Prologue
Jaune Arc gripped the small square box handed to him by the bronze haired warrior to his left and dipped his fingers into it rolling his fingers in the powdered Dust. The last few Dust shards and rounds that weren't used in yesterdays battle were ground down for the ceremony. He took a pinch between his fingers and threw it into the funeral pyre in front of the three boys. It flared again in response to the dust projecting a myriad of colors and a fresh wave of heat. It would have been unbearable if not for his aura. Still starring into the flame's shifting colors that were once a fellow Hunter in training and more recently, more importantly, his good friend he held the box up to the short tempered leader on his right.
Unlike the two shorter boys next to him, faces held as stone against their grief, Cardin's tears flowed freely as he dipped his fingers into the box and threw his bit of Dust onto the flames creating another wave of heat and burst of shifting colors. As his best friend Dove Bronzewing had been given the duty of first sending, as his unofficial student Jaune was given second, and Cardin Winchester was given third as his team leader. The three boys moved away from the flames after preforming the first three sendings, a rite normally kept for family. Russel Thresh was the first from the rest of the three teams to preform his sending followed closely by Nora Valkyrie and Ruby Rose. Like Cardin and Russel they cried openly and unyieldingly venting their grief for a boy they barley knew. Jaune was jealous that they could. His tears just wouldn't come despite sting of tears in his eyes, the squeezing in his chest, or the pit in his gut. Despite the guilt he felt.
Weiss Schneed decided to hold the box for the two girls to perform their sendings. Their hands shaking too much to hold the small thing containing their only Dust for the ceremony until everyone had had their chance. Lie Ren performed his sending quickly, shepherding a still crying Nora away from the flames and onto a nearby bench, her sobs as loud and sincere as her normal personality. Weiss was struck by the difference in the two. Compared to Nora, Ruby's tears were quiet and strained but just as sincere. Weiss gripped her hand tightly and pulled her towards the bench with the two members of team JNPR handing the box off the their last team mate on the way.
Pyrrha Nikos's eyes had never left the blonde knights expressionless face. The three remaining members of team CRDL and Jaune stood together in a tight group hug supporting each other in the way she had only ever seen the men she had known growing up to do at times of reunion after long years or at times of remorse. Times like this. Despite his blank look she could see the pain there. She could tell he hadn't slept since before the day of that awful tragedy of a battle. She gripped the box tightly in both hands as she approached the funeral pyre with the two remaining girls from team RWBY. She decided as she threw a pinch of dust onto the pyre she would talk to him about everything after this. Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long were the last two to perform their sending. Pyrrha turned to head towards the group of boys and her knight. Unlike Pyrrha, Yang hadn't hesitated a full two strides ahead of her before Blake shot a hand out to stop her. She held Yang's shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"Give him some space for now. This is a time to be with family." Blake spoke to her. Yang's eyes meet Dove's blue eyes for a long second but he turned back to Russel saying something she couldn't hear over the fires crackling and shook him with the arm around his shoulders. She understood that look in his eyes. There would be time later right now family came first.
As if on cue to prove Blake right another loud sob rang out across the field and surly through out the small town. Without a word Yang turned on her heels long blonde hair cascading behind her and purple eyes stained with her first tears. She swept up the two crying girls into a fierce hug. Weiss wrapped her arm around them as well never letting go of Ruby's hand even still.
"Come on you too." Pyrrha felt a hand tug on her own and saw Blake with a sad smile on her face, "He's got the boys to support him right now but he'll need you once his mask cracks. Trust me."
"Alright then." Pyrrha said meekly letting the raven haired girl pull her towards the others.
For the first time Pyrrha actually noticed all the townsfolk surrounding the funeral proceedings many of them shedding tears of their own for a hero they had never known and even possibly never seen. She felt her eyes sting and the cool tears trail down her cheeks. Even after all they had fought, all the injuries each of them had collected, all the people they were able to save they lost so many and they had lost one of their own. Giving his own life to save more of the townsfolk around them now and Jaune was blaming himself she saw it in his eyes even if his face showed nothing. It was..it was so unfair and so much like him. The tears wouldn't stop now. Ren pulled her into the rest of the group with a hug.
She had never known Sky Lark that well but even she knew he wouldn't have been happy with any of them blaming themselves for his choice. A coward by nature he still put himself on the line when it had mattered knowing what would happen. He would have hated to see any of them blaming themselves.
Sky Lark had given his life to protect them and the people around his funeral pyre inside this nearly ruined town near the edge of Vytal.