I couldn't write anything good for part 2 of Deus Vult. Still gonna try but... writer's block. I gotta stop making promises I can't keep, I'm sorry!

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It was a typical day in the woods for Weiss. She woke before dawn, stretching out her limbs as a yawn escaped her lips. She rolled her shoulders in an effort to loosen her body up. After several minutes of stretching, she was satisfied, moving onto her wooden dresser and removing a dress made entirely out of leaves knitted together with elven magic.

"Even after all these years, I've still yet to fully understand how that works," she muttered as she slipped the dress over her head. She sighed as her remark was answered by silence. Oh, how she missed Ruby's ridiculous and inane answers to her rhetorical questions.

"Don't start, Weiss," she muttered to herself, shaking away all the memories of her previous lives. "Either you'll find her or she'll find you. That's how it always works." It didn't matter how long it takes. Whether it'd be ten, twenty, or thirty years, she has and always will come across Ruby one day. All she had to be was patient.

Though she had to admit, a hundred and fifty years without her dolt really was pushing it.

"Is it because I was born an elf?" she pondered aloud as she made her way through her little home, making her way to the kitchen for a light breakfast. It wouldn't be the first time one of them was born long before the other, why, just last life Ruby was twenty years older than her.

It was rather difficult in that life to win Ruby's heart. Ruby apparently had no inclination to be a cradle robber and it took many months of careful seduction on Weiss's part to win the affections of her love.

'The cookies helped, too,' Weiss thought with a smile, remembering how she owned a sweets shop in that life and how Ruby, of course, was her number one customer. All she had to do was invite Ruby up for a taste of her "special" cookies and the older woman was quickly eating out of her hand.

Memories such as that one helped ease Weiss's lonesome suffering. Oh, how she wished she could leave the woods in order to find her love, but as she was reborn as an elf, leaving the woods meant certain death. She had no choice but to wait for Ruby to come to her.

"But she'll come, I know she will," Weiss thought resolutely as she finished a simple breakfast of lembas bread and tea. The sun was rising as she stood from her chair, feeling wide awake and ready to do her daily chores.

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She breathed deeply the scent of the woods, sighing contently as she stared lovingly at the trees around her. As much as she loved the silent, frozen tundras of Atlas, she had to admit the lively forest filled with the chatter of chipmunks and the singing of birds in which she dwelt was lovely as well. Even after over a century of living in the same hollowed out tree she never tired of listening to the songs of nature.

She hummed to the tune of the animals as she watered her garden, imbuing the water that she used with a bit of magic to revitalize the soil and to quicken the growth of her fruits and vegetables. Elven magic truly was convenient, it allowed her large garden to be harvested every three to five days instead of weeks or even months. It allowed her to imbue her tree home so that any food within it would never spoil or rot. She had such an abundance of food she never bothered to stop the animals of the forest from feeding off her garden.

She smiled as she felt a wet snout sniffing at her hand. She turned to the creature, a Doe followed by her little fawn were staring up at her with the most adorable little eyes. She nearly clenched her heart at the sight, they were just too cute.

She wordlessly watched as the two animals made their way to her garden, sniffing at the robust amount of food around them before the Doe began feasting on her cabbage patch, though the Fawn appeared to prefer the cauliflower she was growing a bit away.

"I don't suppose you'll actually save some for me this time?" she chuckled, knowing that she'll have to replant the cabbage and cauliflower. The Doe and Fawn were tricky creatures, these two exact ones would always come by every three days, right when the vegetables were ready, and feast upon her garden to their heart's content until all the cabbage and cauliflower were gone.

'Well, at least they don't eat the other vegetables,' Weiss thought as she put her watering can away. About half her garden was ready for harvest, and while she was perfectly fine with leaving some out for the wild animals of the forest to enjoy, that didn't mean she didn't want some for herself-

"RRRRAAAAAARRRG!"

As quick as an arrow the Doe and Fawn ran off into the woods, away from the vicious roar that resounded throughout the land. Weiss glared deep into the woods, knowing that sound well.

"Beowolves," she muttered and quickly rushed into her tree house, shutting the door and weaving magic into the frame, barricading herself from the outside world. She retreated into her bedroom, grasping a wooden bow she had made and a quiver full of arrows.

'I really should just ignore them,' she sighed, climbing out her bedroom window before sealing that as well. 'There are no humans around these parts, and any elf knows how to seal themselves inside the trees…' Even as she thought this a knot formed inside of her gut. She tried to ignore it as she climbed atop a tree, running and jumping along the branches towards the sounds of the guttural roars.

But Grimm would only show themselves before humans and elves. If their roars could be heard all the way from her home, then either other elves somehow found themselves ambushed by the beast or some foolish humans had inadvertently stumbled upon the creatures. Either way, she had to make sure they were okay.

She told herself that, but in reality, she was hoping it was simply Ruby being Ruby, challenging the beast due to her not wanting others to be harmed by the dastardly Grimm. If that were the case then Weiss prayed Ruby had the skills to back it up.

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The smell of slain Beowolves permeated the area, growing thicker as Weiss came closer to the source of the battle. Every second that past was another howl of pain, and the closer she got the louder the battle cries of a young, female warrior in the midst of battle got.

'It is her!' Weiss thought with a smile, her grip on her bow tightening in excitement. Finally, after over a century she could finally see her love once again!

She finally came upon the battlefield, her eyes scanning the forest from atop the trees before resting on a lone elf with dark skin wearing a dress made up of dead leaves and a red, hooded cape made up of fur of what she assumed to be made from a demon wolf.

"A dark elf," Weiss muttered, admiring Ruby's skill with her woodland scythe. Unlike Wood Elves, which were a nature loving race that had a purely vegetarian diet and were known pacifist, Dark Elves were a race of warriors and hunters, living solitary lives away from even their families. And though they too could not stray from the forest, they were known to fight with anyone, whether they be Wood Elves, Humans, or Grimm, who would dare encroach on their territory.

As much as she would love to admire Ruby all day, the girl was beginning to be surrounded by the beast. And as skilled as she appeared, Weiss could tell she was slowing down. She nocked an arrow and pulled back on her bowstring. She breathed in the scent of the forest, aiming for the eye of a Beowolf that was just behind Ruby.

And released.

Ruby locked eyes with her just as the arrow whizzed past her face and into that of the Beowolf, eyes glaring at her suspiciously before going back to hacking and slashing the foes before her. Weiss bit down her disappointment, of course Ruby would be wary of her, given that their two races were constantly fighting one another.

'It doesn't matter, I'll win her over eventually,' she hoped as she quickly shot off arrow after arrow, embedding them into the skulls of any Beowolf that would dare approach Ruby from behind. So long as Ruby could concentrate on the enemy before her and not worry about being flanked she would be fine. That's what Weiss told herself as she did her best to ignore any Beowolf that approached Ruby from the front. If any of them were to duck she could accidentally wound her past lover and that was something she could not risk.

'I knew I should have practiced archery in my past life,' Weiss scolded herself as her arrow embedded itself into a Beowolves side, staggering it instead of outright killing it. Ruby quickly picked up her slack though, swinging her scythe around her body, decapitating the wounded beast with little effort.

It took every bit of Weiss's willpower not to swoon.

Weiss quickly climbed down the tree after they wiped out the grimm from the area, doing her best to casually walk over to Ruby and not sprinting into her arms like an overly excited puppy. Soon she was face to face with Ruby who, to her immense displeasure, was still glaring at her.

"...I had it handled," she growled before swiftly turning on her foot and walking away, infuriating Weiss.

"You're welcome, you ungrateful brat," she shot back before she could stop herself, instantly regretting it. 'Yeah, great way to win her over, Weiss.'

Ruby froze on the spot, her body stiffening. Soon she let out a sigh, her body loosening as she turned around and walked back towards Weiss.

"...Sorry," she muttered, looking down at Weiss's feet. "I just...it's rare to get help from anyone, especially…" she trailed off, her cheeks red as she looked up into Weiss's eyes, though the glare was still present.

"...Our people are constantly fighting, aren't they?" Weiss sighed. She looked deeply into Ruby's ever-present glare, that was a new one, searching them to see if there was any true animosity in them. She could tell Ruby was doing much the same as her gaze never broke away from Weiss's.

"...Ruby. Ruby Rose," she held up a hand, having seemingly decided that Weiss wasn't a threat. Weiss couldn't contain her smile breaking out as she reached out for Ruby's calloused hands, firmly grasping it within her own.

"Weiss. Weiss Schnee," she barely spoke above a whisper, turning Ruby's glare into a questionable gaze. She slowly released Ruby's hand. "I-I know how your people prefer living alone and away from others, but…" Dammit, she's been over this countless times! How was she getting nervous now?! "B-but if you'd like you can stay at my place? You know, to...eat and rest and...stuff…" 'Oh god, I sound like a desperate child asking someone out for the first time,' her cheeks reddened, wanting at that moment to disappear.

"Uh...Sure?" Ruby's questionable gaze slowly turned back into a glare, though that didn't last as a smirk broke out, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "I wouldn't mind spending some...time with you," she whispered huskily, grasping Weiss's hand into her own, leaning in until her lips brushed against her ear. "Lead the way."

'Oh god, she's a flirt!' Weiss gasped, nodding as she tightly held Ruby's hand in her own, stiffly leading the other girl to her humble home. There was no winning this battle, Ruby already had her in the palm of her hands.