laughed while her sister frowned, "And I didn't say give up. I can't. Kickboxing is me, fighting is me, but there is more than one way to climb a mountain. I can't smash through this wall, or at least I need to be ready if it stops me. I can't be a dreamer all my life. If I want to live being me, I need to find a realistic way to do it. Or something. My mom's way better at talking about this stuff than me." Yang punctuated with a shake of her golden curls, arching back in her stool.

"Your mom's cool," Ruby agreed, feeling relief. Envida was strict, and to her, definitely not her mom, but didn't need to be. Envida was an adult to look up to and respect.

"My mom is a badass," Yang commented with a smile, "just took me twenty something years to realize just how much. She's a master of climbing mountains." The waiter stole Yang's attention, a young man of tan complexion and uncomfortable awkwardness, but that was normal for people who spoke to Yang. She ordered for both of them in a few Spanish phrases, something Ruby was use to after their months together.

"So, same thing with Blake," Ruby asked for all three of them. The Italian queen of the dorms was distraught, and after all they were classmates, she had been nice to the redhead for no real reason. Without really knowing what was going on between them, Ruby got the jist. They were both falling for each other so fast they accidentally butted heads on the way down. "Figure an alternative approach, or some other stuff?"

"I don't know, things are weird," Yang answered honestly, eyes diverting towards the distant burned down church. In the dawn light it looked even more beautiful, the last bit of orange coloring its graceful decline. "You know the first time we kissed was in that church? We were both drinking, I don't think she remembers, but I do. It was like a friend kiss then, just a peck, least I thought so. Now it's all messy."

"I'm not saying it's the end all, but I do know you mean a lot to her," Ruby offered up for her friend, but that was all, "and no matter what happened you can talk to me about it. I'm here for you, even if it's not going to paint her in the best light." Yang came first. End of story.

"Cute," the older sister noted, reaching over the table to mess with the little one's hair, the younger of course struggled, but the eldest won out, "I'm going to see her tomorrow. One way or another, it's going to get resolved, but I don't know if it's gonna be all rainbows and make up sex after." Ruby turned a touch red, sex being a bit of a hot button topic from today's events. Yang in reply faked a gag. "So I suppose I should ask how you and bitch face are getting along?"

"She is not a bitch face, okay? Weiss is actually super cool if you get to know her." How to explain the Schnee girl to people was an enigma akin to describing to someone a new color, or the shape of a four dimensional cube, or the taste of a B sharp. It wasn't something you could explain. Except unlike all the others, she was real, and her affect on Ruby was profound. "You all think she, like, bullies me, but it's not like that. Honestly, she builds me up, gives me confidence, pulls me back together without treating me like I'm broken and need pity. She makes me feel like a kid again one second, and ready to be an adult the next. I can't explain it, Yang, but it's awesome."

"Alright," Yang gave, pausing only a second to think, like the words dripping from Ruby's mouth actually made any freaking sense. "I don't get her, but I get that. If she makes you happy, she makes you happy." Yang smiled, confident in her assessment. "If not, we'll see how she talks shit with no fucking teeth."

"Yang," Ruby groaned, elongating the name as she dropped her head to the table, defeated.

"What, I said if dude! I'm not going to hit her while she's your girlfriend!" Yang defended herself with a knowing smile and an admirable arm. She was unashamed of showing off her guns if it meant proving there was more than words to that.

"Can we please, like, not assume the worst case? I'm already bad at making friends, I don't really think I can pull of rolling into a relationship with another super awesome girl who actually thinks I'm also super awesome. I'm still not sure how I tricked her into believing in me." Ruby chuckled to ease the tension, as did her sister. Though Yang did so with a nod.

"There's a lot to believe in. I remember a little Ruby who knew she could take on the world," Yang reminisced, lilac eyes looking back while sitting still.

"Yeah well, that little Ruby was a hyper little nerd, so I realized some stuff," Ruby sighed, wishing she had a bit of her innocence from before, sureness in what she was doing, anything, "I'm so in doubt about if I can even survive as a writer that I haven't picked a program, much less taking on the world stuff."

"Ruby, don't be me, pick something you like, even if it's not creative writing. Maybe get a doctorate in lit? Teach or something? Just don't pick something dumb," Yang argued from a surprisingly realist position. That trip had changed her, changed something deep in there. Ruby could feel it.

"Well, I don't think I'll be doing culinary, don't worry," Ruby joked on time with the food, a plate full of tapas, a tasty blend of appetizers they could stuff themselves on before dinner proper, more for the endless maw that was Yang. "I wish I could ask Summer, mom always knew what to tell me." Mother always knew best, or knew how to make it sound real. With her, nothing was doubtful. A blissful illusion.

"You don't need to, I know exactly what she'd say," Yang muttered, almost as close to Summer as Ruby. They were both her little girls. "You can do it Rubbles, you can run circles around the world." For a moment, paused between bites of seafood appetizers, Ruby swore she heard her mother speaking.

"Is that what Yang thinks?" The question froze them both, the newfound wisdom possessed by her older sister didn't allow for such neat answers. That's what made it valuable.

"Yang thinks," she breathed between words, not letting herself choke on the truth, the new golden girl wasn't about that. "Only you know if you can make it. I know you got talent, and I will support you with Dad, but it's hard, and that's your reality to face." Yang had a familiar expression, but this new way of thinking wasn't just her, it carried something she discovered out there, something new, vagabonds can learn new tricks it seemed. "But I do think you could give the world a run for it's money." They both smiled.

"You know," Ruby laughed, remembering herself only a few months back, "That's exactly what Weiss said."

"You sure you don't want me to help you like pack, or whatever?" Ruby asked, unwilling to cross the threshold into Weiss' room without her express permission even if the door was left open and her girlfriend made no suggestions that she was unwelcome.

"It's fine," Weiss argued, tossing a folded white dress shirt in her bag with a tie. That sort of traditional boys' dress clothes on her was an interesting thought, one Ruby was def upset about missing, "It'll be the same as last time. Father last minute says he's coming to Spain basically means he's going to the Schnee Spain Offices in Madrid and that's where he will expect me with all new fresh business acumen from school."

"That might've been true if a single one of your program classes wasn't gen ed," Ruby muttered, comfortable with her enough to poke the fire breathing dragon. Weiss took exception to this, stopping at the door to snatch Ruby by the chin. Snappy, but not forceful, she held the redhead's face in her grip to better stare her down with fifty caliber capable blue eyes.

"Stop trying to be cute and spend time with your friends already," Weiss demanded, reaching out her neck to give Ruby a quick peck on the cheek before letting go. "I can't imagine Penny wants to sit in my room and watch us do what we do. I might be ambitious, but I'm not cruel." She turned away toward her clothing sets leaving Ruby to stand idle, blushing, and baited for her return.

"I," Ruby started, catching herself before she gave out her new secret. It wasn't the right time. She needed it to be in stone before telling Weiss. She needed it on file. "Text me, okay? Nora, Penny, and I are going to, well I have no idea, whatever we do! But I got my phone!"

Weiss shook her head, lifting up her own phone as an agreement while she worked. "Now get the hell out of my face and close the door, christ." Both of them were smiling.

"You ready to go, friend?" was Penny's first question as she walked away from the familiar dorm bedroom. It was getting harder and harder to tear herself away from Weiss' place, from her spaces, from her body. What the heck was she suppose to do without her however long her family kept her? Starvation and thirst all at once, what the hell did she do to her?

"One more thing, I got to see Glynda." Still time went on, Ruby still had her prime concern to take care of. The choice that had been haunting her since she walked away from the funeral and began filling out the morbid forms to detail her new life. The one thing she left blank. The choice she never made. Yang was right, it was time to make it, make any choice at all. It was time to roll the die.

"Glynda?" Ruby asked, entering the de facto office area. She hadn't heard the familiar jabbering of Dutch from Nora and the professor's occasional chit chats until passing the frame. Luckily the one she was walking into was happening to end, with the little ginger leaving with a smile and the older woman sitting back, exhausted, but happy. Her little space was neat like its owner, the coloring a white with accented purple just as she dressed, a regal atmosphere clearly.

"Miss Rose, I'm surprised to see you. Struggling with the Spanish homework?" Glynda less asked than stated as fact. Ruby shook her head, not because she was wrong, totally right on about the untouched homework, but something bigger was on Ruby's mind. Something that scared her still, dried her mouth, and quaked her hands. Still, she had to, had to at least start.

"Professor Goodwitch, I was hoping to finalize my program." Ruby's throat sealed up right as the words escaped. Glynda leaded back surprised, but withheld her comments, taking a moment to brush hair from her eyes and realize this was real.

"Alright," Glynda finally started, breathing for the both of them, "Which program did you want to pursue?" That was the real question, wasn't it? The haunting little issue. The program decided her future, or what future she was to try for. Some had urged her to be practical, others to be ambitious, and the last one, Yang, to be both. This truth forced Ruby awake all night, left her tired and drained, and despite knowing it wasn't truly final, it felt like deciding to gamble on if she could even get in the prison she picked.

"Creative writing and literature studies." Ruby didn't know how she managed to say it, make it real. She still didn't believe in herself, but she believed in Weiss. She didn't know if this was sane, but knew Yang, who seemed to think she still had options. All the people in the world whom believed in Ruby were the ones who decided this.

Ruby wasn't sure if she could be a writer, but now, she would try.

"Alright," Glynda replied again, this time smiling. She pulled out forms, a catalogue, a list of papers in Spanish of course. "Go home, fill this out with your father or sister, and bring it back whenever you're ready. After all, your courses won't change until next semester.

"Alright," Ruby quoted her professor, taking the papers.

This was it, Ruby was going to be a writer, careful to study lit if she couldn't, or burn up if neither. Suddenly, her heart regained function and blood began to pump once more.

"We need to party!" Nora demanded, her backwards walking on the street curb edge balanced by outstretched arms and classic gymnastic skills. Ruby kept up, hands warmed in her hoodie, moving down the slow city street, no real reason motivating the direction her feet clobbered along. Penny kept close, but off to herself, eyes bright green and filled with cheer, content to play her part as just a friend, something Ruby would always be thankful for. The redhead squad was still strong.

"No, no, no, I just picked a program, it's not even official yet!" Ruby argued, cutting between a pair of local city dwellers, "plus my ride's almost here." Nora groaned, annoyed at this truth.

"You know what we've never done?" Penny piped up as they crossed in front of a massive city church. All of them stopped in front of this catholic house of God, awaiting the quieter girl's sudden realization. Normally when Ruby heard one of her friends start like that a series of panic lights flared up, death con four was called, and emergency procedures began. With Penny though, it was different. She, dressed in her simple green overalls dress and a warm scarf, seemed completely innocent of everyone else's machinations. "We should have a slumber party!"

"We live in the same dorm," Nora reminded them with a chuckle. Penny though, she was unphased, happy smile gracing her lips.

"Not Ruby," she answered simply, wagging her finger. Ruby Rose readied herself for nervous panic, but nothing came. There was peace beneath the church door, a wooden behemoth the size of three men. There was no unrest knowing they would see her strange not-family family, that dad would likely go out of his way to embarrass her, a odd not-mother figure to confuse them, and a famous and troubled sister to disturb all three. There was a calm afforded by basic insurance that, yeah, she had friends. Yang back, Weiss with her, school being set up. Finally felt like her feet were planted in something firm. Something ancient. Something that could keep her up so long as the wind didn't blow too hard. Having Penny and Nora over, that wouldn't knock over a damn thing.

"So what do you say? We celebrate at your house? This weekend," Penny added, snapping them all into the now as a calm breeze swept through them and chilled their bodies. Maybe that was what turned her ears red, but Ruby thought she must be embarrassed, still a little ashamed of her rejection. "If Weiss is okay with me being over of course."

"She'll have to be," Ruby answered without a single hitch, "You're my best friend, Penny. Weiss gets that. I know she will." There was trust between the two, nothing a sleepover could send tumbling into the dirt. Penny broke into a smile, big and goofy, teeth shining white, a counter to the famously inept British dentistry.

"So!" Nora called out from behind Ruby, jumping her tiny body on the girl's back. "When are we doing this? I don't know if I can do it tonight, I'm pretending to be bad at math so Ren will teach me." Ruby nearly felt herself go tumbling into the stone church steps had she not braced herself a second before. Nora was dangerous.

"I think it would have to be the weekend. Yang takes me to school and the bike only fits two. Three if we got creative in ways I don't think Weiss would be cool with," Ruby half joked. Honestly, being jammed up in Nora's cleavage as they coupled on the bike didn't sound like fun for anyone. Not to mention the probability of killing each other on every bump.

"How about this weekend?" Penny offered, choosing to sit on one of the steps, the clock tower providing a touch of cover from the late sun. While it might be cold, the ginger pack all knew they were not meant to walk amongst the living in direct sunlight. This was their stopping point.

"Oh cool, we should invite the boys and play some inappropriate twister! You can bring Weiss of course and have a private lesbian game while I hook up with our precious little one." Nora stared at Penny with hungry predatory eyes. The whole love triangle debacle, while short lived hadn't slowed the Dane even an inch. In a way that was how she showed affection, even if Penny's expression cried out for a hero strong enough to repel Nora.

"I don't think I can have guys over." Ruby didn't know if she lied or not. Summer always trusted her, and Yang probably broke their father of any attempts at control. Still, she couldn't let Penny drown out there.

"You're 18 and gay, what would you even do? Compare notes?" Penny argued, accurately. Though, Weiss probably could give better suggestions than any of the boys in their dorm. Maybe even the school. Suddenly the line of thought turned inappropriate and Ruby found herself blushing. Too much Rubes, keep it clean.

"I don't really want anything like that, I'd rather know a guy for a while before I date him," Penny practically begged, awkwardly waving her hands no, "Really I'd rather have perfectly normal, all ages, innocent twister. Just friends," she paused looking to Ruby as if with a question, "Weiss can still come, though."

Ruby smiled, knowing Penny cared, but it was fine. Taking only a second to text Envida her location, she sat down beside her friend, leaning back against the ice cold white stone. "It's okay. She might be in Madrid, actually. She's off to see her dad, but I'll let her know. Thank you, Penny."

"You sure Weiss' isn't into like polyamorous stuff, because I still think you two are cute," Nora muttered as she collapsed into their laps. Ruby rolled her eyes and slapped the girl's stomach in retort, her soft vest draining the blow greatly. Together, tangled in a mess, the three of them joked, complained, and lived.

Some time later Envida came up with the car, nodding to the three girls and offering the rest a ride to the uni, not far away, but still a walk. Freedom from the autumn, now turning into winter air, was enough to motivate all of them into the car. The last few minutes of their time together covered such subjects as diverse as trained manservants, the actual practicality of RPG style monster hunting, and the feasibility of home made dental dams, all thanks to Nora. Envida remained a good sport, only groaning slightly at Nora's assurance that she was an expert in all things she'd never done.

Once the two of them were dropped off the sky became cloudy, but not unpleasantly so, and all sound drained from the vehicle. It wasn't awkward or unwelcome. If anything, Ruby enjoyed it. She could think back to the fun she had had with her friends, and future adventures she awaited. Other passing thoughts like what it meant to sign the papers in her tossed off backpack or if she could even know. The future was so off in the distance. Mom's death showed her the vainness in predicting it, yet Yang taught her the foolishness in ignoring it. Somewhere in between, staring out into the ocean as raindrops began to fall, Ruby put herself in the river she chose, but wasn't going to plan endlessly around it. Maybe for the first time in forever. Ruby considered that Summer might be proud of her daughter. Proud she learned something, maybe. Made something, maybe. Didn't break, maybe.

That thought granted unspeakable peace, and Ruby sighed out a thick, smoky, inkish doubt that had choked her lungs. She texted Weiss a quick 'how are you?', closed her eyes, and drifted off for the drive, the raindrops smashing against the car top providing her an A-flat rhythm to whisk her to sleep.

"Ruby, Hija, get up, we're here." Ruby's eyes blurred open to see a darkened sky with a not unpleasant rain. It coated the village stone fencing, turning it a darker and more muted color along with the grass. The animals normally loud throughout the community were silent. The repeated thumping somehow making it quieter of all things.

Outside the house was shining, lights on, and noisey talking audible, but not parseable from where they parked. By the road, pelted with raindrops that only made the paint job look sleeker, was an Audi way too fancy for Ruby to recognize. "You're father's meeting with a client. Make sure to be polite. Presentation's a big thing in his line of work."

"Is it not in yours?" Ruby joked, considering all jobs to fall under the 'don't be an ass or you'll lose clients' section of the economy. Envida laughed at this as she opened the door, exposing herself to the elements.

"I'm a web developer. We can not be, uh, bothered to deal with people, much less be nice." Ruby loved seeing the snarky Envida, the mother that clearly left a deep impression on Yang. They were getting along better, and Ruby was learning to like the independent minded adult in her life. Plus she knew how to dye hair into black silk, something Ruby intended to leverage.

Walking out of the car, the hoodie absorbed the bulk of the rainfall that even considered falling on her. She took no rush to getting her things, tossing the thin strapped red and black sack over her shoulder, loose as she walked through the front yard.

Closer to the entrance, Envida opened the door, freeing the rapid fire language from inside. Ruby recognized her father's voice, but not the other, both speakers talking too quick and in untainted Cantonese. The only thing she could tell for sure was both of them thought whatever it was utterly hilarious.

"I'm home!" Ruby called out, silencing the two of them mid sentence. It was about the last thing she meant to do. Earning a, not anger, but mildly disappointed expression on Envida's face, only chuckling from her father to soften the blow.

"Rubes! Come in, I want you to meet our guest!" Taiyang replied in cheery English, clearly excited enough. Ruby spared a moment to toss her bag towards the basement stairs and kick her sneakers into the corner. By the time Ruby made it into the living room, Envida was shaking hands with this stranger, obscuring her view of him for a brief moment. "And there she is, my other baby girl, Ruby Rose."

"Hello Ruby!" she recognized him. She had never seen him, but recognized everything about him and how none of it fit quite right. He was tall, despite her expectations, dressed well in a fine suit to match an impressive, if skinny form, that matched said expectations. Ruby was intimately familiar with his silver spun strands of hair that only were out-whited by his clear, near ivory teeth, shown in a bright smile bordered by a finely kept beard that wrapped around his lips and chin so neatly. And oh, Ruby knew his blue eyes, she knew them so well in frighteningly intimate ways. Yet here these eyes weren't right. They weren't frozen over blue, hidden or serious. These water eyes were bright, glowing azure, so happy, so friendly. Weiss's eyes felt wrong on his face. "My name is William Schnee. I'm Weiss' father and I'm so excited to meet you!"

*** First things first, I want to apologize for how long it's been since the last chapter. Not to get into detail, but I had a bit of a hard time dealing with a fit of depression, but that's over for now, and I intend to finish choice proper up before the end of october on a one chapter per week base!

Thanks again to LazyKatze for her support through all of this and in other things. She's a life saving through and through.

When Envida was first designed she and Ruby were to have a much more toxic relationship, her name meaning Envy was suppose to support the image of her as an antagonist, however quickly I decided this was cliche and exactly what everyone would expect, instead she was made to be more three dimensional, not a mother replacement, but a positive adult influence, which worked nicely with the retrofitting of Raven. Her name was kept however, as a red herring.