What is a soul?

It's a question, Ruby pondered, that was probably important. After all, if a soul was what made a person a person, what did that make something without a soul? Less than a person? Did it make them a monster? The reality was rather grim.

That, she thought as she fought down a snort, was a joke Yang would've made. She finished tying her boots on, kicking the doorstep lightly as she crossed the threshold out of her home. The last of the winter chill was still nipping at the air, but spring was undeniably present. The grass was growing, the trees had leaves again, and her father had started up his rose garden, the box flush against the wall of the house.

Ruby Rose took a look down at herself, making sure she had everything. Her black shirt giving way to the maroon overall shorts she usually wore, the brown belt with pouches on her waist, the black boots she had just slipped on. She reached up and adjusted her cloak, a bright red, and made sure the hood didn't have any holes in it, before reaching up and adjusting her goggles. You're stalling, a voice that sounded far too much like her uncle's for her liking, rung in her head.

Adjusting the basket she was carrying, Ruby decided it was time to actually get a move on. Too much longer and the sun might set before she even gets there. It was already dusk, and she should probably be back before nightfall. And so, leaving the warmth of her family's cottage, she headed into the woods behind the Xiao-Long family home.

As she strolled her thoughts went back to her earlier question. Ruby tried to avoid thinking about mortality, or souls, or anything of that nature, but the trip always brought them to the forefront of her mind. She supposed she already knew the answer to what happened when something didn't have a soul. The Grimm.

The black creatures mocking the form of animals, white masks covering their faces, only letting their glowing red eyes through, were a well known site within Remnant. Though where they came from was largely up for debate. Some people thought they were the sins of the fallen manifested in dark form, some even thought they were those who had died, just like, reincarnated.

Ruby didn't like that interpretation. They had already been pushed back into the Four Kingdoms, and if dying more added to their numbers, then how were they supposed to leave? Well there was the off chance that the Hunters might finally push them back.

Crack.

A slow tilt of the head was all Ruby gave in acknowledgement of the noise that was somewhere off to her left. She lightly tugged on her thick leather gloves, her slight twitch betraying her nerves. Now that she was focusing on it, she could hear the low growling coming from the brush. A pair of beady red eyes watching her from their hiding place, secure in the idea that they were undetected. The owner of the eyes slowly stuck a single paw out, placing it softly on the ground. Another. Then the muscles in the appendage tensed.

It lunged out with primal fury, the inky beast tearing at the spot where Ruby had once stood, certain that it had been on target. It stared at the spot of air that its claws raked through, only a few rose petals floating on the breeze were present.

Ruby sighed as she set her basket on the branch she had landed on. It seemed the trip would be slightly delayed. The beast looking wildly for its missing prey was a familiar one to her. The Grimm species known as Lupus Parvus Grimmus, or Hounds as most called them, was one she had hunted fairly often for practice. It sniffed the air, turning and finally training it's eyes on the girl in the trees as the beast let out a shrill howl. Ruby winced. The Hound already looked like an emaciated dog with bones jutting out of its spine and paws , the annoyingly high-pitched barking did not win it any favors with her, and of course now it's pack knew where she was.

Reaching to her waist she located her most valuable item, her Crescent Rose. With practiced ease she launched herself from the tree, more rose petals seeming to fall into existence behind her, as the once rather odd red box extended into a full caliber rifle. It's crosshairs trained solely on the Hound head in front of her, Ruby pulled the trigger. A deafening bang ripped throughout the forest.

Before she had even touched the ground the Hound was dead. Ruby sighed, she knew she shouldn't be upset that it had been so easy to deal with, after all she was well aware the pack would be onto her now, but it was always annoying when her Hunter training failed to be properly challenged. She leapt back up into the tree with little effort, grabbing the basket and once again moving through the forest, though this time at a much faster pace.

She brushed a red-tipped bang out of her face, pushing it back into its place, her mostly black bob cut bouncing as she moved quickly. Already Ruby could hear the Hounds moving around her. "Do you people mind?" She asked no Hound in particular, "I'm trying to get to my appointment!"

Her answer was half-a-dozen jumping out of the trees, claws and fangs at the ready to rip her to shreds. With a huff of annoyance, Ruby flicked a small lever on Crescent Rose, dropping the basket as she spun, her rifle extending and folding out into a full scythe, it's bright red color a clean match for her hood.

The six Hounds fell into chunks of bone and meat, their bodies already starting to smoke and dissolve. Ruby stepped forward and scooped up her basket with the end of her weapon, tossing it in the air and catching it with her spare arm as she folded her weapon up. "You know you could've all just said no." She joked. There was no one around to laugh.

Yeesh, tough crowd, she thought. Her feet left small clouds of dust as she tried to hurry up. Around her she could see the white flakes of snow falling. She shivered and tossed up her hood, wishing she had brought some form of leg coverage. Why, oh why, could winter not stay away for a few more hours?

More growls and snarls filled the woods as she moved. Despite her calm exterior, Ruby was well aware that she was getting nervous. The bunch of coils in her stomach squeezing tighter, and she knew something was about to go down. Her fears were realized when she heard a much, much deeper growl than the one the Hound had let out. Lupus Magna Grimmus? Were the words that pierced her mind.

She could see more Hounds stepping out to surround her. Uncle Qrow's words wrung in her head, always know how many you have to deal with. Admittedly he had been talking about children at the time, but it worked with Grimm as well. 13? No, 14? It was too hard to count as the sun started to set, all she could see was the glowing eyes. Ruby's hand slipped into one of her waist pouches, pulling out a dull blue stick. With a snap and a toss it started to glow a pale blue color, exposing the beasts around her.

Standing dead center of the pack in front of her, on its hindlegs, was the form of a wolf, but stretched to the proportions of a man. Bones jutting out of it's chest, shoulders, knees, and spine. It's masked maw was open, drool clearly dripping down it's razor sharp fangs. Ruby wasn't a tall person by any means, only 5'2", but this beast in front of her was easily a foot-and-a-half over her, possibly more.

A Beowulf.

Curses strung throughout Ruby's frazzled brain. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She practically screamed silently. She had known Beowulfs hunted at night, especially if Hounds drew them to their prey, why had she been so careless as to walk into this situation. Ruby's head shook wildly as she forced the degradation out of her mind, simply focusing on her enemy. There were 16 Hounds visible now. 7 in front of her, 3 on each side, and 3 behind her. In the middle of the 7 in front of her stood the Beowulf, it was paused, as if relishing in her fear.

Knowing how Grimm fed off the stuff, it probably was. Ruby set down the basket, hopefully for the last time, as she readied Crescent Rose into it's scythe form. There was a tense standstill.

Then a twig snapped. And there was chaos.

The 7 in front of her basically trampled each other to get to her, as they attempted to pincer her with those behind her. She tilted her scythe straight down, the gun barrel still visible at the top of the head, and shot straight down, letting herself be pushed by the recoil straight up. The Hounds crashed in the middle as two from her left leapt up at her, teeth gnashing and claws swiping at her. She whirled, rose petals forming around her as the blade cut their bodies to pieces, and Ruby landed with her back to a tree.

She did not stay there long as she ducked, claws raking through the bark where her head once was as Ruby quickly spun the blade back into it's rifle state and fired into the Hound's chest. It stumbled back, black ooze dripping from the wound as it fell over. Then the Beowulf charged. With a quick roll, Ruby tried to maneuver around it, but the inky wolf-man was quick and raked it's spiked tail across her back, forcing Ruby to summon her Aura.

A red glow surrounded the girl as she felt her very soul stir at being called, the snowflakes melting off her body from the heat of it, and the blades bouncing off Ruby's back as if she were made of steel.

She leapt into a stance and spun her scythe around her, cutting off the limbs of two Hounds that were trying to get too close. The glow faded as they gnashed their teeth at her, and with smooth grace Ruby had shot their heads clean from their body.

That's 5 I think, Ruby thought. The red glow once again surrounded her body as Ruby seemed to vanish, red petals only floating where she had been, as the warrior formed on the other side of the mound of Hounds racing towards her. A few of the creatures of Grimm had lost their lives when she suddenly appeared. 8.

Ruby had forgotten there were others on the other side of the pack, a short squeal was all she managed to get out as one bit down on her out-stretched arm, and pain flooded her. The warm glow of her Aura prevented the teeth from drawing blood as they struggled to pierce the obtrusive barrier. Another Hound scratched at the girl along the legs as it tried to tackle her, only the quick thought of a jump having saved her from a spill. Ruby's feet landed on the shoulders of the Hound biting down on her. She grunted and heaved, ripping her limb from it's maw before swinging her scythe down and piercing it's brain. Crescent Rose quickly left the body to defend her from the Beowulf bearing down on her.

It's heavy arm, smacking the smaller girl across the field like a ragdoll, as her weapon was ripped from her grasp. Ruby tumbled into the now muddy ground, groping around for her weapon before pushing herself up.

There were now only 5 Hounds and a Beowulf, but she was currently weaponless and if she had to guess, her Aura was half empty, maybe less. Her eyes widened as 2 of the rabid grimm leapt at her, she forced the glow to focus on her legs as she leapt back, landing on a tree branch that creaked ominously as it swayed under her weight.

Her breath was visible as she panted. Reaching into a different pouch this time, Ruby pulled out a red crystal, barely the size of an AA battery. She heaved her arm back and threw the Dust as her life depended on it, aiming for the center of the mass of wolves. Ruby, however, was a sniper, not a thrower, and the shard of Dust landed to the left of the pack, a small explosion instantly evaporated 2 Hounds, but didn't so much as scratch the others.

Ruby had felt her Aura drain from it's activation, and willed the glow to fade from her in order to conserve it. 3 Hounds, she could do this. Then the Beowulf decided to ram the tree.

Ruby's arms flailed wildly as she tried to right herself, but gravity was not on her side as she toppled into the mud. A boney leg kicked her hard in the stomach, sending her once again soaring through the air, though this time an impact with a tree interrupted her.

Blood was all she could taste in her mouth as she shakily stood. Ruby could see the 3 Hounds in front of her, the alpha wolf standing behind them as it shook its head, likely recuperating from the impact. Her eyes caught the glint of Crescent Rose, still locked in it's scythe state, embedded in the ground near the basket. The familiar warmth and glow of her Aura surrounded Ruby, as she summoned forth the petals that gave her Speed. In a flash she was flying past her scythe.

Inertia took effect as Ruby stuck her arm out and caught the handle, using her Aura to fortify her shoulder joint, as she twisted in the air, pulling the trigger and dislodging Crescent Rose from its place as the recoil sent her sailing towards the Hounds.

Arching her back, Ruby heaved with all her might, cleaving into the Hounds and leaving them butchered, black smog rising around her as she faced down the Beowulf, only a couple feet before her. They locked eyes, each ready to strike.

You can do this Ruby, she thought to herself, Yang said she fought an Ursa on her own, you can handle a Beowulf. Her eyes narrowed. Show her this Rose has thorns too.

With a shout, Ruby's feet impacted the mud, carrying her to the Grimm before her. It's clawed paw struck out, scraping along Ruby's ribs as. She felt the glow of her Aura sputter and die as the blades tore through her skin, forcing Ruby to diverge from her path. She stumbled as she righted herself, turning and slamming the blade of her scythe into the ground, using it like a stabilizer as she fired shot after shot into the demon facing her.

It's red eyes spoke only of hate as it surged back with every round fired, every bullet piercing it's flesh, though the wounds healed back quick enough. Ruby could feel her blood running down her left side, and shook her head, this wasn't accomplishing anything. The weapon before her folded back down into a rifle as she raced at the beast.

Though unlike her, this beast hadn't learned. And when it struck out with its claw again, Ruby was ready. She wrapped her arm around it's outstretched appendage, and used it to swing herself up, shoving the rifle around it's head, the blade of the scythe extending out behind it as Crescent Rose lined up perfectly with the Beowulf's neck.

A smirk formed on Ruby's face as she pulled the trigger. The blade slicing through the body before her like tissue paper. A dense thump was heard as the head of the Grimm landed only inches from Ruby's feet.

The black blood stained the ground before her as the snow flurried around them, Ruby breathing slowly and heavily as she stared down at her kill.

A Beowulf wasn't like the F-Tier Hounds Ruby could kill in spades. A Beowulf was easily in B-Tier, sometimes even A-Tier if it was an Alpha. Yang was never going to believe her. Ruby's smirk slowly formed into a genuine smile. Now that! Was a Hunter Battle!

She stumbled slightly, putting a hand on her waist. Oh right, bleeding. Reaching into her third and final pouch, Ruby pulled out a small first aid kit and lightly tended to the wound. Cleaning it and covering it with gauze. It would hold until she got home. She had her meeting first.

Using her weapon more like a cane, Ruby approached the basket that was now staining with Grimm Blood and scooped it into her arms. The snow around her was starting to build as she stepped through the now empty forest. After a few minutes she could see a clearing, a cliff face.

Ruby stood at the edge of a valley, all that separated her from the fall was a small stone structure at the edge of the cliff in front of her. A tombstone. A picture of a rose head, it's petals slowly scattering, was etched it's surface. Under that read a name.

Summer Rose

She set the basket down just before the tombstone, kneeling down in front of both. Ruby took a deep breath.

"Hi, Mom."

So this was one of those stories that you get the idea for and then can't do anything else until you've written it down. Basically took my hostage. But hey, if you have any feedback, feel free to let me know.