Pyrrha sat up with a gasp, hand flying to her mouth to muffle the cry of fear that forced its way out of her. She fumbled in the dark for Milo and Akuo, craving the comfort of a weapon in her hand.

Instead, her fingers found only dirt and emptiness, and Pyrrha was reminded that Milo and Akuo had been lost a year ago along with everything else.

Her hands trembled and her heart raced, her nightmare having left adrenaline coursing through her system. I'm only remembering something. Only seeing the signals that pass through my brain. I have nothing to fear. Pyrrha took deep, gasping breaths, willing her heartbeat to slow.

Nothing to fear.

She glanced up at the night sky. Judging by the way the moon hung low on the horizon, it was late, and dawn was on its way. She sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with her still-shaking hands and shaking off the exhaustion that seemed to follow her everywhere nowadays. Just a few minutes, she had told herself when she had shut her eyes, but that had to have been hours ago. Long, nightmare filled hours.

She stood, letting her sweat soaked blanket fall to the ground in a heap; far too wide awake to even think about going back to sleep. Besides, sleep wasn't rest. Sleep was being trapped in her own mind until she finally scared herself awake.

The others were still sound asleep around the embers of their campfire and Pyrrha did her best not to wake them. They had all been through a lot, and they needed whatever rest they could get.

Pyrrha's eyes fell on Zahra, currently on watch at the edge of the clearing. If she had heard Pyrrha crying out in her sleep she didn't show it, she hadn't looked away from the Grimm-infested woods. Pyrrha had spoken little to the newcomer in their group-though Pyrrha supposed all things considered she was the newcomer in this situation.

Zahra was quiet and distant and had made it clear to Pyrrha she wasn't interested in making friends. She and her partner Aven were on their way to Mistral looking for the rest of Team AZSR and Pyrrha had gotten the distinct impression that they had decided to accompany RNJR out of convenience more than anything.

Zahra glanced up and Pyrrha as she approached. "You taking next watch?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Sure."

"Great." Zahra got to her feet, stretching and yawning. "I'm going to sleep. It's Nora's turn if you need someone to take over."

And so Pyrrha was left alone with her thoughts.

Well, not entirely alone.

She examined the others closely, making sure they were sleeping, searching for any signs they might wake.

"Are you there?" she whispered, nervously.

"Always. Unfortunately." Pyrrha didn't miss the note of sarcasm on Amber's voice

"Sorry. You're just so quiet, I forget."

"It's fine. Did you need something from me?"

"I just…I need to talk to someone. To keep awake." Pyrrha stifled a yawn.

"That was one hell of a nightmare." Amber commented after a pause.

"You saw that?"

"I live in your head. My Aura is connected to yours. Of course I saw that." Pyrrha could tell from Amber's tone that she'd be rolling her eyes if she actually had any.

"I'm sorry." Pyrrha rested her head in her hands.

"What for?"

"I doubt you're enjoying being trapped in my head any more than I am." Not that I really like having you there in the first place, Pyrrha thought, and then instantly a wave of guilt washed over her. She had forgotten Amber could see her thoughts.

"Well, like it or not, we're stuck with each other."

So we are. Amber had apparently resigned herself to that fact, while Pyrrha had yet to come to terms with the idea that somebody else had taken up residence in her brain.

It was Amber who broke the silence that had fallen. "When are you going to tell the others about us?"

This again? "I'd rather not talk about that." Pyrrha pressed her hand to her temple, where a headache had begun to build.

"You said you wanted to talk," Amber replied insistently.

"Not about that."

"About what then? Your boyfriend?"

"He's not my-" Pyrrha nearly yelled but stopped herself mid-sentence. Had she woken the others?

There was a long, tense silence. Nobody stirred. Pyrrha let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, but you want him to be." Amber didn't miss a beat, picking up her teasing right where she'd left off.

Pyrrha groaned, hanging her head in frustration."Please stop."

"Oh come on. Live a little. You're the only one of us that can."

"You are insufferable." Pyrrha muttered.

"And you're the most damaged person I've ever met."

That was low and Amber knew it. "How could you… I'm not…" Pyrrha found that her voice was too unsteady to form a coherent reply. She took a slow breath, composing herself. "I am fine."

"Sure, kid."

Pyrrha fell silent, steadfastly ignoring Amber's voice inside her head.

"Okay, I'm sorry. Geez."

Pyrrha still refused to acknowledge her, the hurt of being called damaged cutting deep.

"You can't just ignore me forever, kid. We share the same mind."

We'll see about that. She sat in silence until the sun appeared over the treetops and the rest of her teammates awoke.

Nora frowned as she saw Pyrrha already up. "You weren't supposed to be on watch tonight."

Pyrrha shrugged. "I couldn't sleep, so I took over for Zahra."

Nora sat herself down beside Pyrrha, a concerned expression on her face. "That's the third night in a row. Are the nightmares back?"

Pyrrha forced a smile, brushing off Nora's worried with a wave of her hand. "Nothing to worry about. I'm fine." Her first week back her screams had woken everyone else multiple times a night.

"Okay." Nora leaned over, giving her a tight hug. "Let me know if you need anything."

Pyrrha returned the hug before getting to her feet. "Really Nora, nothing's wrong. I'd best get ready for travelling today."

"You're running from your problems." Amber chastised her as Pyrrha packed her things.

"And also still ignoring you."

"You're doing what?"

Pyrrha whirled around and found herself face to face with Jaune. "Oh! Nothing, um… just muttering to myself. And packing. Also that." She ran a hand through her hair nervously.

Jaune didn't seem to pick up on her awkwardness. "Oh. Okay. Well, we're heading out in a few minutes so just be ready by then." He put a hand on her shoulder as he walked past to check on Ruby and Aven by the other side of the clearing.

Pyrrha was glad he wasn't facing her to see the way her body tensed involuntarily at the unexpected physical contact.

Breathe. Just breathe. Pyrrha forced her shoulders to relax, her jaw to untighten. Hoisting her pack of scavenged and borrowed things onto her back, she took the old sword she'd claimed as her temporary weapon in her hand. It was time to face the day.