WHO: Qrow Branwen & Ruby Rose. WHAT: Sparring and chatting. WHEN: Saturday afternoon. WHERE: The Training Terrain. WARNINGS: None. STATUS: Closed/Completed gdoc.
Qrow had found it quite amusing that he and Ruby sent each other the same gift. Both were too busy with the holidays, but once that was over and done with, they decided to use their gift certificates at the Training Terrain to do a bit of sparring. Even though there wasn't any Grimm to fight, Qrow always did thought it was best to still train just in case something like the dinosaur invasion happened again. There was Fight Club, but that didn't happen nearly enough for either of them.
Since he worked there, Qrow knew the schedule and made sure the Training Terrain wasn't too busy when he and Ruby went there. Both had their weapons and after a bit of warm ups, Qrow turned to his niece. "Ready to go?" he asked.
Ruby playfully flipped Crescent Rose in her hand. It felt so natural; an extension of herself and reminded her once more why she wanted to be a huntress. She gave him a playful smile. Of course she was ready to go. She was born ready. The dinos had been fun, but nothing beat taking on her Uncle, the man who had taught her how to wield her weapon. It was always a challenge.
“You bet, Uncle Qrow!” Ruby beamed up at her uncle. She flipped back in a flurry of rose petals. “Take your best shot, old man.” Ruby teased.
"Good." He wasn't surprised. Ruby had always been ready to go ever since she was a little girl. Qrow couldn't think of a time when she wasn't ready, come to think of it.
He pretended to act hurt. "Old? You hurt me, kiddo." He broke into a grin since it'll take more than that little jab to hurt him. He also came at her, attacking with Harbinger. He didn't hold back either, even if this was his niece. He trusted her and had enough faith in her and her abilities to know she could handle whatever he gave her.
Ruby was born to fight; her entire life had always been centred around becoming a huntress. Uncle Qrow had been one of those to encourage it. He’d also helped her to learn how to use her weapon. Of course, that meant he also knew how she tended to use her weapon too, which could bode well for him in this little practice fight between them.
However, that also meant Ruby was used to his fighting style too.
He came at her quickly, raising Harbinger in a fierce attack. Ruby retaliated, blocking with Crescent Rose. She returned it with a slash of her own.
Ruby had always been energetic and Qrow couldn't remember a time when she wasn't. Well, besides when her mother had died but that would've put anyone in a low mood. But Qrow had seen both his nieces were born fighters and he was more than happy to help them train.
He did it a bit more with Ruby, but mostly because their weapons were so similar. He'd taught her everything he knew, which meant she knew his fighting style quite well. But he also knew hers too and he was able to avoid her return attack, ducking and kicking out his leg to trip her.
Not surprising, Qrow dodged her attack and ducked, kicking out at her in the hopes of tripping her. Instead, she managed to dodge, unleashing a barrage of fire dust to propel her away. It was close, but with a little touch of her Semblence, she was far enough away to avoid the attack, but Ruby had a preference for close combat. They both knew it.
“Close Uncle Qrow, but not close enough,” Ruby taunted her uncle playfully. She shot forward, striking out with Crescent Rose again once she was close enough.
"Good one," he grinned when she managed to avoid his attack. He wasn't surprised she had either. By now she could easily dodge and avoid anything he threw at her easily. He remembered back when he first started training her, when she had a bit of trouble. It was amazing how far she'd come since then.
He jumped out of the way on her return attack, flipping over her and attacking her from behind. He wouldn't be surprised if she blocked that as well and they kept going until he was starting to get a bit exhausted.
"Hey kiddo, mind if we take a quick break?" What? He was a bit old.
“Not bad yourself, Uncle Qrow,” Ruby shot back playfully.
The two continued on, in a flurry of rose petals on Ruby’s end, until Qrow mentioned taking a break. Ruby was breathing heavy by that point and could use a moment to rest. She’d depleted a lot of energy keeping up her Semblence.
“I suppose.” Ruby feigned disappointment, but in truth, she was glad for the break. She landed beside her Uncle and followed him over to where their gear was. She took out her water bottle and guzzled it down.
Qrow could tell a break was needed for both and he gave Ruby a look when she pretended to not really want a rest. He went and sat down on a bench, grabbing his water bottle and taking a long drink. After catching his breath and feeling hydrated, he turned to his niece.
"So you and Ron, huh?"
At the mention of Ron, Ruby choked on her water. Obviously, given they lived together, Ruby wasn’t about to assume Qrow wouldn’t know about Ron, but she wasn’t sure how much he knew about her and Ron. Ruby was still feeling her way through the relationship too. Having a boyfriend was brand new to her.
Blushing, Ruby managed to swallow the rest of the water and catch her breath. “Uh, yeah. Ron and me,” Ruby replied, smiling sheepishly.
Honestly, Qrow didn't know exactly what went on between her and Ron. He knew they spent quite a lot of time together and seemed quite close. It was just a guess that they were dating and from her reaction, he guessed right.
He reached over and patted her back. "Calm down, kiddo," he said, trying not to laugh too much. Once she was good, he sat back. "Don't worry, I'm not going to go all protective mode on you," he told her, though there was a silent 'but if he does hurt you, I won't hesitate to hurt him' after he said that. "I was just wondering since you two seem very close, especially lately. That's all."
Ruby was relieved about that, but she also picked up the hidden implication at the end. If Ron did do anything, Qrow would not hesitate to be the protective Uncle she knew and loved. She could appreciate it; Ruby felt the same about him and Elsa. It was what family did for one another.
“Yeah, we’re dating,” Ruby clarified, cheeks burning. “It’s still all kind of new to me.”
"It does take some getting used to." He would know. He felt the same way when he and Elsa first starting dating. He had brief flings here and there, but nothing serious. His relationship with Elsa was the first serious one he ever had.
"Just take your time with it," he said and tried to think of anything else to add but couldn't think of anything. "And... I don't know, I'm not the best in this area either." At least he had some experience now, he supposed. But he still didn't have too much advice to give other than what he just said.
Qrow wasn’t the best with relationships either so when he said it takes some getting used to, Ruby believed him. She wasn’t planning on rushing into anything with Ron and she sensed he wasn’t in a big rush either.
“As much as I love speeding into things, I definitely am not rushing into anything,” Ruby replied honestly. “It honestly scares me more than fighting ever did.”
"Well, that's a first," Qrow joked. But he knew his niece and when she wasn't willing to rush into something, that meant she was scared. And honestly, he didn't blame her. He'd been terrified too when he first started dating Elsa and it became serious.
"I was too," he admitted. "But it's worth it in the end."
He took another drink of water before setting his bottle back on the bench. He nudged Ruby with his elbow. "C'mon, kiddo, let's get back to some more sparring."