Hey there readers, Cluny here. It's been a little while since I did a one-shot for my AU, and I've been reading a lot of other works from other authors for inspiration. The one that stood out to me was a Ladybug fluff piece (because who doesn't love a little fluff in a RWBY story?) by PowerOfThePenName called Purrs and Cuddles that made me think of a pairing that I write about in Melting the Ice. No, I'm not talking about Frost Wolf (Weiss SchneeXRowan Whitemane) or Rose Wolf (Ruby RoseXCypress Whitemane). This one-shot will focus on Pancake Kitten (Nora ValkyrieXLuna L'Amour). In the course of this story, I'll be revealing a little more about Luna as a character and showing a new side for Nora, one that I think you guys may like. Also, those who've read Spring Time Love, this is set after that one-shot, so the characters are a year older. And yes as is the case with my past one-shots in the Melting the Ice AU, Ren speaks only in sign language due to an injury sustained in a battle against an ancient Grimm.
Okay enough rambling from me. On with the show!
Luna L'Amour, the fifteen year old Cheshire cat Faunus of Atlas Academy's Team WULF, little sister of Ferrina Ochre the Atlesean Juggernaut, and love interest of Team JNPR's wild hammer wielding grenadier, Nora Valkyrie. She was one of the few Faunus on Remnant that had more than one of the traits of her animal species. In her lavender colored hair were two cat ears, and tucked under her skirt – unless she was around Nora – was a pink and purple striped tail.
Nora and Luna did pretty much everything together, aside from a few classes which meant Ferrina would need to pick up the slack. Blake Belladonna, one of Luna's first friends she made at Beacon, was the only person she looked to for advice. Blake was more of a big sister to Luna than anything, but the black cat Faunus always asked Ferrina for advice on how to handle things. Most of what the two of them talked about was Blake's love life, something that Blake was uneasy about discussing so she only talked about how things were with her and Sun. Luna knew Blake was holding back information, but out of respect she didn't bring it up.
Luna's connection with Nora could only be described as a match made in paradise. To the kitten Faunus, Nora was like a ray of sunshine that was warmer than any blanket the Cheshire cat Faunus had ever slept under. But the one thing Nora didn't know was Luna's deepest darkest fear. And that is where this story begins.
It was a rainy day at Beacon Academy. Team WULF and eleven year old Cypress Whitemane were spending time in the dorm commons area. The group was spending the day enjoying a favorite game of theirs, Conquerors of Remnant. Umbra Obsidia, the strategist for Team WULF, was busy leading a party of five into the depths of a formidable dungeon on Veteran level. Ruby Rose ran her ranged DPS character, since Cypress helped her to create it only a few weeks before. Cypress himself was running his assassin character, Haze, a DPS and stealth specialist. Umbra's character was a powerful priest with a balanced number of damage and healing abilities named Brother Lumise. Rowan was using a character that only Umbra and Cy knew of, a ranger (a character class with phenomenal ranged attack accuracy and power coupled with speed and stealth that rivaled Haze's) named Dusk Shadow. Yang was running her character also, a berserker named Barda.
Nora, Luna, Ferrina, Blake, and Weiss were busy watching group have their fun. Though Weiss wondered why she wasn't doing anything more productive with her time, she looked out the window of the dormitory and saw the weather had taken a turn for the worse. Trying to study alone would be a bad idea; she had an aversion to thunderstorms and wouldn't be able to focus clearly on her studies. Blake didn't mind the rain very much, to her it was very soothing as she read her books and thought about her past. Nora loved rain, especially thunderstorms, her semblance allowed her to stored electrical energy to give her that edge in battle against Grimm and even human opponents using electrical weapons. Ferrina didn't mind thunderstorms very much either, she loved the sound of rain just as much as Blake. The gamers themselves used the steady hum of the rain on the outside of the building to help calm their nerves. Ruby felt a little uneasy when she heard the faint rumble of distant thunder, but she felt a comforting hand from Cypress and forgot the nerve wracking experience. This earned a thankful smile from Yang.
Luna, however, was a different story. Rain didn't sit well with the young cat Faunus, not since what had appened to her when she was a child. It was a dark reminder to her of what happened that night, the night everything was catapulted forward. It brought back the pain from night she was left alone in the wreckage of her family's home crying for the parents she wished would rescue her. It made her feel like the world around her was fading away into something morbidly dark. The silence was broken by the one thing that terrified Luna in the world, a clap of thunder.
The frightened Cheshire cat Faunus shrieked in terror, grabbed a pillow, and leaped behind sofa. In her panic, she pulled the pillow down to cover both her human and cat ears. Her eyes went wide and she started hyperventilating, all the while repeating the same phrase over and over at a once thought impossible pace, "Makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop…"
Ferrina looked behind the sofa with a look of concern on her face, "Oh no," she sighed, "I was afraid this would happen." By now, the rest of the group had stopped what they were doing, and stood up to see if their friend was alright. Ferrina looked at Rowan, "It looks like she's having another episode."
"Episode?" Yang asked.
"Luna doesn't like rainy weather," Umbra said, "she especially doesn't like thunderstorms. It sends her into these anxiety induced panic attacks."
"But why," Nora asked, "thunderstorms are so much fun. It's like Momma Nature's fireworks display." She smiled, envisioning herself leading a parade through the courtyard of Beacon.
Ferrina looked to Nora, "There was a heavy thunderstorm the night the White Fang killed Luna's birth parents." She said solemnly, "Since then, Luna's been deathly afraid of thunderstorms."
Nora's mood was instantly killed, "Oh," She hung her head, feeling very insensitive toward the girl she loved so dearly. She saw the traumatized cat Faunus' hands trembling in an overload of suppressed memories. She looked outside, and then back to Luna. "Have you ever tried to get her outside during a storm to help her face her fear?"
No sooner had Nora's questions left her lips a change fell over Luna like a brush fire. She leaped over the sofa and tackled Nora to the floor. Nora looked up and saw Luna's normally soft gold eyes had gone been changed to look more fear evoking with the addition of her tears. The normally calm and fun loving orbs were red rimmed from crying and her irises had changed to resemble an angry cat's. What surprised Nora even more was the amount of strength Luna's petite frame could put out. The strongest member of Team JNPR was being pinned by her wrists with the fifteen year old Cheshire cat Faunus' angered face growling only a couple of inches from her face. "No," Luna snarled.
Nora swallowed out of fear, "L-Luna?" She could feel tears starting to flow from the frightening experience.
"No," Luna said as tears started falling, "No," She started sniveling, "No," She hugged Nora tightly as she started sobbing while the mental break.
Ferrina knelt down and tried to remove her adopted sister from Nora, but the young Faunus tightened her grip in on the redhead's torso whimpering in fear. The crimson haired warrior looked at the display, "I've never seen her like this," She said, "but that's mainly because she usually clings to me or her doll, Sally and whimpers."
"Well, Nora's been spending a lot of time with Luna," Yang said.
"I know about their make-out sessions before curfew," Ferrina said, "I just hope she's not drifting from me as person who she can come to when she gets scared."
"She won't, Fe," Rowan said, "It's like Cy and Ruby with Yang and I. Nora lost both of her parents at a young age, just like Luna. They have a bond of similarity that connects them on a deeper level than it does with you or Ren."
"What about Nora's bond with Ren?" Ferrina inquired.
"Nora and Ren's bond is pretty platonic," Umbra said, "I had a few conversations with the dude recently and he clearly stated that he saw Nora as more of a little sister to him."
"Um, guys," Nora said getting their attention, "I'm still here, and I'm actually okay with this. I think all she needs is a nap or a bit of rest and relaxation and someone close to her to make her feel safe."
"What if she gets scared from by the thunder clap or a flash of lightning?" Ferrina asked.
"My semblance is based on lightning and electricity," Nora replied, "She's in love with a redheaded thunderstorm who just loves to have fun. And I kinda know your strategies to calm her down, she told me a few times."
"Did she sing the lullaby I use for her?" Ferrina asked.
Nora nodded, "I may not be the best at singing, but I can hum the tune pretty well." She stood up and felt Luna's arms grip tighter around her, the cat girl's legs wrap around her. "I just hope she doesn't claw me apart. I mean I'm the strongest girl in this room, but I mean even I have limits, we learned that twice last year with Ol' Greyback and Wendigo."
As she walked toward the door of the dormitory to take a quick route to her team's room, she felt claws dig into her back and heard Luna whimper in pain. Rowan looked at Nora, "Nora, go back to your dorm through the hallways. She hates being out in thunderstorms twice as much as she does hearing them."
"I've tried getting her to face her fears before, Nora." Ferrina said, "My parents scolded me about making her trauma worse. I'd hate to be the poor fool to break her of that fear."
Nora nodded and walked off through the halls of the dormitory building. When students walking the same halls looked at the sight of Luna clinging for dear life, Nora simply replied with, "Extreme fear of thunderstorms." This received a nod of understanding from passersby.
Nora was nearly to her dorm when she saw Cardin Winchester, leader of Team CRDL, and the rest of his team. Cardin looked at the burdened redhead and smirked, "Hey…" He began pointing at Nora who twisted his arm and pinned him against the wall, "She's having a bad day, back off." Nora said as she continued walking leaving the team of bullies standing in her wake. She opened the door to the room using her scroll.
As she walked in, Jaune and Pyrrha took notice of Luna clinging to her, "Nora, why is she hanging onto you like that?" The blonde team leader asked.
The distant rumble of thunder startled Luna and made her whimper pitifully, "She has an extreme fear of thunderstorms." Nora said, "Ferrina's giving me the job of keeping her as calm as I can until this storm passes through."
"Did Cardin see you with Luna clinging to you like that?" Pyrrha asked.
"He did," Nora replied, "I put him against the wall in front of Dove, Russel, and Sky."
"Oh for Monty's sake," Jaune groaned, "you didn't go to break his legs, did you?"
Nora groaned, "As much as I wanted to… no I didn't do anything to him," She said as she sat down on the side of her bed and hugged Luna who started trembling and sniffling, "I may have made him wet his pants though, that I know."
"At least Glynda won't be mad at us," Pyrrha said trying to point out the silver lining in the situation.
Jaune sighed, "At least we're not going to get into any trouble."
Nora cleared her throat, "You might if I go into the bathroom and change with Luna wrapped around me like a baby monkey. She's still a minor, remember? I'm pushing things by being in a relationship with her as it is."
Pyrrha walked over and gently stroked Luna's back, "Luna," She said in a motherly voice, "sweetie, do you think you could let go of Nora long enough for her to change?" Luna whimpered and trembled at the idea, "I promise it won't be very long. She's oddly fast at switching outfits."
Luna opened one of her red-rimmed eyes slowly and was greeted by a warm smile from the older red-head, "I'll hold your hand until she's done changing, okay?" The frightened Faunus nodded and took Pyrrha's hand. She released Nora and sat on the bedside one arm under her knees, rocking back and forth as her free hand clasped Pyrrha's.
"I'll only be a minute, I promise." Nora said as she dashed into the closet and zipped across the room to the bathroom with her pajamas under one arm.
There was another rumble of thunder from the storm that made every muscle in Luna's body tense up. As part of a reflex, Luna's grip on Pyrrha's hand tightened as she buried her hand in her knees. Pyrrha inhaled sharply at the sudden tightness enveloping her hand, "She's got quite… the grip." She wheezed.
"She is Ferrina Ochre's sister after all," Jaune said, "They must train together in order to keep each other in shape."
"F-Ferrina did mention that." Pyrrha said, "She said that… ngh, Luna wanted to, nrgh, be strong like her sister."
Nora walked out of the bathroom in a pair of pink shorts and a black t-shirt with the word "Boop" written across the chest. Luna looked up, released Pyrrha's hand, and ran and hugged Nora tightly with her arms and legs. Jaune watched as Luna's tail wriggled out from under her skirt and wrapped around the both of them. Nora returned the hug and walked back to her bed. She felt Luna's tail unwrap from her waist and wrap around her upper arm. She started humming a melody as she lay down. The Cheshire cat Faunus started to relax a little bit. "Jaune," Nora whispered when she broke for breath as she hummed, "could you get my stuffed bunny from under the bed?"
Jaune knelt down and brought out a pink, floppy-eared stuffed rabbit with baby blue button eyes, "Here you go," he handed the bunny to her.
Nora set the stuffed animal where Luna could see it, "Boomer doesn't like it when his friends are sad," She said, "Be careful with him, okay?"
Luna sat up and accepted the bunny. She held it close to her heart, "Thank you, Nora." She said. The Cheshire cat Faunus lay down next to the red head. Nora drew her in close and scratched her behind her cat ears. Luna snuggled in closer, her head nestling into the crook of Nora's neck. Nora giggled a little as she felt Luna's velvety ears tickling her chin, "I'm sorry, for earlier," Luna said, "I've tried before, I've tried to face my fear of thunderstorms, but it's always foiled by the thunder and lightning."
"The second half of the things help my semblance," Nora said, "You've seen me show it off all the time."
"Yeah," Luna said, "with electric dust, and that one guy's electrical weapon."
Nora sighed, "We can talk about that more when you feel comfortable." Luna inched back and stared into her Valkyrie's eyes, "Jaune, Pyrrha," Nora said, "could you let Ren know that I'll be in here with Luna. I'm pretty sure he'll understand."
"Sure thing, Nora," Jaune said, "C'mon, Pyrrha."
"Coming, Jaune." The redhead said as she followed the blonde out of the room.
Luna was half glad that the other two occupants of the room had left, but part of her wished they'd stayed. On the one hand, she had Nora all to herself. The knowledge of the object of her affections so close at hand sent shivers up her spine. On the other hand, however, she only had one person to comfort her. If things got out of control, Nora would be the only one who could calm Luna down. Nora knew that the Cheshire cat girl was stronger than she appeared. When she wanted Nora to herself, she'd drag her into an empty hallway and demand hugs or snuggles. There were also nights where Luna would push Nora up against the wall and started kissing her on her neck and lips. Nora asked her why she did that and Luna told her it was because she missed her so much. Luna surprised Nora several times with this tactic, but Nora didn't mind it a bit. Nora never told anyone outside of her tightly knit circle of friends, but she loved when Luna put her in those situations.
However much Nora loved when Luna pinned her against the wall, she only loved it when the Cheshire cat Faunus' eyes were sparkling with a need for affection. But earlier when Luna pinned her against the floor, the look in the cat girl's eyes genuinely scared Nora. She wanted to make Luna feel better. A stormy afternoon of snuggling with her, alone, was all she could think of to soothe her lover's riled nerves. Okay, Nora thought, Luna's calming down, and it's sounding like the storm outside is calming down too.
They lay there until Luna's eyes grew heavy and she drifted off. After a few minutes, Nora could hear purring coming from the younger Faunus. Nora stayed awake the whole time Luna was asleep.
Luna would sometimes shiver and whimper requiring Nora to rub her back or scratch behind her ears and hum the lullaby Ferrina told her about. Ren came through the door to the room and saw Nora's little snuggle session, 'I'll get dinner fixed up for everyone, if that's alright,' He signed.
'Good, thanks Ren,' Nora signed back quickly before returning her focus to calming the distraught Luna.
It had been two hours since Luna had fallen asleep. The sun was starting to peak through the clouds. Nora looked out the window and gasped. She gently shook Luna and woke her up, "You're gonna love this," the redhead smiled warmly as she turned and looked out the window.
Luna looked out the window with her girlfriend and saw what she was talking about. It was a beautiful rainbow, and it made Luna's eyes tear up. She looked over at Luna with a small smile on her face. She leaned in and hugged Nora, "You're right, I love it."
Nora returned the hug. "I'm glad I could help." She smiled.
Whew, Sorry for the wait. I have been kinda busy to the point of both physical and mental exhaustion. I won't be doing a Halloween One-Shot, so Nightshade Rose (The costume personality from A Rose Wolf Halloween) will be coming out in a One-Shot some time after Halloween. But Chapter 42 of MtI has a pretty strong Halloween vibe.
Also, naming Ferrina's character Barda... I must have unconsciously made a DC Comics reference to Big Barda, a member of the Female Furies of Apokolips, servant of one of Superman's greatest foes, Darkseid. I didn't think of it at the time.
Please don't kill me for this. :(
~Cluny