RWBY: Silver Eyes on the Mountains

Cold Winds of the Mountain

High in the bluffs, through the scruffy grasses that whistled and rustled in the breeze, lay many shrubby and scraggly trees. Gnarled, twisted and hardened by the harsh elements, they were of little use for anything other than firewood. However, due to the many years of overuse by the hands of man, they were pushed farther and farther up the peaks, forcing greater treks. It was such a trek that Ruby and Yang had to make that day. It was practically a weekly ritual for the girls, though when large quantities of it was required, their father would handle such a job. The pitter patter of Zwei's feet as he moved through the grass like a fish in a pond.

"Have you ever wondered how Zwei doesn't get lost in the grass, Yang?" Ruby asked, watching the pup follow behind them with perfect accuracy of where they were.

"Plenty of times. At this point, I just chalk it up to animal instincts." Yang replied with a shrug.

"Is that the same instinct that makes you flirt with the local boys?" Ruby asked, cocking her head to the side.

Yang blushed a bit and gently bopped her little sister on the head. "Not that kind of animal instinct, Ruby!" the blonde snapped out in embarrassment.

Ruby rubbed her head a bit. "Sheesh, Yang. It was just a question." The raven rosette grumbled.

Taking a deep breath, Yang sighed. "Sorry. I just… don't wanna have to have that talk with you." she replied, trying to compose herself.

"What talk?" Ruby asked confusedly, not sure of what her sister was getting at.

"Ask dad." Yang quickly replied, trying to change the subject.

"He's going to just say he'll tell me when I'm older. I'm 15. When am I going to be old enough for you people to explain anything?" Ruby asked, exasperation leaking from her voice.

"When you're older." Yang replied back firmly as they kept making their way forward and upwards.

This got Ruby grumbling. Yang sighed as the two finally made it to the firewood zone. Taking their hatchets, they got to work cutting up the wood into manageable pieces. Yet Ruby's work was slow and half-hearted. Yang looked back at her sister more than once to see her looking up at the peaks.

"Is something wrong, Ruby?" Yang asked, a bit concerned.

"Have you ever wondered what's up there?" Ruby asked, not breaking her gaze to look at her sister.

"I have a few times. I heard some things from mom, but nothing good." Yang replied, a worried look on her face.

"Like what?" Ruby asked simply, as if expecting an answer now from that admission.

"Powerful and ancient Grimm, beasts, monsters, and worse live up there. Things that would tear us to bits with ease." Yang explained as best she could.

"So why hasn't anyone done anything about them? We got swords and spears and stuff, after all." Ruby asked her sister curiously.

"I'm assuming it wouldn't be enough to deal with whatever's up there. It's really dangerous up there, Ruby. So much so that no one goes up there for a good reason. Nobody wants to tempt fate by provoking something up there to come down here." Yang told her, a bit sternly but also very gently.

"But wouldn't we be able to do good? Make things safer? Mom wanted to do that for people, so why shouldn't I try?" Ruby asked, which startled Yang greatly.

"It's that kind of talk from mom that got her killed in the first place, Ruby. And I refuse to let that happen to you. I'm your big sister, and that means that I'm supposed to protect you." Yang explained, being a bit sterner now.

"So that means I can't do anything, then? That I don't get any answers to anything or make my own choices? What is the point of being alive if I can't live?" Ruby asked, her voice turning to a tone of frustration.

"We'll talk about this later, Ruby. Right now, we need to focus on getting the firewood and getting home. I don't want us to have to be this close to that peak any longer than we have to be." Yang replied, making it clear that this was not a topic of discussion at this moment.

"You always say that! And you never tell me later! You always dodge the question and leave me in the dark!" Ruby said, finally snapping at her big sister.

"Because I don't wanna lose you like we lost mom! I'm supposed to protect you because that's an older sibling's role in life! And I refuse to fail and lose you too!" Yang snapped back, beginning to lose her patience.

"You've done that! But I want to be able to learn something about what's going on and do something of my own accord! I feel trapped in my own home! I pray every night to the gods for something, anything to allow me to have a life, and I hear nothing!!" Ruby yelled, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Yang tried to calm down and approach the situation from another angle. "Ruby… you know dad and I love you more than anything in the world. Which is exactly why we're doing this. We don't want anything to happen to you and we promised mom we'd keep you safe if anything happened to her. Not just because your eyes are special, but for her own peace of mind." Yang tried to explain.

"When, then? When do I get answers, when can I live my own life, make my own decisions?" Ruby asked, trying to dry her eyes and failing.

"When someone finally has the balls to do something about the Golden Nobles. We don't want them targeting you like they did mom." Yang told her, pulling Ruby into a gentle hug.

"Promise?" Ruby asked, trying to hold herself back from crying.

Yang smiled and rubbed Ruby's back gently. "I promise." she told her shorter, younger sister softly.

Ruby snuggled into her sister as she hugged her back. Yang soon began to feel her shoulder get wet, but that didn't deter her. She held onto her little sister and rubbed her back, not letting go until Ruby finished crying. When she finally took her face out of her big sister's shoulder, the corners of her eyes were a bit red from the crying.

"Yang… why was mom so concerned about my eyes?" Ruby asked, sniffling a bit.

Yang sighed. "She was concerned because she had the same eyes, and the Golden Nobles hate people with eyes like yours. They tend to make grizzly examples out of them over even the most minor of offenses." she explained to her little sister.

"I'm… I'm sorry for worrying you so much, Yang." Ruby said meekly.

Yang smiled and kissed the top of Ruby's head. "It's okay, Ruby. I'd worry no matter what. It's a big sister's job, after all." she replied playfully.

Ruby then felt something rub against her leg. Looking down, she saw Zwei snuggle up against her leg. She smiled and picked the pup up, petting him. This got Zwei's stub of a tail wagging before Ruby set him down again.

"We should probably finish getting the wood collected…" Ruby said sheepishly, knowing she was the reason that was so slow to be done.

Yang nodded as she hefted her hatchet. "Yeah. We don't wanna be out here too long by ourselves." she replied, getting ready.

With that two made quick work. Though Ruby occasionally looked up at the peaks, she quickly refocused herself on her world. Once the two had a stack of wood each, they wrapped them up in a bundle with rope and hefted it over their backs. Then they began the arduous journey back down to their home. Over rolling fields of the dry, tough grass before a narrow dirt path, one well worn by many years of travel. The path, however, was quite rotten, with holes and bumps all over it. The Golden Nobles were loath to fix most roads, so the two had to make do. It was either that or the harsher rock filled bluffs.

However, as they made it back down, Ruby looked to her left as Yang rounded a bend. The stones in the cliff were different from the others. As if cut into far more recognizable patterns. Curiously, she looked into the hole and decided to enter. Around her were the signs of some kind of long ancient violence and destruction. Statues and monuments smashed, with their remnants eroding in the wind. Steps that likely went to shrines, now long toppled and destroyed. Yet one shrine remained untouched.

The shrine was tall and made of the strongest stone, its granite gray structure standing defiantly amongst the destruction around it. As if it had been completely untouched by time since the days of old. Atop its structure was a carving of a great jungle cat surrounded by forestry carved from rock, its form barely visible through the stone foliage. Looking more closely, she quickly realized what it was.

"A… a jaguar…?" Ruby asked in confusion. "What is this doing here?"

Soon, the area rumbled a bit as a strange voice echoed through the damaged stone shrines surrounding it. "Dost thou desire strength… Silver-Eyed human child…?" the voice on the wind asked.

This made Ruby jump in fright. "Who said that?" she nervously asked, looking all around for its source.

"This one is known by many names… The Lord of the Night… the Master of the Jungle… but thou…? Ye mayst call this one… Balam…" the voice echoed out through the area.

"Balam?" Ruby asked in amazement.

"Yes… This one has seen the rise and fall of civilizations, Silver-Eyed human cub. Seen great heroes die in glorious battle or live long enough to become villains more terrible than those they hath slain. But this one senses something… different within thee. Something this one hath not seen before in a mortal." the voice of Balam told Ruby.

"Um… yeah, that's cool… Mr. Balam. Giant, scary voice, sir." Ruby said, trying and failing to contain her nerves in this situation.

"Thou need not fear this one, young Silver-Eyed cub. For I doth offer ye an opportunity to join those within the annals of history's great heroes. The power to change one's fate and shape one's destiny. To be thine own master and choose thine own path in life. Ye doth wish for that, aye?" Balam's voice replied.

"Why are you offering this to me? What even are you?" Ruby asked as she nervously and slowly stepped towards the shrine.

"This one has been called many things since the dawn of the age of man. A nature spirit… a god of the land and forests. Or, perhaps, thee wouldst recognize this one by the term… Elemental…" the voice of Balam explained to Ruby.

"My mom spoke of these Elementals… but I always thought you were myths and legends." Ruby said as she stepped up to the shrine, now in front of the imposing jaguar statue of the entity.

"This one and his kin are no mere fables, Silver-Eyed human child. Mortals such as thou hath simply neglected the land and forgotten us…" the voice of the Elemental replied to a bit sadly.

"My name… my name is Ruby Rose." Ruby corrected him somewhat firmly, starting to regain his nerves.

"Very well then, Ruby Rose. Ye ask why this one offers thee such power, dost thee not? Dost thou truly wish to know the reason behind this one's most kingly offer?" Balam's voice asked her.

Ruby nervously bit her lip, before nodding. "Yes… I want to know." Ruby said, steadying her footing.

"The reason is simple. This one senses the potential for greatness within thee. A heart as pure as freshly fallen snow, as gentle as a newborn lamb, yet with the strength and ferocity of the mighty jaguar. This one simply wishes to offer ye the opportunity to live up to thy potential. To have what thee hath been denied so long: Freedom." Balam's voice told her.

Ruby's eyes widened and lit up a little. Freedom. A word few in her life had ever said. On top of what he said about her. Even her own family hadn't used such vocabulary with her. She felt as if her heart began to flutter a bit. Noting the change in the young girl's demeanor, the spirit spoke again.

"This one can tell that he hath piqued thine interest. Now then, Ruby Rose… if thou desire mine strength for thine self… if thou doth wish to be free and protect thine prowl with thine own hands… thou must simply place thy hand upon the head of the statue…" Balam's voice instructed her.

Ruby gave a small nod of confirmation before walking towards the statue. Fighting back her own nervousness and fear, she looked at the great statue of the mighty hunter. She then outstretched her hand, it now looking very dainty, small, and fragile compared to the imposing feline figure. As soon as she touched the cold stone, she felt something begin to happen.

The very earth around her seemingly began to tremble. Slowly at first, gently even. But, as time went on, the trembling turned to a rumble. The rumble then turned into a quaking roar. For a moment, Ruby wondered if she had made a mistake before something amazing happened.

The eyes of the shrine's great jaguar statue began to glow an earthy green. As the chamber continued to shake around her, the statue then slowly started to crack, an inhumanly beautiful, green-glowing energy beginning to form from the cracks. The cracks began to spread as the energy began leaking out of the statue as all manner of plant life began to spring up from the ground wherever the light touched it. As if the very lifeblood of the world itself were being pumped into the ground around Ruby, filling the area with new life.

Then, as suddenly as it began, the quaking stopped as the statue exploded with the green energy, sending shards of stone everywhere except for where Ruby was standing. The energy began to grow and shape in front of Ruby's eyes, taking the shape of a massive, forest green jaguar with earthy brown spots and aquatic blue eyes. The form of the massive spirit stared down at Ruby like a god of old before humbly bowing its head.

"This one thanks thee, Ruby Rose. Thou hast freed this one from his slumber. As recompense, this one's power is now thine to wield as thee see fit." the Nature God told the silver-eyed girl before beginning to dissipate into pure energy.

The power coming off of Balam then rushed into Ruby, levitating her off the ground as she felt a change begin to overtake her. She felt her nails sharpening into claws that retracted inwards before popping back out, her pupils changing as the green energy rushed through her. Ruby felt her muscles bulge outward for a moment before compressing back down as wisps of fur made of solidified, real-looking pure energy sprouted on her over her clothes. Her clothes took on the pattern of Balam's physical appearance as a solid, real looking spiritual tail sprouted from her back.

Then, as quickly as it began, it was over. Ruby felt herself gently touch back down onto the ground as the ethereal fur, tail, and patterns disappeared. As if they had never been there in the first place. As the energy settled and dissipated, Ruby looked down at her hand as she felt a strength she had never thought she could possess now fill her body. A power she never would have thought possible lying just beneath the surface.

"It's… it's… it's incredible. It feels like I can do anything now…" Ruby said in awe as she looked herself all over, as if trying to see something left behind by that transformation. "Thank you, Balam."

To her surprise, she got an answer. 'Ye need not express gratitude towards this one, Ruby Rose. Thou need only use mine strength responsibly. Should the situation call for the need of this one's strength, ye need only reach out, grab hold of mine power and call out this one's name with the intent to use it…' Balam's voice mentally told her as it slowly faded into the back of her mind. 

Ruby opened her mouth to speak further with the spirit. However, another voice cut her off quite loudly and abruptly.

"Ruby!? Where are you!? Don't do this to me today!" called out the voice of Yang.

"Shit, it's Yang!" Ruby whispered nervously.

"Ruby!? Come on, Rubes! Where are you!?" Yang's voice called out.

"I'm over here, Yang! Sorry, I thought I saw something in here!" Ruby yelled, rushing out of the shrine cave to meet up with her sister.

"Well, then hurry up and get over here! I think I found a way home!" Yang replied back. 

"Okay!" Ruby called out but looked back one more time into the shrine cave before running off to meet up with her sister. Unsure if she would even believe her if she told her what happened.