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Weiss was laying in her big bed still staring at the ceiling hours after she was supposed to be asleep. Most nights she wouldn’t have any trouble going to sleep but one of the maids had given her a new book that she had wanted to read. It wasn’t that her ten-year-old mind had problems reading it or that she stayed up late trying to read more, no, the problem was the content of said book.
Tales of Remnant was a collection of small fairy-tale like stories. Unfortunately, they didn’t end like the other stories she liked to read where the princess escaped the evil castle or the dragon got to live its life in peace; these stories didn’t end happily.
Weiss of course didn’t know this at the time she picked a random tale to read, Butzemann . The legend of a monster that looked like a human if it weren’t for the burnt skin that continuously dripped off its body or the empty eye sockets that trapped their victims if they stared into them for too long. A monster that hides under children’s beds waiting for them to fall asleep so it can-
Slam.
That wasn’t what she wanted to read! When the maid gave it to her, she said she should read it before bed but that wasn’t anything like the other books! Logically Weiss knew monsters weren’t real and that someone would die if their skin was melting. Even though she was only 10, she was smarter than all the other children her father made her spend time with and she knew that it was just a story to scare dumb kids like them. But with the ringing silence as her only companion, she just had to check below. She wasn’t afraid. She just wanted to prove that the entire idea was foolish.
So, slowly peeling the blanket down, she crept to the edge. Leaning down, she quickly peeked under her mattress before throwing herself backwards to the end of her bed with her breaths faster than what they should be. Weiss took big gulps of air to try steadying her breathing while at the same time slumping against her pillows. She didn’t see anything; it was empty under there.
Once she had calmed down, she dropped to the floor to grab the blanket that fell off when she jumped back. Picking it up, she looked once more at the space under her bed and sighed when she was sure it was empty. Climbing back up on the bed, Weiss pulled her blankets up and did a little wiggle to get comfortable. She had just closed her eyes to sleep when she made out a quiet thunk coming from her closet.
Instead of being scared like when she checked under her bed, she was just tired and done with all these things disturbing her sleep. Stomping over to the door, she grabbed the knob and silently yanked it open. She expected another empty space just like under the bed but instead saw something curled up in the shadows at the back of her large closet. The urge to scream was strong, however she was unable to move even her throat and stayed frozen staring at the unmoving mass. How long she stayed like that she didn’t know, but eventually the pounding in her ears quieted down enough for her to hear the small whine and sniffles coming from the huddled form.
She must have finally made some kind of noise because a head poked up from the figure. Weiss was almost expecting flesh to be falling to the floor and depthless black eyes to hold her prisoner. Instead, she saw short dark hair, pale skin, and glowing silver eyes that did in fact hold her captive. But not in a bad way, Weiss just thought they were so pretty. She definitely wasn’t a monster like in the stories.
“Who-” She swallowed to help her dry throat. “Who are you? Why are you in my closet?”
Sniff. “My name’s Ruby.” Ruby ran the sleeve of her jacket across her face to wipe her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you up. I just wanted to go somewhere quiet.”
Ruby. Weiss didn’t think monsters had names like that so she decided once and for all that this was a girl just like her. She couldn’t be bad. Taking a seat on the floor next to the not-monster, Weiss asked again. “But why are you in my closet? How did you even get in here? And why are you crying?”
Ruby looked a little sheepish when she mumbled out, “I snuck into your closet through one of the doors that lead to your world. I didn’t think I would see anyone though.”
“My…world?”
“Yep! The human world. Most of us come here through the closet doors in people’s houses. I’m not really supposed to use them but I didn’t want to be there anymore. So I came here.”
Weiss didn’t quite understand what this girl was saying or how she really got into her closet but she decided to let it go for now. “What’s so bad that you came here to cry about it?”
“It’s just, my sister already knows how she’s going to become a monster and she’s really good at it. She’s really funny and just like Dad so he can teach her a lot of stuff but I’m not good at it and every time I try something it makes a big mess or I hurt myself. I’ve tried everything and I’m no good at anything. I don’t want to be like Uncle Qrow and scare people!” She finally ended her outburst by taking a big gulping breath.
“Your sister’s turning into a monster?” Weiss cried. She had stopped paying attention to Ruby once she heard that. “Maybe we can help her and stop it! My family has a lot of money you know and should be about to help her.”
Ruby seems confused at this and tilts her head sideways, some of her hair falling into her eyes. “But she wants to be a monster! I do too! Like my mom and dad and everyone else. I want to be just like them when I get older and visit bedrooms and make other kids feel better when they get sad.”
Weiss was definitely confused. Ruby was going on and on about wanting to be a monster but weren’t monsters supposed to be scary and mean and want to eat people? How was this tiny girl beside her, who’s eyes sparkled with excitement and enthusiasm, going to turn into a scary nightmare? She was too cute to do that.
“But aren’t monsters bad? Don’t they hide under the bed until you fall asleep then scare you?” Not that Weiss believed in monsters anyway, they were just made up. ‘ They weren’t real ’ she told herself for what seemed like the tenth time that night.
“What?! No! Monsters aren’t scary! Well some are, like Uncle Qrow, but that's just because he’s in the scare group. But he only visits the really bad kids.”
Sitting up taller and puffing her chest out, she defended, “Most other monsters visit kids when they feel sad or need a hug or are scared. That’s what my dad does and what my sister will do. And my mom did it too. I want to help people but I’m just not good enough.”
After saying that, she slumped back down against the wall and buried her face into her knees. Weiss heard her start to sniffle again but didn’t know what to do. Father had told her that crying didn’t solve anything and that it’s only for kids who haven’t learned that yet. But Weiss didn’t want to leave Ruby alone and sad like when she felt bad. So, Weiss inched a little closer to Ruby until their sides were touching; it wasn’t much, but that was all Weiss could think of to do, to let Ruby know she wasn’t crying alone.
“I- I’m sure you’ll be really good at making people laugh one day. It’ll just take some time and you have to find something that you’re good at, not your family.” Weiss didn’t really know what she was saying but Ruby seemed to like it. She lifted her head and looked over at her with teary, hopeful eyes.
“Really? You think I can do it someday?”
Now Weiss was really in unknown territory. What was she supposed to say? It’s not like she ever thought she wouldn’t be good enou-
“Yes.” She said with a small nod of her head. “I think that you just have to make it your own and work for you. The more you practice the better you’ll get. And you might not be good right now but you’ll only be the best if you try the best.” At least that’s what Winter told her whenever she struggled or when Father was disappointed with her.
Again, Ruby must have appreciated her advice because this time when she leaned on her knees, she had her chin resting on them and a smile on her face.
They sat in silence for several minutes, until Ruby twisted to look at Weiss. “What would make you happy?”
What would make her happy? “Well...” Weiss started. “I like studying and reading.”
“Eww! You like studying?”
“Yes I do. Learning is very important.” Weiss sniffed. “But maybe…maybe dogs? I’ve always wanted a dog to take care of but it’s not allowed.”
“REALLY?!” Ruby jumped up and held her hands palm out to Weiss. “Stay right there. Don’t move.”
Weiss had no idea what Ruby was so excited about. Yes, she liked dogs but what did Ruby standing in front of her have to do with it? And why were her eyes closed? And was she getting smaller? Weiss’ eyes grew wider and wider with every second that Ruby disappeared until, standing right by her feet, was a little black puppy with glowing silver eyes. Its tongue was poking out the side of its mouth and it seemed to smile up at her from the floor.
She should have been afraid. She should have ran screaming from the room, yelling about monsters that changed shape and pretended to be cute silver eyed girls. Instead, she fell forward so their faces were level and began babbling. “Oh my goodness you’re so cute and tiny and I just want to squeeze and pet you and-” She froze with her hands inches away from the pup. “Can- Can I…”
Fortunately, puppy Ruby seemed to understand what she wasn’t asking and took a step closer before swiping her tongue up Weiss’ cheek.
Weiss let out a small eek before giggling and burying her face in Ruby’s neck. Her arms wrapped around the small body and her fingers dug into the fluffy fur to give Ruby a tight hug. Ruby didn’t seem to mind that she was being squeezed so hard. Her tail was still frantically wagging and she kept nuzzling her doggy nose into Weiss’ neck, occasionally giving her a small lick.
Weiss eventually lost her balance and tilted over to her, landing on her side with the ball of energy still in her arms. But after a few more minutes of quiet laughter and eskimo kisses, they both settled down with Ruby cuddled against Weiss and curled around Ruby.
Eventually, Weiss’ initial excitement wore off and realized that the puppy she was currently snuggled against was a girl not too long ago. She knew she should be embarrassed at her excitement and about hugging Ruby, but for some reason, she was so comfortable that she didn’t care.
“How did you do that? Turn into a dog I mean.” Weiss quietly asked the animal.
Ruby lifted her head up from her paws and softly sniffed before wiggling out of her arms. She settled down a few feet away and closed her eyes.
It didn’t take as long for human-Ruby to emerge as it did for her to disappear. She mirrored Weiss and laid on her side with her hands under her head.
“We can all do stuff like that. Yang can control fire and Uncle Qrow can turn into a bird and Oh! Pyrrha from my class can move stuff without touching it. I’m like Uncle Qrow even though he’s not my real uncle which is kinda weird.” She squirmed closer to Weiss until they were almost touching, as though she missed the closeness they had minutes ago.
Weiss wanted to ask some questions or have her turn back into a dog again or something! But her heart was beating really fast and she couldn’t do anything but watch as Ruby went on with her story.
“One day I was outside playing with Zwei, he’s our really awesome dog, and we were running around and then he got really big and we were the same size but then Dad came out and he was really really big! It turns out I was the one who got small and grew a tail and ears. Hehe, Dad’s eyes got very big when I went to play with him…”
They stayed that way, laying in the closet for a while, talking about Ruby’s world and Weiss’ life. Nothing too serious, but enough for them to learn more about each other. It wasn’t until Weiss started yawning that Ruby looked sad for the first time since before she had turned into a dog.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you stay awake. I guess I should go now, my dad’s probably worried about me.” She said with eyes turned down.
“Oh,” Weiss mumbled.
“But I’ll come back for sure! We can spend lots of time together and maybe you can help me find something I’m good at!”
“Yeah…Do you think…you could wait until I go to sleep?” When Ruby gave her an odd look, she continued. “So we can spend some more time together?”
Fortunately, Ruby looked thrilled with this idea and Weiss didn’t feel so bad about asking for something so peculiar. The last time she tried asking something similar to this, Winter told her it was time for her to develop who she would become, not cling on to who she was. She was hesitant about asking Ruby in the first place but was glad she did.
They exited the closet together and made their way to the big bed. Ruby watched Weiss climb in and get settled but stayed standing off to the side looking unsure; a big difference from how she had acted the rest of the night. Rocking back on her heels, she asked, “Do you want me-me or dog-me? Since you liked cuddling with dog-me earlier I thought you might want to do it again…”
Weiss didn’t think she was being too expressive when she answered with a “Can you?” But the blue eyes shone with hopefulness at the request.
In response, Ruby closed her eyes then shrunk once again into a black, fluffy puppy with its tail wagging, slower than last time, and its mouth in a happy grin. However, the bed was quite tall and Ruby was rather small. So, she was stuck looking up at the edge of the bed and letting out a small whine. Weiss peeked over the edge before rolling her eyes. “Dolt.”
Jumping down, she grabbed the pup and held her close, then climbed back up and under the covers. They both got situated and Ruby gave Weiss one last dog kiss for the night. Time passed and when Ruby thought her companion had fallen asleep, she snuck off the bed and approached the closet, preparing to go back home. But before she could go through the door, she heard Weiss mumbling in her sleep.
“...-ll be a really good monster someday…”
---
Weiss slowly closed the door to Ash’s bedroom until only a tiny crack remained, just enough that she could see that her nephew was still, thankfully, asleep after her quiet exit from the room. But Weiss knew it wouldn’t last. Winter had told her before she left that Ash had been waking up crying every night for the past few weeks. No matter what she did, at midnight on the dot, he would start bawling.
Checking the time on her phone, she decided not to head to the guest room and instead, settled on the couch to rest. There were still several hours left until she would have to get up but this was her first big babysitting opportunity and she wanted to make sure her sister didn’t regret it. She was 25-years old for goodness sake! She could watch Ash for a few days without burning down the house.
She grabbed a blanket and pillow and stretched out on the couch. She brought some work with her, but she had already done most of it earlier in the evening. That left plenty of time for her to relax and unwind, something she had only recently learned to appreciate. Grabbing her phone, she browsed social media, cooing at adorable dog videos, and mentally taking notes during how-to baking tutorials. Eventually, she decided to do some reading and fell asleep with the words blending in her head.
When she slowly came to, the house was just as quiet as when she fell asleep. Leisurely reaching for her phone, she squinted at the bright screen. 12:20 . She sat up with a gasp and pushed herself off the couch, landing face first on the floor when her legs got tangled in the blanket. She kicked at the offending item and crawled a few feet away before standing and sprinting down the hall. The door to Ash’s bedroom was still partially open so Weiss slowed down, knowing she would have heard the wails by now if there were any. Inching closer, she finally heard some noise but it wasn’t what she was expecting. There were no cries or whimpers, no sniffles or hiccups, no, what she heard were faint giggles coming from the bed where her young nephew should be crying.
Now she was very intrigued. Ash had been especially moody recently and neither his parents or Weiss could get him to crack a smile. To hear him so happy now made Weiss happy. Lost in her thoughts, she caught the sleepy words of ‘good night’ then almost immediately the soft snores signaling he had fallen asleep.
When a minute or two had passed to ensure he wouldn't awaken, she pushed the silent door open just enough so that her body could squeeze through. Her eyes were pretty well adjusted to the dark by this point and could easily make out the bed sticking out against the left wall. It didn’t look as though anything was out of place on the side closest to the door so she took a few steps further into the room. She paused almost near the end of the mattress when she saw a flicker of motion under the window. Squinting, she waited to see if anything moved again or if it was just her imagination.
There. Another brief motion and Weiss was able to identify the shape. She was one hundred percent positive that Winter had not bought her son a giant stuffed dog nor that the Labrador sized form standing next to the bed was simply a toy. No, Weiss knew she was staring straight at a real, live, breathing, drooling, dog.
She should have been freaking out. She should have grabbed Ash and ran from the room. She should have picked up the nearest item and held it out in front of her while forcefully shooing the canine out of the room, out of the house. She did none of these things though. Her mind was transported to when she was younger and more gullible, able to believe in fairy tales and myths, despite claiming not to. Soft fur and a warm body. Quiet sniffles and soft giggles.
It had been over ten years ago and Weiss knew she should have been over this foolish notion of cute monsters hiding in her closet. But when she woke up the day after her ‘dream’ and her blankets were covered in black fur? It was hard not to believe.
Her thoughts stalled when the dog turned away from Ash’s bed with a snuffle before heading toward the bedroom closet. It still hadn’t seen her as the door was on the other side of the room. Weiss was still frozen not knowing what to do but when her eyes flicked over to her tucked in nephew, she couldn’t not acknowledge it.
“Thank you.” She whispered.
The dog startled so much it jumped in the air like a cat with its tail being pulled. Weiss would have laughed if she hadn’t needed to be quiet, but as it was, a small smile made its way onto her face.
Silver eyes met blue. They looked so familiar, a feeling of warmth flowing through her at the memory they brought up. Unfortunately, all she knows about monsters came from a young girl years ago. Who’s to say that silver eyes aren’t the norm in their world?
The next thing she knew, the dog had lifted one of its paws and took a step forward; Weiss instinctively took one back. She stopped when she noticed what she had done and the black body kept advancing toward her.
Oh, who was she kidding? This animal couldn’t be like the girl she had seen so long ago, it was probably a stray dog Ash had managed to sneak into the house without her knowing and now, it was slowly stalking her! However, she couldn’t make herself move, not because she was frozen in place, but because of the very slim possibility of her hopes being true.
Thankfully, when it reached her, it didn’t go for her throat. Instead, it sat down on its haunches and looked up at her with its head tilted and let out a soft, questioning whine, as though asking her something.
Weiss wasn’t sure what it wanted exactly and simply stared down at it. When it tilted its head the other way and a soft ‘yip’, quickly glanced over to the bed, drawing the dog’s attention that way as well. Silver eyes moved from Weiss to the bed to the closet door and back several times before finally stopping on the door behind her. Standing, it walked around her nudged the open further, escaping out into the hallway and the rooms beyond. Confused at the dog’s actions, Weiss followed, shutting the door to Ash’s room behind her.
She found the animal laying on top of the couch with its head resting on its forelegs. Weiss was prepared to start yelling about who and who does not belong on the furniture, but when those round, shining eyes looked up at her from under abnormally long dog-eyelashes, she let out a sigh of resignation and reached out to smooth some black fur that had become ruffled.
Inches away from making contact, she paused. “Do you mind?”
Weiss still wasn’t sure about this dog. Could there really be a person in there? Or was it simply a dog?
In response, a warm nose was pressed into her neck. Not expecting such movement, she tried to take a step back but was trapped by two arms wrapped around her back.
“WEISS! I didn’t think I’d ever see you again!”
“Whaa…”
“I really wanted to come back and see you but I got in big trouble for using the door and I didn’t know how else I could find you then I got older and tried looking for you but the door was already gone and the human world is really big so searching for you here was so hard but I never forgot about you!” Gasp.
While Ruby was refilling her lungs, Weiss stuttered out, “I- Who-”
Ruby leaned back from her place at Weiss’ neck. “You don’t remember me?" she begged. “I thought you knew who I was! I thought it was you but wasn’t sure-sure so that’s why I stayed in my dog form for so long, to make sure it was you and that you remembered.”
She had seen those pleading silver eyes before, on the black dog that had comforted Ash earlier, on the fluffy puppy that stayed with her through the night all those years ago. Now, seeing those eyes combined with warm, human arms and a warmer smile, woke her up to the fact that Ruby had found her. She had come back just like she promised.
“Ruby?”
“See! You do remember! Yang kept telling me that you probably thought it was a dream or your imagination, but I knew you wouldn’t forget.”
It really was her. Same excitable attitude, same infectious giggle, same heartstopping touch. “Ruby you dolt! Do you know how long I waited for you to come back? I thought something bad might have happened to you!”
It was only when she went to poke Ruby on the forehead that she realized the brunette was still wrapped around her. Ruby seemed to realize this at the same time and quickly sat back down on the couch with her hands tucked between her knees. Weiss was finally able to get her first good look at the adult human-Ruby.
She still had the same short messy hair that kept falling into her face. It was hard to tell seeing as she was currently sitting down, but based on when Ruby had held her, she was around the same height as herself. Weiss could still remember how strong those arms had felt when wrapped around her.
Shaking those thoughts from her head, Weiss settled herself on the couch with her feet tucked under her and turned toward Ruby, one elbow resting on the back. Wanting to fill the silence between them, she tried prompting, “Do you come here often?”
At Ruby’s choked response and almost disbelieving look, Weiss thought back to what she said and spluttered out, “Here. To the human world. Do you use the doors to visit the human world often?”
“I- Yep. It’s my job now. Every night I get to help kids who need a laugh or some comfort. So I go back and forth between your world and mine.” She paused. “It kind of makes you woozy if you do it too many times though.”
“Right.” Weiss nodded. Thinking back to how she knew she hadn’t imagined their meeting, she continued. “Aren’t you worried people will find you out because of your fur? When I woke up after you left my bed was covered in black fur. My Father thought I had snuck an animal into the house and I got in trouble for it.”
Ruby looked sheepish at this. “Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I’ve figured out that if I brush my coat every night before going out then I wouldn’t shed as much.”
For some reason, Weiss found this funny. In fact, the whole situation she was currently in was enough to make her snicker. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation. That you’re really here talking about fur maintenance and portals to other worlds.”
She calmed down from her fit of sniggering to see Ruby watching her with a tiny smile on her face. It was as though nothing had changed. Weiss didn’t feel uncomfortable with this near stranger despite having only been with each other for a total of a few hours.
They had been talking for hours now and the dawn light was peeking through the windows. They had reached a stop in their conversation and were left staring at each other from their respective side on the couch. Almost as one they seemed to realize that their time together was at an end and stood up.
Looking down the hall at Ash’s bedroom door, Ruby seemed to hesitate. “Do you think maybe I could see you again? Last time I didn’t come back because I couldn’t find you, but now you’re here. So…”
“Yes! Ahem, Yes. That would be lovely.” Weiss tried playing off her excitement but her bright eyes belied her cool demeanor. Not wanting to focus too long on her current emotions, she prodded at the younger woman. “Besides, if I remember correctly, you said we could spend a lot of time together. You still owe me.” Weiss poked Ruby’s chest at this last bit and they both ended up smiling at each other for a few seconds before realizing they were doing so.
Ruby started walking backwards toward the hallway. “I’ll see you soon then.”
“Yeah, I’ll see- Wait! I don’t live here; this is my sister’s house. If you come back through Ash’s closet you won’t find me.”
Ruby chuckled. “Monsters come to the human world for a lot of reasons so there’s more than one way through. I couldn’t find you last time because I didn’t know where you were. But this time I was thinking I could use the front door? Maybe to pick you up for some dinner or something?”
Weiss thought as she watched Ruby rub the back of her head and look at her with nervous, hopeful eyes.
When Weiss agreed to babysit her nephew for the night, she knew to expect some difficulties. What she didn’t expect was to meet the monster from her bedroom closet again. But now, staring at a pair of shining silver eyes, she couldn’t imagine how she had existed without them in her life. She wanted nothing more than to see that cute smile again or hear the light giggle coming from it. Because of all that, there was really only one answer she could give.
“Yes, I’d like that.”