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Sorry sis! Won't be there for another hour, Blake and I have major studying to do :P Just chill at Cinder's until we arrive for game night!
Thanks a lot sis. Abandoning your baby sister to fates unknown.
Ruby pouted as she walked along the sidewalk, kicking along a stone. Remnant was super fun, sure, but she hadn't gone to the house without Yang before. What if Cinder wasn't there? What was she suppose to do, chill on the front step until she answered the door?
Ding-dong!
The door did creak open, but Ruby didn't see Cinder, in fact, she really didn't see anyone. Until she looked down.
A girl with brown curls looked back up. Her face was disorienting to look at, it took a few seconds to pin why- her eyes were different colors. One was pink, the other was brown. Kinda weird, but Ruby managed a smile.
“Uh… hi. I'm here for Remnant?”
The other girl perked up and opened the door the rest of the way. “Oh good.” Ruby stepped inside and glanced around. “So um, where is everyone else?”
Reaching under her arm, the girl pulled out a small white board. She scribbled on it for a few seconds before she lifted it up for Ruby to read:
'You're the first to arrive! Cinder's still napping. I'm Neo.'
She dotted all her eyes with hearts, that was… kinda cute. Didn't Nora bring Neo up before? “Oh, okay. Um, can you talk?” Okay, that came out way more blunt then she had meant.
Neo shook her head no and scribbled another message. 'Mute. I carry the whiteboard around so I can communicate. I also use sign, but only Cinder and Roman can keep up.'
“Oh, cool! Er, not cool that you're mute, but like, cool that you use the whiteboard.” Who the heck was Roman? Ruby was about to ask when a loud voice from the dining room interrupted her.
“Hey Neo! Can you bring me a drink from the fridge while you're up?”
Neo rolled her eyes and wrote another message. 'He knows I can't respond so I have to do it :P'
The girl skipped to the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out a dark orange bottle. She glanced up and motioned to the fridge. Ruby glanced inside to see a lot of bottles that probably had varying levels of alcohol. “Oh, uh, no thanks! I'm only fifteen.”
Neo shrugged. The 'suit yourself' was implied. Then she pointed to the top of the fridge, where rested several sodas. “Oh, goodie!” A few jumps and Ruby had snagged a Coke. She followed Neo into the dining room where the yeller was.
Another college student, but with incredibly bright orange hair and with his feet on the table looked over. “Thanks, gorgeous. Well hey there, red. What's up, come for the game tonight?”
Ruby waved awkwardly. “Er, yup. I'm Ruby.”
“Roman Torchwick, one of Cinder's beeeest friends.” He popped the top off his bottle and took a swig. “Well, maybe not best friend… maybe the biggest pain in her ass.”
Okay, definitely more relaxed than Cinder. Ruby sat down and sipped her soda. “You don't seem that bad.”
Roman snickered. “You haven't seen me during the 'queen's' campaigns. Might end up hopping into yours sometime, for kicks. It'll make Cinder cranky.”
Neo grinned proudly before she casually sat herself across Roman's lap. Roman responded by giving her a kiss on the cheek before looking back over at Ruby. “So, Red, how old are you?”
“Fifteen.” Oh wow, that wall was really interesting to stare at.
Roman looked amused at her awkwardness. “Awww, just a beginner then. Games don't run past your bedtime, do they?”
Oh haha. Ruby tore her eyes away from the wall to give him a dirty look. Roman just snickered and lifted the bottle to his lips.
“I thought I heard your voice- Roman, are you harassing Ruby?”
Cinder stepped down the stairs, shaking her head. Roman raised his hands as Neo slipped out of his lap and slipped behind her boyfriend, rubbing his shoulders. “Hey, look on the bright side. If I harass her, I can't harass you!”
“She's a kid, you cannot harass her. And she's Yang's little sister.”
That got Roman's attention. Clearing his throat, he sat up and pulled himself closer. “Soooo, can I see your character sheet?”
Oooh, something that Ruby was actually proud of! Ruby scooted the paper across the table. Roman picked it up and glanced it over. “Nice, nice… not bad, Red! Way better than my first character sheet.” He pushed it back over.
Ruby beamed. “Thanks! I had my parents to help me though, they've been playing since the first edition of Remnant.”
“Nice advantage- say, if you're in the same campaign as Yang, and your character's fifteen, how did they make it into Beacon?” Roman had adopted a more innocent look now.
“Oh, uh...” Ruby bit her lip as she tried to remember the reason. “I think we decided that one of the teachers found me trying to stop a robbery, thought I was kinda impressive, let me come two years early?”
“Reeeaaaalllly.” Now Roman was grinning roguishly. “Hey, do you know who my character is?”
Ruby shook her head no. Roman pulled his character sheet out of his pocket. Cinder groaned. “Oh. No. No, don't you think about it.”
“Too late, thought about it.”
Ruby read over the sheet before she grinned. “Oooooh… Cinder, please?”
“Absolutely not.”
***
“Are you… robbing me?”
“Yes!”
“Ooooh...”
“Yes! Twenty!”
Ruby fistpumped into the air as the dice showed her favorite number. Cinder looked pleased. “All right, the thug goes for you, but you...”
“Send him flying across the room! Cuz I'm totally awesome!” Ruby crossed her arms with pride.
“Okay, you send the thug flying across the room, and he hits a wall. He's now unconscious. Roman?”
Roman thought for a second. “Just send the thugs after her. They can handle it. I'm busy looking at the loot I've stolen.”
“… Okay… well, get her!”
“Well, Red, I think we can all say it's been an eventful evening. And as much as I'd love to stick around, I'm afraid this is where we part ways.”
… “Oh come on! That should've hit!”
Cinder looked, once again, quite pleased. “Oh Roman, I think you've learned by now- the dice betray you whenever you need them most.” Roman just glared at the traitorous dice that lay before him.
“Hey, you started without us?!”
Yang, Blake, and Weiss were standing at the door way. Yang had her hands on her hips and was looking on disapprovingly.
Ruby smiled and waved wildly. “Hi guys! We're just playing out how I totally kicked Roman's butt and how I earned my way into Beacon.”
Neo raised her whiteboard. 'She really is kicking his butt. Roman didn't pay out for the GOOD thugs, apparently :/'
“You can't be against me too! That's not fair!” Roman complained. “First Cinder, then the dice, now my own girlfriend.”
'It's not my fault you missed her firing from a few yards away...' It was amazing how fast Neo could write snarky comments back.
Cinder cleared her throat. “This will be done in a few minutes. Ruby, you managed to parry the blast, but Roman is nowhere to be seen. What do you do?”
“Perception check!” Ruby rolled the dice and tossed them. “Fourteen!”
Cinder nodding approvingly. “You almost miss him, but he's scaled a building.”
“I'm gonna chase him!”
“All right. You chase Roman up the building…”
***
“Roman's not such a bad guy!”
Yang chuckled. “He's okay. He's just scared of me because I beat him in arm wrestling.”
Weiss looked slightly amused. “Why on earth were you arm wrestling him?”
“Loooong story, involving who was getting the last bowl of ice cream. Speaking of which who's up for more ice cream tonight?”
Ruby jumped into the air and waved her hands about wildly. “Me! Me! I'm up for ice cream!”
“I'm not buying this time.” Weiss learned her lesson from how much ice cream Ruby could eat in a single sitting. It was terrifying.
Blake glanced at her wallet. “I just got paid, so I'm in.”
“All right! To ice cream!”
***
“Gotta admit- the kid's not too bad.”
Neo tapped his shoulder and quickly signed, 'She is very sweet. Be nice to her.'
Roman mock pouted. “Oh come on, when am I ever mean?” Neo started signing so fast not even Roman could keep up. “Whoa, I get your point. I'm a dick. The only time I'm gonna be mean to that kid is ingame. Her sister would murder me otherwise.”
Neo looked pleased. 'Thank you, pumpkin.'
“Please don't call me that in front of the others. I think Red would combust, did you see the look on her face when you sat in my lap?”
Even though it was silent, the laughter that came from Neo was far too cute for words.