Chapter 1: Encounters

Nora and Ren were very keen explorers. Well… at least Nora was. Ren was more of a stay-at-home kind of person, but Nora would always drag him along. Nora liked the feeling of excitement and adventure, and would always go exploring in forests and caves trying to find something new. The thrill of not knowing what's out there was something she found exciting. She always loved the feeling of finding something new, because it made her feel like she had accomplished something. Like she had done something that no one else had. She didn't like going alone on these trips, so that is why she took Ren every time she went exploring. Even though Ren was reluctant to do so, he still did it anyway to make Nora happy.

"Come on Ren! You're so slow!" Nora said with impatience in her voice.

Nora was skipping ahead while Ren slowly followed. The two of them were in the Emerald forest. Nora was seeking for an adventure while Ren tagged along becuase he had to.

"I still don't know why you took me here. It's getting late you know."

"Oh come on Ren! Don't you like exploring? I know you love it."

Ren sighed. "It's just…I don't feel right about this place. We've encountered Grimm here before, and I just have the feeling that they might come back…" Ren said uneasily.

Nora giggled and gave Ren a little 'Boop' on the nose. "Well you're just one big scaredy cat. We fight Grimm all the time. I don't see why these would be any different than the other ones." Nora said before skipping ahead of Ren again.

Ren sighed once more.

"Nora, you really need to be careful about these things. They could be anywhere at any moment waiting to atta-"

Ren was cut off mid sentence.

A large gust of wind followed and Ren was nowhere to be found.

"Ren? REN!" Nora looked around the forest to find where he might have gone. She looked around for him until she noticed a trail of feathers. She followed the trail left by the creature through the forest for some time until she saw it.

A large black Nevermore, standing on the edge of the cliff, with Ren in its mouth and his weapons on the ground. Ren still conscious, tried fighting away the creature without much success.

"Nora! Help!" He screamed.

Nora thinking quickly, pulled out her Magnhild, and shot a single bullet straight at the Nevermore's head.

The bullet hit the Nevermore's head with a loud boom. The impact drove its head back, successfully opening its mouth, but throwing Ren over the side of the cliff.

"Ren!" Nora screamed as she realized what she had done. She ran to the edge. "REEEEEN!" she cried out once more.

"Nora!" Ren screamed as he fell before disappearing into nothingness.

"Ren…" Nora said quietly as a single tear slid down her pale face. She dropped her head in remorse. She started to cry.

"No, No NO! What have I done?!" She said sobbing while pounding the ground.

She couldn't believe what she had just done. He was gone. She had just killed her best friend. The one she cared for the most. And there was nothing she could do about it.

Wiping away the tears, she stood up. She closed her eyes as she clutched her weapon. The fires of rage were burning in within her. Her friend had died. And she wanted revenge. She looked up at the Nevermore, gritting her teeth.

"You…" She said with pure rage pointing at the creature that killed her friend. "You did this!"

She dashed at the Nevermore, swinging her hammer and hitting it with all of her strength, knocking it straight into the abyss. A loud screech echoed throughout the emerald forest as it plummeted downwards.

Nora dropped her hammer. She collapsed to the ground, too grief stricken to even stand. She burst into tears once more.

"I'm sorry!" She said crying. "I didn't mean to do it." She said crying uncontrollably. The sun was starting to set. She had to leave before anything else happened. She wiped her eyes of tears, picked up her weapon and started walking back to Beacon.

The walk through the forest was much scarier because she was alone now. No one to protect her if anything was to happen. It was night time now and she was getting tired. The cold night wind sent shivers down her spine. She was startled by a howl nearby. Trying not to make any noise, she walked as quietly as possible. It was difficult to see the ground with no sunlight. And the thick woods blocked out any moonlight. She tripped over a loose branch that had fallen during her pursuit. She fell to the ground hard making a yelp of pain as she landed. A grunt of a nearby Ursa followed. Nora heard the grunt as she quickly jumped to her feet. She pulled out her hammer, ready to attack whatever came her way. Silence. Only the sounds of Nora's footsteps crunching, and the shaking of her weapon by her trembling arms.

Then suddenly, a crippling blow hit her, shattering her aura and sending her flying. She hit a nearby rock with a loud thud, knocking the wind out of her. She tried getting back up, but she was in too much pain to move. She couldn't even cry for help because she was too exhausted to scream. Even though her Magnhild was only a few feet away from her, she wasn't able to reach it. Crippled, exhausted and helpless, she sat there. Defeated.

The Ursa that attacked her started inching closer. It walked up to her, sniffed her a few times, and then stood up on its hind legs with a deafening roar.

A look of fear struck her face.

The beast looked down at the Helpless Nora, ready to attack. It lifted its arm.

"I'm sorry Ren." She said quietly as single tear rolled down her face. "I'm sorry."

The beast swung. Nora closed her eyes, bracing for the attack.

Then she woke up.