Chapter 3

The following day, Glynda took some of Ruby's blood samples off to be tested. Pyrrha took Ruby and Yang into town, planning to drop Yang off at Port's forge. The incredible heat of the forge would feel like home to Yang, and she could converse with the blacksmith. Port was a retired Huntsman. The pudgy, mustachioed man loved to regale visitors with tales of his battles against all manner of supernatural creatures. Yang had shown a similar propensity for telling tall tales, conversing with Pyrrha and Ruby long into the night, describing her own fights, both in and out of the mortal realm.

For the trip into town, Pyrrha insisted Yang take on human form so as not to alarm the locals. Even fully tame magical beasts were eyed with concern and sometimes fear, and Yang was anything but. Pyrrha also had to insist that Yang's visage include clothing, and the fire spirit reluctantly obliged, forming a rather skimpy outfit from her flames. Ruby got to take one of her new outfits for a test run and Pyrrha dressed casually. Everyone knew she was a witch, but they seemed less jumpy around her when she dressed like everyone else. Apparently she had not been a witch so long that they had forgotten the bright and friendly - if awkward - little girl who had once harbored dreams of being a huntress.

The trio arrived at Port's shop. As usual, the man himself was out front, working at the forge he had placed in full view of passersbye. He looked up and noticed Pyrrha. "I'll be with you in just a minute." He declared. "I must ask a favor of you. How goes your training?"

"It's going well, thank you." Pyrrha replied. "There have been a few hiccups, but no major issues."

"Are you sure you do not wish for your spear to be repaired?" Port asked. "It is still in my possession, and though Weiss may be a fine huntress, the more the merrier!"

"No thanks." Pyrrha sighed. Port seemed to ask her every time they met. "I'd rather not dig up the past."

"I thought that's what you were literally doing when-" Ruby started.

"What was that favor?" Pyrrha cut in before Ruby could spill the beans.

"I have a piece for Velvet." Port answered. "Could you bring it to her?"

"Of course." Pyrrha agreed.

"I'm beat." Yang complained. "Going solid is so exhausting."

"Just wait for Port to finish with-" Pyrrha suggested.

"I'll just grab some fire." Yang announced. She walked up beside Port - who did not even look up from his work - and thrust her arm into the fire. She glowed, becoming translucent, and flames swirled around her limb. "Ah, much better."

"Demon!" Port shouted. He tossed the half-finished blade he had been working on aside and leapt up with the agility of a man half his size and age. He reached up, grabbed the an axe from a display on the wall, and swung it through Yang. The blade passes through her to no effect.

"Uh, I'm made of literal fire." Yang noted. "Your weapons can't hurt me."

"Fire eh?" Port said. "I have just the thing!" He reached into a nearby drawer and pulled out a small, pink toy gun. He aimed it at Yang. "Always be prepared!" He pulled the trigger, and a tiny stream of water squirted out, hitting Yang dead center in the chest.

There was a puff of steam and the flames surrounding Yang briefly dimmed before suddenly growing in intensity. "Ah, bitch!" Yang yelled. "That hurt!"

"Ha ha, take that monster!" Port boomed.

"I'll incinerate you!" Yang screamed.

"Yang, calm down!" Ruby pleaded.

"Mr. Port, please." Pyrrha beseeched. "She's not a demon, just one of my summons."

"Oh...well then...my apologies." Port held up his hands. The fire surrounding Yang died down, then faded as she returned fully to human form. "Sometimes I just shift into huntsman mode."

"No harm, no foul." Yang grumbled. "And to think I was going to power your forge for you."

"You were?" Port asked. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"I was going to ask you when you finished." Pyrrha replied.

"You're welcome to hop in if you like." Port offered. "I'm very sorry for attacking you."

"Hmm, maybe some other time." Yang declined. "Right now I might be tempted to singe your mustache."

"Yes, we'll just give Yang a little time to calm down." Pyrrha declared. "I'll take that piece to Velvet if you like."

"Of course, thank you." Port nodded. He grabbed a silver broach marked "W. S." from a nearby table and handed it to Pyrrha.

"Ah, this must be for Weiss' cloak." Pyrrha observed.

"It is indeed." Port confirmed.

"Maybe we could bring the cloak to Weiss...and apologize for yesterday." Pyrrha suggested.

"Apologize for what?" Yang asked.

"I blew up her crystal." Ruby sighed.

"Why did you do that?" Yang asked.

"I didn't do it on purpose." Ruby replied. "But she was really mad."

Pyrrha flashed a reassuring smile. "I'm sure she'll forgive you."

With the broach from Port, Velvet quickly completed Weiss' cloak. She was happy to let Pyrrha and her supernatural friends deliver it. Weiss paid upfront so there was no need waste her time by calling her in to collect it herself. Pyrrha knocked twice on Weiss' metal door. After a few moments Weiss opened it. "Oh, hello Pyrrha…" Weiss greeted. She noticed Ruby and stared daggers at her. "Hello...you…"

"I'm really sorry." Ruby apologized once again.

"Who is this?" Weiss asked, gesturing to Yang.

"Yang." She introduced herself. "Aspect of fire, daughter of the Dragon God of Fire."

"We came to deliver your cloak." Pyrrha noted.

"Thank you." Weiss said. Pyrrha handed it over. "If that's all-"

"What did you need the crystal for?" Yang asked.

"I was hoping to use it to power some tech." Weiss replied. "It was proving too variable however."

"Maybe I could power up a crystal for you." Yang suggested.

"Hmm...I have a few inert crystals lying around." Weiss declared. "What kind of energy would it be?"

"Heat, obviously." Yang answered.

"Not ideal, but it could work." Weiss thought aloud. "Okay, let's give it a shot. Come in." She paused, then pointed to Ruby. "You, wait." Weiss rushed into a side room, returning with a box, some papers, and a roll of painting tape in her hand. She put the box and papers on a table, then made a ring around the table with the tape. "Ruby is not to leave that circle."

"I think the box of crayons might be a bit patronizing." Pyrrha noted.

Ruby sat at the table and opened the box. "What do I do with these?"

"You can draw, on the paper." Weiss replied. "Don't make a mess."

"Cool!" Ruby cheered. She pulled a crayon from the box and went to work.

"Alright then, let's get down to business." Weiss urged. "Follow me." She led Pyrrha and Yang into a side room, from the look of it, one used for storage. She approached a stack of drawers, slid one out, and grabbed a small transparent crystal. "Can you power this up?"

"Sure." Yang nodded. "How much?"

"That's the tricky part." Weiss answered. "It has to be fairly exact." After digging through another drawer, she found some scientific apparatus and attached it to the crystal. "Just power it up slowly and I'll tell you when to stop."

"Child's play." Yang boasted. She laid a hand on the crystal. It began to glow, slowly brightening as the attached meter began beeping, faster and faster.

"Okay, stop." Weiss commanded as the beeps merged into a continuous tone. "Perfect." She reached out toward the crystal.

"Stop!" Yang warned. "It's hot. Human skin doesn't hold up well to that kind of heat."

"Oh, thank you for the warning." Weiss backed off. She said a spell and the crystal levitated, settling onto a stand against the wall. "Will it cool? It will be difficult to work on if I can't touch it."

"Give it a day or two." Yang suggested. "It'll still be warm, but it should be safe to touch."

"You seem to know a bit about human physiology." Pyrrha observed.

"I learned from experience." Yang explained. "Not every human I've met has been so agreeable."

"I don't even want to know." Pyrrha shivered. Weiss began packing away her equipment. "How was your date?"

"Wonderful." Weiss replied. "I'm meeting her again on Friday night."

"Congrats." Pyrrha smiled.

"Well, we're done here." Weiss declared. "I hope Ruby hasn't destroyed my front room."

The trio exited the side room to find Ruby still sitting at the table, happily coloring away. Several crayons were clustered around the paper. "Alright Ruby, we're ready to go." Pyrrha said.

"I'm just...about...done!" Ruby picked up the paper and looked it over for a moment before handing it to Pyrrha. "What do you think?"

Pyrrha examined the artwork, holding it so Weiss and Yang could see as well. "Ruby...what is this?" She asked. The picture depicted several clearly dead monsters, some burned, some dismembered, with some still burning.

"That's Yang's Rite of Passage." Ruby replied. "I followed her to the mortal realm for it. She killed some monsters."

"This is incredibly detailed...a masterpiece." Weiss gasped. "How did you do this with crayons?" Ruby shrugged.

"Are those...skeletons?" Pyrrha asked. "Grimm don't have skeletons. They look...human." One was very charred, another impaled on the burned remains of a tree, and a third appeared to have been ripped apart.

"Yeah, some evil witches were controlling the monsters, sending them to attack a nearby village." Ruby explained. "Yang's mission was to eliminate the threat, so she killed them too."

"The one I burned alive screamed a lot." Yang reminisced. "The others tried to run but I got them too. They died a lot quicker. This drawing is great by the way. It's just how I remember it."

"This is incredible artwork." Weiss agreed. "I think I'll frame it and hang it up."

Pyrrha looked pale and faint. "I need to lay down."

Yang burned away in the hearth while Ruby and Pyrrha sat on a couch nearby, chatting with her. Pyrrha had only just finished practicing some spells, part of her ongoing training. Pyrrha was exhausted, but even after a long day, Ruby still seemed to be bursting with energy. Yang had been worn out after their trip into town, but recharged by burning a few logs in the hearth. "So I'm trying to relax, and this ice demon shows up." Yang continued her story. "He tries to chat me up, gives me so lame line about opposites attracting. I told him to leave me alone, but the bastard was persistent."

"What did you do?" Ruby asked.

"Let's just say he's a steam demon now." Yang smirked.

"That must have been painful." Pyrrha noted.

"You'd better believe it was painful." Yang confirmed. "The jerk wouldn't stop screaming."

"Wouldn't that anger the ice gods?" Pyrrha asked.

"Eh, not really." Yang shrugged. "Once we aspects come of age, our parents usually don't factor into our lives much. Sure, if I asked my father for help he'd help, but if I did something stupid - like hit on a goddess who was clearly not interested - I wouldn't expect him to bail me out or go on the warpath or anything." She paused. "He would probably get annoyed if I was summoned and bound or something like that. Hmm...I should probably let him know I'm here because I want to be, you know, before he starts incinerating."

"Yes, that's probably a good idea." Pyrrha agreed.

Yang reached out her spectral hand, palm up. A flame appeared above it, growing until it was the size of a fist. She snapped her fingers and the flame disappeared. "There, message sent." Yang announced.

"I wonder if I could send a message like that to my mom…" Ruby thought aloud. "Maybe with blood…"

"Let's keep your blood on the inside for now." Pyrrha advised. "At least until we know a little more about you."

The sound of the door opening cut the conversation short. "We're back." Glynda called.

"We're in here!" Pyrrha responded.

Glynda strolled into the room, Blake on her shoulders in cat form. She picked up Blake, and tossed her toward a nearby chair. Blake transformed midair, landing in human form on the seat. "Thanks for carrying me." Blake waved.

"Such a lazy kitty." Ruby giggled.

"Well, I got Ruby's blood tested." Glynda declared.

"Did you learn anything?" Pyrrha asked.

"The tests showed it to be normal human blood." Glynda replied. "Type A positive. Ruby seems to be a perfectly healthy human girl."

"A positive...that's my blood type." Pyrrha noted.

"That makes sense." Glynda declared. "We know Ruby is most certainly not human, and you're the one who summoned her. Some connection was to be expected." She reached into her pocket and produced a vial of Ruby's blood. "When you...donated...your blood, you seemed to have some control over it. I'm wondering how much. Do you think you could levitate the vial?"

"I can try." Ruby shrugged. Glynda held the vial out in her open palm. Ruby reached out toward her, concentrating, focusing on the blood. Glynda suddenly pulled her hand away, but the vial did not fall. Well, the vial did, but the blood inside kept it floating in the air. "Cool!"

"Can you use it to force the stopper out of the vial?" Glynda asked. Ruby closed her eyes, clenched her outstretched hand into a fist, then rapidly opened it. The stopper popped out of the vial. It fell away and Glynda caught it, leaving an oblong glob of blood floating in the air. "Good, play a little." Ruby stretched out a single finger, then made a circular motion. The blood formed a circle in the air. She moved her finger in a zig-zag, and the blood followed the pattern. "Very good. Now, put it back in the vial." Glynda held out the vial, its open top up. Ruby pointed to it and the blood streamed back into place. Glynda put the stopper back on and put the vial away. "Interesting...interesting…"

"That was fun!" Ruby cheered.

"That was disturbing." Pyrrha shivered.

"Maybe Ruby can make clothes from her blood, the way I use shadow and Yang uses flame." Blake suggested.

"Let's not try." Pyrrha pleaded.

"Perhaps some other time." Glynda said. "This has been quite enlightening. I must do some research."

"Do you have any idea what I am?" Ruby asked.

"Not yet." Glynda replied. "But we're closer to figuring it out than we were."

The next day, Glynda was busy with her responsibilities at Master Witch of Patch, and so out of the house. Taking care of Ruby had caused Pyrrha to fall behind in her training regimen, so she dedicated the day to catching up. This time without incident, Yang joined Port at the forge, swapping monster fighting stories with the boastful Huntsman. That left Blake to look after Ruby. Blake decided to teach Ruby how to read and write. It was a surprisingly easy task, as Ruby absorbed the lessons like a sponge. After going through the alphabet, Blake taught Ruby to write her own name and the names of her friends, then moved on to more complex matters. Ruby seemed to have an innate understanding of syntax, and though her spelling was all over the place, overall she was quite a writer.

In the evening, Glynda remained out, tending to the elderly man she was so often called upon to assist. Yang returned home and helped Pyrrha cook dinner, heating the stove to the perfect temperature for her. Blake would have preferred seafood, but there was none in the house, so Pyrrha made fried chicken tenders. Once it was cooked, Yang abstained, but Blake and Ruby joined Pyrrha in eating the meal.

"Hold on a second...do you even have to eat?" Pyrrha asked of Ruby mid-meal.

"Uh...I dunno'." Ruby shrugged.

"Since she's not human, not of this realm, I doubt it." Blake declared. "I don't have to eat. I just do so because it's enjoyable."

"Now that you mention it, Ruby's been eating the whole time she's been here, but she's never had to use the bathroom." Pyrrha observed.

"In all my years in the mortal world, I've never had to either." Blake noted. "Our bodies don't work that way. We convert anything we consume into pure energy, so there's no waste. If I didn't eat, I could draw on the shadows for energy. Drawing from my elemental source is the most efficient way to absorb energy."

"I'm the same way." Yang added. "If I really need energy I can just jam a part of my body into a fire. Hell, I could just draw heat from all around me if I really had to."

"I wonder what Ruby's elemental source is..." Pyrrha thought aloud.

"No idea." Ruby shrugged. "But this chicken is delicious!"

Pyrrha turned back to Blake and Yang. "You don't have to eat or use the bathroom, but your bodies have all the...parts...in human form." Pyrrha struggled. "Ruby does too. Why?"

"Our human forms are meant to create the illusion that we're just normal mortals." Blake explained. "Originally, the ability to take human form was a way for the gods to walk among man, and since all aspects are related to the gods in some form, we retain this ability."

"But I can't change into anything else." Ruby challenged. "I can't become an animal like Blake, or fire like Yang, or anything like that."

"Maybe it has to do with how you were summoned." Yang theorized. "Or maybe it's a condition of your Rite of Passage."

"It would probably help if we knew what you are." Pyrrha noted.

"Yeah, it'd be nice to figure out what I am." Ruby sighed. Her mood quickly brightened. "It's not that big a deal though. Hanging out here with you guys is really fun!"