She preferred the longbow. But her granny had slept with a cross bow with years, and Ruby knew how to use one. She wouldn't normally miss a man sized target, not even a moving one - though maybe someone with Tim's skill would do better, particularly if he could catch those metal bolts on his staff without it cracking. She had eight bolts in her quiver, though. So it would come to whether he could get her to spend them all, or else get close enough to bat it aside without getting shot.

It was true that the scythe wouldn't do much good if he could get close to it - she'd mostly been using it to cut spikes off of plants, and butcher her animal kills. She had only avoided breaking off the staff because she wasn't convinced she wouldn't need the range.

Of course Ruby din't want to kill him. She would't hesitate if he made the first move, but she had no intention of being first. She was't a killer. She wouldn't let this place turn her into one.

So when he spoke up, she stopped, eyes focusing on him. Her fingers twitched, but she didn't reach for the cross bow just yet. "I didn't know this place was claimed." But she needs to get through it.