Let's learn a little more about Ruby~

Chapter 4: The Invitation

Morning greeted Weiss with slight sea-sickness. Wobbling over to the sink, she was glad that she barely ate anything yesterday, as she was certain her stomach would hate her at the moment.

That did bring up the despairing issue of hunger pangs. Thankfully, if she rushed to the dining room now, she could avoid most of the passengers. Rich people, like many other types of people, tended not to get up early in the morning if they could help it. She would too, but she couldn't help it.

As she walked down the dinning hall, several menus caught her eye. Most were full course meals set to be enjoyed by the company of others. All were heavily priced.

"Ah, Ms. Schnee," one the chefs cordially greeted her. "May I recommend having breakfast al fresco on the deck? The crisp air and vastness will make for a delightful meal."

Personally, she would rather have something more substantial such as actual food, but she knew metaphors when she heard them.

"Yes, thank you. I would like some simple toast and a grapefruit to accompany the scenery," Weiss ordered. Just something to soothe her stomach, nothing heavy.

"Might I recommend the black breakfast tea?"

"Very well then," Weiss nodded. Tea was good, very good. For pretty much whatever ailment one may have. A panacea of the finest leaves, brewed warmth and comfort, a taste for any occasion.

The chef gave a slight bow and led her to a table overlooking the lower decks.

At least the view was breathtaking. The chef was right, the scenery did much to sooth her palate and she found herself enjoying the quiet even more than she thought possible. Even the gentle lapping of the ocean's waves was like white noise.

She enjoyed her toast and grapefruit. The tea was a bit too bitter for her taste, but she was provided with cream and sugar packets to help lessen the bite. Overall, it was an enjoyable meal in near silence.

"Heya Weiss!" a much too cheerful and loud voice broke the silence like a brick thrown into a peace rally.

Ruby jumped down from her perch above Weiss who glared at the girl in return. Nonplussed, Ruby spun around a few times and took in the morning air.

"If you're here, you might as well sit," Weiss sighed, motioning towards a chair.

Ruby eagerly grabbed one and and sat across from Weiss. Her perpetual grin irked Weiss, though she couldn't figure out why.

"How long have you been up there?" Weiss cast a glance at the top deck. She shouldn't have been here in the first place, though Weiss couldn't figure out how she got up that high either.

"Before sunrise. I climbed up," Ruby answered cheekily, seeing nothing wrong with her blatant rule breaking.

Weiss resisted the urge to slap herself. What were the lookouts and guards doing? Nevermind herself, she should slap some sense into them. And maybe this girl.

A loud gurgle interrupted her thoughts and she quickly glanced over at Ruby.

Blushing nearly as red as her cloak, Ruby quickly tucked her arms around her stomach, trying to keep it from making anymore sounds.

"T-that was just the seagulls!" she desperately lied.

"Seagulls don't fly this far out," Weiss pointed out. "Just order something if you're that hungry," Weiss huffed as she got the attention of one of the waiters.

"N-no thanks," Ruby declined as best she could. "I'm not really all that hungry anyways."

She ducked her head almost shamefully as the waiter walked up and awaited her orders. When she remained silent, the waiter looked at Ruby questioningly, his face showing what he thought of her clothes and class.

Weiss looked at Ruby for a moment before grimacing.

"We'll be ordering a la carte, so please bring by the selection," Weiss answered.

"Very good miss," the waiter bowed out.

"You're going to eat a whole cart?" Ruby tilted her head at Weiss, her eyes wide at the thought.

"It's not for me, you idiot," Weiss left the implication clear.

"Um… I can't eat a cart either," Ruby nervously fidgeted.

"It's not a cart!" Weiss nearly yelled. Remembering where she was, she took several deep breaths to calm down. "Look, just order what you like when he comes back, okay?"

"But!" Ruby frantically struggled and Weiss understood why.

She didn't have any money, any way to pay for the food.

The waiter returned shortly, presenting a menu and selection for Ruby. She fidgeted, cautiously glanced at what must be pricey foodstuff, nervously looked at the waiter patiently holding a notepad and pen awaiting her order.

As amusing as it was watching Ruby flail, Weiss had no intention of belittling her.

"Since I invited you here, I'm treating you to this breakfast," Weiss stated simply.

Ruby froze. She looked at Weiss with wide eyes. Almost fearful.

She slowly opened the menu and glanced through. Her eyes wove back and forth, wondering what all of the strange words meant.

Weiss calmly took a menu and pretended to skim. "I'll have a poached egg on toast, a cheese danish, and a glass of milk."

She wasn't very hungry, she already had her toast and grapefruit. Instead, she figured Ruby would order only one or two things, probably the cheapest, so she ordered a full meal to pass onto the hungry girl.

She looked over at Ruby, waiting her answer.

"Uhhhh…." Ruby looked back at Weiss. "Um… I'll have what she's having!" she shouted quickly.

Weiss gaped as the waiter wrote down their orders and headed off.

"Phew…" Ruby breathed out in slight relief once he went away and she wasn't under pressure to choose.

"Do you realize what you have just done?!" Weiss hissed.

"O-order food?" Ruby cowered.

"We'll never finish!" Weiss screeched, making Ruby sink even further into her seat.

The waiter returned promptly with their order, neatly placing the plates on the table and wishing them a happy meal. Weiss eyed her second plate warily. Her first half-eaten order of toast and grapefruit was still delicious and would fill her until lunch. She didn't think the second helping will help with her stomach considering her sea-sickness.

She peeked at Ruby who was nearly salivating… forget nearly, the girl was definitely drooling at the meal before her.

"Eat it before it gets cold," Weiss sighed. No use letting a good meal go to waste. What should they do about the second meal though?

"I'll definitely pay you back," Ruby promised, looking at Weiss with determined eyes.

Pay her back? Ruby looked as if she couldn't even afford the clothes on her own back.

"Don't bother," Weiss waved away her concerns.

"No, I mean it!" Ruby half-stated, half-whined. "I… Well, I can't do much, but I'll do whatever I can to pay you back!"

Weiss raised an eyebrow. She wasn't sure how Ruby was going to pay her back, but she might as well play along. Who knows? If Ruby can relieve some of her boredom, that would be enough.

"Alright then," Weiss agreed. "For now, just eat."

Satisfied, Ruby turned back to her plate and opened her mouth… and froze.

"What's wrong now?" Weiss asked, nearly exasperated.

"…How do I eat this?"

"Seriously?!"

"Do I pick up the toast with my hands? Isn't that rude at a table? Should I cut it up? Ah! But then the egg will get everywhere…," Ruby looked helplessly at Weiss, wanting to eat but unsure of how. Weiss noticed she was also holding her knife and fork incorrectly.

"Just eat it however you feel comfortable."

"Even though it might be rude?" Ruby lowered her head meekly.

"I'm not one to judge," Weiss shrugged in return. Truthfully, she does judge. A lot. But in this case, knowing Ruby's station in life, she'll hold back.

"Okay," Ruby muttered thankfully. She skewered the egg and toast onto her fork in the center and chomped half of it off in one bite.

Weiss looked on with interest as Ruby spun the fork around and took another whopping bite before swallowing her first. How she fit all that food in her mouth Weiss could not fathom… but the puffed up cheeks reminded her of a cute little chipmunk.

In no time at all, Ruby finished the egg and toast, worked her way through the danish, and downed the entire glass of milk.

"That was delicious!" Ruby exclaimed, patting her stomach for good measure.

Weiss looked down to her own plate. Only half a grapefruit to go…

And a full plate of what Ruby just polished off in three minutes. The way she ate, Weiss would have thought the girl was starving… no she probably was.

As she finished, she noticed Ruby eyeing her untouched food.

"Do you want it?" Weiss asked as she pushed the plate towards Ruby.

"Umm…. If I can pay you back for that one too… can I have it?" Ruby asked bashfully.

"Might as well," Weiss shrugged again, not really paying attention. "You owe me double."

"Gotcha!" Ruby exclaimed and accepted the plate.

"So insatiable," Weiss muttered. "I can't believe you're still hungry."

"Oh no, I'm full!" Ruby grinned.

"Then what's-"

"Hello Weiss, hello Ruby!" a cheerful voice greeted them.

Weiss looked up, but Ruby was already shouting, "Good morning Pyrrha!"

"Quite a lovely day, is it not?" she opened the conversation.

"Yep!" Ruby responded. "The clouds were really beautiful and clear as the sun was coming up. So many colors! Reds and whites mixed to make a soothing pink, splashed across a palette of dawning blue!" she described in a wistful and capricious tone.

A gaily giggle. "I wish I could have seen it with you."

Ruby blushed. "W-well… would you?"

Weiss nearly choked on her tea. Barely met the night before and she was already going after Pyrrha?!… Not that Weiss cared. Of course not!

"You want to see too Weiss?" Ruby asked, looking over at her.

"See what?" Weiss didn't understand.

Ruby fished around in her little side pouch to pull out a raggedy old leather bound book. She carefully undid the clasp that held the covers together. She held it close to her chest, looking at them worriedly.

Taking in a deep breath, she opened and flipped through the pages so they couldn't see, stopping on one in particular.

"Oh my," Pyrrha gasped.

Weiss had to agree. It was very well done.

One page showed the inky darkness of the night sky, beautifully lit and illuminated by the moon and stars. It bled into the second page of violets and pink hues before receding into the deep reds of the sun. Looking at the image and following their eyes slowly across to catch the attention to details on the wispy clouds was like watching a film of sunrise. The transition was so natural, so well blended that even the slight seam in the middle was almost a non-issue.

"I-I couldn't get all of the colors right, and I had to skip to the middle of the book because I didn't want a crease in the middle of the picture, and I don't even know why I'm bothering you two with this," Ruby rambled on, growing pinker and pinker by the moment.

"Why, it's lovely Ruby," Pyrrha assured her.

Weiss nodded quickly in agreement. "You have a talent for this."

"T-thanks," Ruby squeaked. Her eyes flicked between the two older girls before she hid behind her book again.

Weiss shook her head at the girl who was so open earlier could be so quiet now. And she was even embarrassed about something that was fairly high quality.

Not just that one piece, Weiss and Pyrrha perused through the pages while Ruby tried to make herself as small as possible behind her book. Not just skyscapes, Ruby dabbled in nearly anything that caught her interest. Still life, caricatures, studies of anatomy on hands and hair, portraits both draped and nude.

Men and women… lots of women…

"Your models are so diverse," Pyrrha complimented, her gaze lingering on a blonde boy with a wooden sword, pretending to be a knight or hero. There was a series depicting him, shaky doodles of his younger self into the bolder lines of his teenage years as both Ruby and her subject gained confidence bit by bit. She flipped the page and she saw the visage of an old woman sitting at a bar, her cheeks sagged and the bags under her eyes showed the long years of hardship and suffering she must have lived through.

"Patch has a lot of people… a lot of them are my friends," Ruby whispered, reminiscing her old home.

Girls…. friends…

Pyrrha paused to listen to Ruby, the pages stayed on a beautiful girl, young, barely out of her teens, sitting in a coaxing manner. Her naked form taunted her audience, her legs crossed in front of her hid her maidenhood; her mouth upturned in the slightest, coyest smile…

Weiss felt herself getting lost in the details rendered. Her finger inched forward to almost trace the seemingly soft and tender skin, hesitating only from fear of smearing the beautiful lines.

Pyrrha suddenly clapped her hands, startling Weiss and Ruby. "I know! Ruby, would you like to join our little dinner party tonight?"

"What?!" Ruby and Weiss both exclaimed at the same time.

"I know everyone would love to see your artworks," Pyrrha happily explained.

"I-I don't know," Ruby muttered. "They're not very good. I don't think anyone would want to… or like them.."

"Nonsense," Pyrrha rejected immediately and with full confidence. "I will vouch for you skills, and I'm sure everyone else will agree."

Weiss had to agree. Considering all of the art and decadence on the ship, Ruby's was actually better than a number of them, especially the ones mass produced.

Ruby's wide eyes shifted everywhere as if trying to find an escape route.

"I…uh.. I don't have anything to wear!" she shouted. "Y-yeah, I… um… didn't pack any fancy clothes… and uh… eh-heh-heh it'd be rude to not dress up, right?" she chuckled weakly.

"Not to worry, I have a spare wardrobe," Pyrrha once again dashed her hopes.

Realizing that Pyrrha wasn't going to let her not go, Ruby hung her head in acceptance. "…Okay…," she muttered, but she had one last card to play. "But I have to ask my sister if I can come."

"Of course," Pyrrha answered good-naturedly.

Ruby quickly picked up the leftover plate of food and started down the ship towards the stern with Pyrrha alongside.

Weiss realized that Pyrrha had just once again just came up and usurped her conversation with Ruby. …Not that she was bothered by it… or so she told herself.

As Pyrrha walked away, Weiss caught her eye and once again saw the discreet wink…

Just was was Pyrrha playing at…?

Things are starting to pick up!

What's going to happen? Find out next chapter!