[ Ruby meets Penny's eyes for a moment, until she can't anymore, and they drop to her bowl of sodden cereal. She knew this question would come from the moment she'd told Penny her match with Pyrrha ended in a tie.
That makes hearing it no easier to bear. ]
...No. I didn't. [ A shuddering breath. ] I didn't know...how to tell you.
[ She'd been cowardly. Even if Penny should have heard the truth from Pyrrha all along...it was still cowardly, and selfish. ]
[ she steps backwards slowly, the fear becoming more and more apparent in her eyes. she can't physically cry, but she would if she could. she's terrified, but also... betrayed, maybe? no one told her about this - not just ruby, but everyone from remnant. that also meant that they knew what she was, didn't they?
it's all too much, and she doesn't know how to feel. ]
Ruby...
[ her voice is trembling. ]
Am I going to die?
rips out my heart and chucks it across the room ig
The question lances through Ruby like a sword to the gut. It's the same type of feeling she'd had as when she'd ran out of the stadium hallway to see Penny's broken body lying on the ground. As when she'd watch Cinder pierce Pyrrha's heart and scatter her into a million pieces. As when Tyrian had poisoned Qrow and Ruby had had to wonder, day after day after day if he was going to make it to the next one. It's a most bitter fear, of the inevitable fate of her dear friend that she'd been completely powerless to change. It had taken this place to bring Penny back to her, but that hadn't changed what happened.
It didn't change that on Remnant, Penny was dead.
The milk in the bowl on the table has frosted over, and Ruby has to bite her lower lip to keep a sob in her throat. If she has to do this - if she has to tell her - she can't do it like this.
So under the threat of her own knees buckling and failing her, she pushes herself up onto her feet and finally lifts her glassy eyes to meet Penny's. Even then, it takes courage and strength beyond her own to work her mouth into forming her answer. The only answer. ]
Yes.
[ She can't quite keep the sob back then, and it rips through clenched teeth as she lifts one hand to her mouth. ]
[ the chill that runs through the room is harsh and unwelcoming, reflective of both penny and ruby's emotional states. though ruby has experienced loss before, this is penny's first time. the fact that it's her own life that will end makes it all the worse.
she had once been excited to return home - she knew that there would be hardships to face in the wake of the attack on beacon, but she was under the impression that she'd be able to take it on with her friends. it seems like she won't get to experience any of that.
she wants to comfort ruby, but there are too many things running through her mind. had ruby lied to her until now? how did this happen? what did this mean?
she feels overloaded, and the big house that she's been living in for the past month seems small and suffocating. she needs to get out, so she runs again - this time, leaving entirely. she doesn't want to be found, let alone talked to. ]
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no subject
That makes hearing it no easier to bear. ]
...No. I didn't. [ A shuddering breath. ] I didn't know...how to tell you.
[ She'd been cowardly. Even if Penny should have heard the truth from Pyrrha all along...it was still cowardly, and selfish. ]
no subject
[ she steps backwards slowly, the fear becoming more and more apparent in her eyes. she can't physically cry, but she would if she could. she's terrified, but also... betrayed, maybe? no one told her about this - not just ruby, but everyone from remnant. that also meant that they knew what she was, didn't they?
it's all too much, and she doesn't know how to feel. ]
Ruby...
[ her voice is trembling. ]
Am I going to die?
rips out my heart and chucks it across the room ig
The question lances through Ruby like a sword to the gut. It's the same type of feeling she'd had as when she'd ran out of the stadium hallway to see Penny's broken body lying on the ground. As when she'd watch Cinder pierce Pyrrha's heart and scatter her into a million pieces. As when Tyrian had poisoned Qrow and Ruby had had to wonder, day after day after day if he was going to make it to the next one. It's a most bitter fear, of the inevitable fate of her dear friend that she'd been completely powerless to change. It had taken this place to bring Penny back to her, but that hadn't changed what happened.
It didn't change that on Remnant, Penny was dead.
The milk in the bowl on the table has frosted over, and Ruby has to bite her lower lip to keep a sob in her throat. If she has to do this - if she has to tell her - she can't do it like this.
So under the threat of her own knees buckling and failing her, she pushes herself up onto her feet and finally lifts her glassy eyes to meet Penny's. Even then, it takes courage and strength beyond her own to work her mouth into forming her answer. The only answer. ]
Yes.
[ She can't quite keep the sob back then, and it rips through clenched teeth as she lifts one hand to her mouth. ]
no subject
she had once been excited to return home - she knew that there would be hardships to face in the wake of the attack on beacon, but she was under the impression that she'd be able to take it on with her friends. it seems like she won't get to experience any of that.
she wants to comfort ruby, but there are too many things running through her mind. had ruby lied to her until now? how did this happen? what did this mean?
she feels overloaded, and the big house that she's been living in for the past month seems small and suffocating. she needs to get out, so she runs again - this time, leaving entirely. she doesn't want to be found, let alone talked to. ]