Yang was watching the rocks being placed on a nearby table by her dad and then looked to her scaled arm. It had been a shock at first to get used to her new limb but after she and Tai-Yang started to train with it, she had been able to manifest a giant floating arm which she had called her "Mean Right Hook" along with being able to shoot mini Aura shots from her fist.
"I gotta hand it to you, kiddo…You've really been making progress on this." Tai remarked as he placed a rock that was the size of a bowling ball on the far side. "You should be proud."
"I guess…" Yang muttered as she half paid attention; Ever since she heard about Ironwood's "help" when it came to monitoring Jae and the extended olive branch in the form of a new metal arm, it left her thinking about a lot thing that she had previously been too depressed to even focus on. "It feels a lot more natural than I expected it to."
Tai nodded as he moved to stand with her to start the next part of training; Seeing how precise she can use her extended arm. "You've been able to spar, train and get it to work the way you want it, it's probably the closest to normal that you can get." He admitted though he noticed that her expression hadn't changed. "But I'm guessing that's not what's bothering you?"
Yang sighed and looked to her dad; She had asked him more about her mom during their training, about who she was and why she was the way she is but for her: This question was something that ate at her. "Before Ruby left along with Jae for Mistral…I broke things off with him…"
Tai-Yang nodded quietly; He may have had his reservations about Jae considering what he heard from Qrow, he did still hold some sympathy for the boy when he noticed the drop in mood after he left Yang's room. "It's a hard feeling to explain…One minute you're on top of everything and you feel like you can handle whatever comes your way, next thing you know: You're sat there in a dark room and you feel like everything's collapsing in on itself."
"…Yeah, that's kind of it…" Yang said after thinking on the metaphor; "When I woke up after Beacon fell…I just felt cold…Pyrrha was gone, Penny was made into a spectacle and Blake just…She ran off." She began to talk faster as it all came out. "So I wanted to ask…When Mom left us…Did she say anything to you…Or at least…How did you handle things after she left."
This time it's was Tai's turn to let out a sigh and Yang could see that the sadness still lingered in his eyes, even after years of Raven being gone. "It's…It's not exactly easy to put into words." He said to try and explain but then remembered to be honest. "After you were born, Raven just…Left everything behind in one night…Not a word, no letter…Nothing, like I said before: Your mother was a complicated woman."
"Yeah, but at least you had Qrow and Summer with you in all of it." Yang queried and then started to feel the weight coming off little by little as she confronted this.
"I did…And they did everything they could to help, even when I was lashing out more than what they deserved to: Having to cope with someone you've cared about for so long leaving like it was no big deal doesn't make you a fun person to be around." Tai-Yang explained as he remembered the arguing, the yelling and the borderline physical fights with Qrow. "We were more than just a team and I was just so…Angry….Angry at Raven for leaving me and especially you behind, frustrated that I could've said or done something but never got the chance…It all festered until it got to the point where what me, Qrow and Summer had afterward was at risk."
"What you…Wait a minute." Yang was thrown for a loop at that last part of the sentence. "So…Even back then: It was you and her-"
Tai nodded as he finished it though with a faint blush as he recalled their moments; "Yes, it was also her and Summer…Summer and Qrow…Along with Me and Qrow….We were really close and I honestly believed that after we left Beacon together, we were so happy together that I thought it would've lasted forever." He said with a small yet still sad smile. "Unfortunately after Summer died…I just…shut down and Qrow went on to go work with Oz…"
"Then can I ask you…If things have changed now and I have my arm back…Could I be able to try going after him and making things right?" Yang asked Tai with the question that had be sat there eating at her the longest.
By the time that Jae finally woke up; He saw a large pile of Grimm that were near enough fully disintegrated into their black smoke, the trees around them had either been clawed, gouged out or otherwise broken apart, and he felt the pain that lingered in his chest and shoulder had subsided with only a dull ache to remind him of what had got him like this. "It seems to be fine…But for how long?" He thought to himself as he peeked into a nearby pond to make sure he was still himself.
It was like he had a rough night; tousled hair, bloodshot eyes and a general feeling of numbness that came with a strained exercise. Though the only part of good fortune that stuck with him in all this was that it was still dark and he could make it back to their camp without making too much of a fuss. Though that hardly did anything to make that pain not suck as he collapsed on his sleeping bag to drain away any fatigue that lingered in his body.
The first person to wake up after a few hours when the sun rose was Ren; He had always been an early riser even back at Beacon so he was surprised to see that Jae was now in his sleeping bag without making a sound. "Either he's just come back or Qrow's fallen asleep on watch…Either way…" He thought to himself as he yawned and sat up. "I should probably go let Qrow know that we can start to move…Or at least give everyone a chance to wake up.
—
About half an hour later, Jae groaned as he blinked his eyes open; He was surprised to see himself back in his dorm room at Beacon, though with the night that he had and the fact that he hadn't genuinely slept for a while, this certainly gave him some thoughts that everything recent was just a really bad dream. He lay back to relax but then felt something laying on his chest once more, breathing heavily. While he leaned his hand up to stroke at the person's hair, he found himself nearly jumping off of his bed when he saw a familiar head of red hair trailing through his fingers. She usually was awake after him and she preferred it that way. So he took it upon himself to spoil her after they were finished, usually with tea, or breakfast, but Pyrrha Nikos was still on top of him, and didn't seem intent on moving anytime soon. Not that Jae was complaining.
Pyrrha started to wake up as well as she then looked down at him when he tried to detangle her hair with his fingers. She didn't say anything in that moment, just smiled with that same radiance as the sun peeked through the window. "Morning, sleepyhead~"
"It's remarkable, you know," he murmured softly as he began to look more awake under the redhead's gentle gaze.
Pyrrha didn't make much of an effort to move but she cocked her head up to look at him directly, ensuring that she could watch him intently while also listening to the steady sounds of his heart beating. "What's that?"
Jae smiled wider at her. There were very few who ever made him smile like that. "That a woman like you could love someone like me," he said, brushing fallen strands out of her eyes.
A soft chuckle tinkled from her throat as Pyrrha's green eyes never left his gaze "A woman like me?" She repeated, a playful grin teasing at her lips.
"Mhm," Jae hummed a little, pulling her a little further up to kiss her neck.
Pyrrha sighed contently as she felt his lips brush along her neck, it wasn't that hard to get a reaction out of her but it was always so addicting for him to listen. "Well, whatever kind of woman I am, it's not difficult." Her words were interrupted with a yawn.
Jae stopped as his hand gently rested on her back. "Are you tired?" He asked her and chuckled a little when she weakly nodded.
"As much as I enjoy our times alone, it wears me out," Pyrrha laughed a little, shutting her eyes as she snuggled up on his chest once more. God, he was weak to that laugh.
"I'm a bit tuckered out myself," he said, running his fingers up and down her back, bringing out a soft symphony of warm giggles and relaxed sighs.
"From laying there and doing nothing?" Pyrrha replied with an almost cheeky grin, one that grew when her lover laughed, pretending to be affronted by her claim.
"Well that's hardly fair, you didn't let-" Jae quipped but then stopped once she clapped a hand over his mouth.
"Jae, I love you...But just let me enjoy this for now." Pyrrha said as she nuzzled into the crook of his neck, unintentionally giving Jae a view of her bare back that was partially covered by his sheets.
Jae chuckled as she removed her hand and lay back, feeling the warmth of her bare body pressed against his slowly lulling him back into the warm confines of sleep. "Of course, Pyrrha. Sleep well."
"You, too." She mumbled with a mix of a command and an invitation, but he followed it anyway as they fell asleep together again, their legs intertwined and breathing as one.
—
Jae opened his eyes to the blinding rays of sunlight once more, and a lightness on his chest which made his heart subconscious tighten. He looked beside him, only to find the absence of another, the only hint of Pyrrha being the warm smile that he kept as the wallpaper on his Scroll and the memories that haunted him with their last times together.
Another goddamn dream.
With that agonising reminder that he was conscious in reality; He sat up in his sleeping bag and found it curious that he wasn't feeling that dull ache in his shoulder, he rolled his shoulders and prepared to get himself ready for their next leg.
"You're gonna run yourself ragged…" Qrow said as he stood over the kid; The bandages that wrapped around his chest looked clean, though Jae wasn't sure if it was some sort of heightened sense but he could smell that odour of poison on him, on top of the fact that he looked like he had been awake for hours made his eyes look a little more bloodshot than normal. "Going missing for hours and doing Gods know what…I'm not gonna tell you how to lead a team but you need to rest as well."
Jae sighed, the silence was welcoming for the moment that he had earlier but now this voice was clearer and made it difficult to shut out since it was practically in his face. "I'm not doing this now…We need to get to Mistral and I had to make sure no one and nothing is after us, especially after that bomb you dropped." He pointed out as he was feeling a little more irritable that Qrow was lecturing him on top of the burning feeling in his stomach.
"And what do you think is gonna happen when you're putting everyone else at risk because you feel like the Big, Bad Demon?" Qrow said with a glowering look; "Because with the way you're going…You're gonna end up mauled by a Grimm before you even get to Mistral, what do you think Ruby's going to say when she finds out that you're being like this?"
"As long as I can keep them safe…I don't care." Jae said with a rather dark tone as he didn't even look Qrow in the eye to admit it.
"Kid…Listen to me, I've been where you are; The frustration, feeling like it's not enough…But you still have people that need you and they do now." Qrow said as he then knelt in front of Jae; "And you need to understand that by throwing away everything just to be a shield is not going to do it…I've seen what that does to people and I'm not gonna let that repeat itself."
"So then what do you suggest I do?"
Qrow then got up; "You just gotta be you…If you throw yourself into being the Demon that people say you are, then everyone that cares about you will lose you too." He said as he started walking off. "Besides, it might hurt but there are some upsides to being Human as well."
Jae stopped when he thought on those words; Sure, he wanted to take as much time with the others as he could but at the same time…Everything about Cinder, Salem and now the threat of Relics being taken made it hard for him to think about much else. "I should go find Nora and Ruby…We need t-"
The sound of hoarse coughing rang in their camp as Ruby, Nora and Ren rushed over to where Qrow had been sat and Jae followed quickly after; The sight of Qrow in the sunlight had him with flecks of purple seeping through his bandages and he was glancing down at a palm full of what looked like purple. "Well…That's unfortunate…"
"What…But I was just talking to him, he was alright an-" Jae thought to himself as he was starting to piece things together; Tyrian had managed to get both of them but Jae was only holding it together because his Demon body was at least strong enough to keep him conscious from the poison, Qrow was tough enough to sit in Ozpin's inner circle but he was still Human. "We have to go…Now." Jae made a decision as he looked to the others.
"But we don't know how far we are from Mistral." Ruby pointed out as she helped try getting Qrow to drink water. "And even if we did, none of us can get a Scroll signal that can get through."
"I guess now's probably a good time to ask if you have an ability to fly in your weapons or not?" Nora asked Jae as she was trying to find a solution while her and Ren broke down the camp.
"No…The closest thing I can get to fast movement is Ripper but that's a two-seater…And even then I don't want to risk it while he's in that condition." Jae mentioned as he was putting out the fire once he cooked up some fish they had stored.
"Then we need to keep moving." Ren said as he holstered his guns; "We might be able to come across another village or at least find a sign to show us where to go."
Jae nodded as he and Ren both took some nearby pieces of wood and taller boy's sleeping bag to build a makeshift stretcher, laying Qrow on it. "I'll carry him but we each take turns until we find somewhere to stop."
—
Salem watched as Cinder blasted and hacked at the Grimm coming to attack her; She had been able to get a handle on her new attachments but she could tell that Cinder was restraining herself, holding herself back…Or something else was. "You're the little girl who wanted power, aren't you? Did you lie to me when you said that?"
Cinder turned her head away from the smoking Beringel that threatened to pummel her and then shook her head, every fibre of her being still craved strength even though she was still unable to speak.
"Then stop holding back!" Salem said with an irritated tone; "You are the Fall Maiden, if you are to be as strong as you want to be…Then you need t-"
Before Salem could say anything further; The large heavy doors opened up followed by the pained, squeaking sobs of the injured Tyrian as he finally returned.
"I'm sorry…" Tyrian collapsed to his knees at the door as he was still mumbling in a crazed trance, jumping from apologising to reassuring forgiveness back to apologising again. "I...Please forgive me…"
Salem turned to meet her prostrating follower and wandered towards him; "Tyrian…If you have returned then I assume that your task is finished, were you successful?"
Tyrian's body quivered under her voice but this wasn't the quivering that made him feel manic or proud, he had to approach her with the truth even if it mean his potential end. "I…I have not…The girl and the boy travelled together and I did my utmost to convince them but they were…unwilling."
Salem watched him with an unblinking stare, her expression barely changing but the slow walk past Tyrian towards her chambers made it clear that this was far from an ideal situation.
"B-But wait! I've made sure to redeem, my Queen! It was cut off but I poisoned them both…Qrow AND the boy! They won't be causing problems anymore, plus if the boy IS a Demon then it'll be a matter of time before he turns on those around him and massacre them like a rabid beast!" Tyrian said proudly as he kept trying to earn Salem's favour, "Hope is not lost! I have crippled them and stopped any chance for them to pose a threat...Does this please you?"
Salem stopped as she pondered his words; "So you've blinded the last eye and defiled one who could become a powerful asset to our cause…All you've succeeded to do is disappoint me." She said quietly and never bothered to look back at the man who was on his knees, practically begging her for approval.
Those words shook Tyrian to his very core; Every ounce of zeal he felt towards Salem felt like they were stabbing his insides before he began to maniacally howl and sob, his tail gone and his efforts had all but crumbled into despair.
Cinder watched in both awe at Salem's authority and the ease that she had at breaking him down, before it turned into shock at the sight of Tyrian turning his grieving hands onto an approaching Grimm. The sight of the most devout and unhinged of Salem's enforcers reduced to nothing more than a cackling savage clawing his sorrows away on a Beowulf was enough to make Cinder question her own sanity.
—
"Tai…Let me…Help…She's not coming…Tai…" The slow mumbling of Qrow's delirium was doing nothing to ease the rest of Team RNJR from their current situation as they travelled along the path.
Ren and Nora covered the front and back of the two carriers but they were both thinking the same thing: "This looks bad…"
"We just need to get to the next town…We can find a Doctor there or at the very least, see it we can use something for anti-venom." Jae tried to reaffirm them as he held up the lead.
"Wait, I see something!" Nora said hopefully as she rushed ahead to a signpost that was sat at a fork in the road; "Oh…"
When the others caught up and lowered Qrow down, they were able to see the reason why Nora's mood drop. "We're not far from Mistral…But it's going to take us through the mountains." Ren said as he studied the options but found that the only other option made that trek more desireable.
"Ren…We can make the trip but in the condition that Qrow's in…I don't think he'll make it, especially if we're dealing with less cover from the Grimm." Jae explained as he knew that while handling Grimm was feasible, the high altitudes and unsteady footing was difficult when they had to watch out for someone.
"Then what about this village, there's one ahead." Ruby said as she pointed to the other sign: "Kuroyuri."
"There's nothing there…" Ren said solemnly as he fought the urge to run for the mountains. "That village was destroyed years ago."
"But if it's abandoned, maybe we can find a house somewhere or medicine!" Ruby tried to protest the point; "At the very least, we can cut through the forest and avoid the mountains."
"It'll take too long…" Ren insisted, his voice becoming sharper as he felt his own emotions starting to rise. "If we take the mountains then we can see where we're going better."
"Guys." Jae started to try interjecting but the two were still trying to debate their options.
"But at least we can be safe on the ground, we don't know what's up there..It could be dangerous, it's not just Qrow that I'm worried about!" Ruby snapped at him, her own concerns were more circled around making sure Qrow was safe as well as her friends.
"We don't have the time to argue, we just need to press on!" Ren finally snapped back as he had a look of mixed frustration on his face and it was probably the first time that anyone in their group actually saw him get that heated.
"Ren, what's the-" Ruby started to try asking why but she was stopped mid sentence when Nora stepped up.
"Ren and I can cut through the mountains…" Nora finally spoke up and rested her hand on Ren's shoulder, her voice being uncharacteristically soft while she decided to compromise. "You two take Qrow around through the village, we can meet up on the other side."
Jae however paled at those words, his mind flashing back to the Fall of Beacon. "No…No, we're supposed to stick together! We keep each other safe!" He protested as he tried to think on a way that would help them both.
"Jae, none of us have time for safe! If we can make it to Mistral, we'll bring back help!" Nora stated and then gestured to Qrow who was in the midst of muted coughing. "If we don't, at least we'll have a better view of the land! Up there, we can see if there's somewhere else we can go!"
Ren turns and looks at Nora with a small, thankful smile, in truth he wanted more than anything to keep going with the others. "I just can't go back…Not there, not when I can still remember…" He thought to himself but then felt Nora's hand slip off of his shoulder.
Jae looks at Ruby before turning to Nora and Ren, there were about a dozen reasons in his head that screamed at him to keep them all together: The logic to not split the party, the admittedly selfish desire to keep what little people he had that cared around him…the fear of repeating what happened with Pyrrha. "Alright…"
Ren didn't need Nora's emotional intelligence to tell that Jae was struggling as much as he was when it came to this; So with as much hope of reassurance that he could try to provide, he walked over to Jae and the two gently wrapped their arms around each in a gentle but still equally meaningful hug. "Jae…I-"
Jae shook his head; "Don't worry…It's like Nora said, we'll meet up again soon…So promise me that you'll keep each other safe."
Nora smiled at the both of them; "We always do." She said and then looked to Ruby as the two picked up Qrow on the stretcher. "Besides, this isn't goodbye…It's just a "See you later"! We'll be back before you know it." She pointed out before hugging Jae and then doing the same for Ruby.
The four then split off and went in their separate directions, neither knowing what would come about but making the most of their promise to reunite. "They're gonna be okay, Jae…Nora's strong enough to knock a Grimm flying and Ren's got the sense to pick their right path."
Jae nodded with quiet assurance; "Yeah…I know they will…Just like I know you'll help cover where I can't." He said as he took up the rear in carrying Qrow, though he felt that familiar throb in his chest return when he saw a black bird watching him from a nearby tree before flying off.
Neither Ruby or Jae seemed to notice however; That the path they were walking was one that had been well worn…By giant hoofprints.