Ruby McReid

Viper was overlooking the main training room, watching with a neutral expression as their agents practiced. They were good, but they could be better. Truth be told, they could all be better as of late. The loss of the McReids had torn a hole in this operation, and now that they were trickling back into place, she expected more. A real plan, tangible moves. Another year underground was going to drive her to the goddamn brink.

Two minutes looking in on today's training and Ruby was already in the same mindset as Viper; they should have been doing better than this. With her and Carrie being turned into vampires and the death of Karen, Ruby had known that everyone's confidence would have taken a hit, but surely it should have been something to drive them–to bring them closer, make them stronger. She stood by her decision to leave when she did, but looking at these agents spar now, she almost regretted it.

Karen had quit smoking ages ago... and that was why she was hiding outside, away from the twinkling fairy lights and roaring fire pits, where no one could see her. Because this one didn't count. And she could not face Krys' shit eat grinning about it. So, when she heard a noise behind her, she almost stumbled trying to waft the smoke away from her. Should she eat the evidence? No, that's unhinged. Don't do that. Damn it, she was totally busted.

Meeting your girlfriend's family wasn't exactly something Bruce excelled at, apparently. It had only been a couple of hours and already he was freaked at the idea of spending all of Christmas with two sisters that clearly were not fans. It was just his damn luck that when he stepped outside, yet another sister with beef with him was ready and waiting. "Who would I tell?" He asked with a shrug; it wasn't like he was going to rush to tell Krys. "You got a light?"

"Dare I say... Tequila?" @havensdalestarters

Hearing her voice, Bruce's heart almost stopped. He knew there was no avoiding her when Laurel suggested spending Christmas with her family, but being prepared didn't make it any easier. He turned towards her, signature smirk firm on his lips. "Tequila never did lead us anywhere good."

Danny ✉ text all underground:

"Thank you," he said, taking the milk without looking up from the stove. He was halfway through pouring it when he stopped. Danny had heard that Jordan was back, and he knew why he'd left. To find her. In the aftermath of the chaos, he hadn't had a minute to look for her himself. Maybe he was scared to, just in case she wasn't really here. After what felt like a long time, Danny looked up to meet Ruby's eye. "Welcome home, Roo."

Ruby stood there silently, waiting for him to look up. Maybe he never would and he was waiting for her to leave, but her feet were glued in place; she would rather he yelled at her than have to wonder what he was thinking. She inhaled sharply when he acknowledged her, still using his nickname for her. Maybe that was a good sign? "I'm sorry." The words fell softly from her lips before she could even think of something else to say. What else could she say, really?

Carrie's heart ached at the sound of Ruby's sob, her own tears now falling freely as they embraced. Her whole life, her sister had taken care of her. She would sacrifice anything for Carrie, loved her more than her own life. Carrie knew it because she felt the same way. How could Ruby have left her alone in this world? She clung to Ruby tightly, a soft gasp leaving her lips when she spoke again. I missed you too. Carrie knew that there was so much for them to talk about, so much that had changed. She also knew that this wasn't the time or place. When Ruby pulled back, though, tears rolling down her cheeks, Carrie didn't care if the whole town was on fire around them. Her sister was home.

Ruby could have broken down right there when Carrie thanked her. She had played that night over and over again in her head, wondering if she should have done things differently; wondering if Carrie had wanted her to do things differently. No matter how many times she thought through it, Ruby always came to the same conclusion: that she would always end up right here. Yes, she regretted the frantic way in which she had made it happen, but she would never regret her decision to stay with her sister forever. Knowing that Carrie wanted the same thing was an incredible weight off her shoulders.

If Jess had a breath to take, Ruby McReid would have it. She was the last person she expected to see, even if the rumour mill was already in full swing about her big return. Ruby and Jordan, home. Jess didn't believe it, she realised, not until right this second. She looked... different, but the same. She looked beautiful, and sad. Worried. Jess had wished every day for Ruby to come back to her, to fill the space in Jess' heart that she'd taken with her. They'd both had time and distance from that fateful November night. Jess knew what had happened, could never forget what had happened, but until now she hadn't felt it. Felt her. She made her.

"Hi." She repeated, blinking a little at the strange pull towards her that she was suddenly acknowledging. Ruby couldn't quite process the feeling, but Verity had told her enough for her to identify it as the sire bond. It was distracting her enough for her to almost miss Corey's name on her lips. "He knows." It was only two words, but her voice cracked and her eyes stung. Quickly, she changed the subject. "You look... amazing." Not just physically. This was the first time Ruby was really seeing her with her humanity back, and the sting in her eyes was suddenly for Jess instead.

"Well, we had a swell fucking time without you." He could feel the urge to berate her for leaving Corey here to suck the soul out of every passer-by for six long months building inside him. For leaving Carrie. However, Ruby beat him to it with her news of Vivian Vandeviere. Instead, he stayed silent for longer than anyone could have thought him capable. The possibility, nor reality, of Vivian roaming free was damn near impossible to grasp. Yet, he could believe it. His luck had been particularly shitty recently. Finally, he clicked his tongue, uttering a single word, "bummer."

Ruby's eyes narrowed and she resisted the urge to wave a hand in front of his face. The silence was going on for far too long and she almost thought that he hadn't heard her- that he was still waiting for her to finish her sentence. Her mouth opened to speak again, but she closed it briefly when he finally uttered a single word. "Yeah." She agreed with a sigh, wishing more than anything that she could have left her down there to rot. "Listen, I'm not going to let her get to you. We'll find a way to protect you or take her out. I told her not to show her face here, but..." Ruby trailed off, internally cursing for admitting to him that she had spoken to her.

"That's real cute, Ruby. It wouldn't be so funny without this glass between us, would it?" he shouted, pointlessly, as she made a mockery of him. He shouldn't be surprised. Chris hauled himself as close to the glass as possible, pressing his palm to it. "Press. The. Button."

Her head tilted in amusement as he got as close to her as possible. "You know, you probably shouldn't be wasting your energy flapping your gums when I can't read lips." She pouted and shrugged, almost playfully. "Hmm..." Her attention turned back to the button and, after a moment of pretending she wouldn't, she pressed it. "Well, go on then. Before you burst a blood vessel."

While one hand stayed carefully at the side of her face, his other trailed down the side of her neck where he carefully ran his fingers over the site of where her scars from that night would have been. His eyes fixed on her neck, and he knew he'd made a mistake. There was no evidence of it left, no trace of her own actions, or Jess's. Yet he'd lived it, seen it, every day since, and he could see it now. His eyes pressed together to repel the images, which only left him once Ruby's hand grazed his cheek. He drew a soft, relieved breath at the sudden jolt back to reality. The release was welcome, her touch honing him home. His eyes focused on hers again, believing - hoping, they could save him in time.

Ruby didn't dare move as his hand traced the invisible wound that had changed everything. While her head remained still, her eyes followed his as she fought the urge to pull away; to stop him from fixating on what happened. Shame washed over her at the memory of begging him to do it, of his refusal, of what came next. Ruby didn't regret her decision to follow her sister down this path, but with a clear head, she knew that she would have gone about it differently. Their eyes met again and she couldn't stop herself from whispering again, "I'm sorry."

"There's a button!" he shouted pointlessly at them through the glass of his cell. How funny it was when the boss had decided to put him on mute. His lovely cage was soundproofed unless one of these unfortunate souls pressed the damn button. "See-" he pointed then, gesturing wildly to where it was- "Push the button." @havensdalestarters

"Huh?" Ruby moved closer to the glass, a hand cupped at her ear. "I'm sorry, I can't hear you." She shrugged and sighed dramatically, placing her hands on her hips. "Oh. Oh, you mean this? You want me to press the button?" Her brows furrowed as if she was really thinking about it.

It was no secret that Carmen Caffrey was pissed. Furious, even. And devastated, frustrated, and no amount of swings she took to this punching bag made her feel better. Her forehead was slick with sweat, and her teeth her all but ground into each other as she took another swing. Fuck. Swing. Fuck. Swing.

Ruby stood preternaturally still as she watched Carmen beat the shit out of the punching bag. Incredible it was still hanging on its hook, in all honesty. As with everyone, Ruby wasn't sure where she stood with Carmen after everything, and it had felt wrong to interrupt her, but now she was beginning to feel like she was intruding. She made a move to leave, when the other woman finally noticed her. "I-..." Ruby hesitated, "Nothing. I just-... Wanted to check in."

Danny could hardly remember the last time he was in the kitchen like this. He wasn't even really sure what had possessed him today, but he was going with it. He had a smudge of flour across his cheek, and a ratty old apron around his waist when he asked them- "Can you pass the milk, please?" @havensdalestarters

Danny hadn't looked up at her when he asked for the milk, so Ruby wasn't entirely sure that he knew it was her that had entered the room. Had it been... before... she would have probably jokingly told him to get the milk himself, but she still wasn't sure where she stood with everyone anymore. She passed him the milk without a word.

jayhalstead: