Family.
It's a strange word, meaning those related by blood, or marriage. Nora wasn't related to Ren, anyone could see that. They weren't together-together, so obviously they weren't married. That should mean they were just friends right? Good friends, but just friends (according to Ren and Nora themselves anyway).
But "friends" doesn't describe anything well enough. It doesn't cover the feeling of closeness that enveloped Nora when she was with him. It didn't seem the right word for the unconditional trust they had.
It didn't apply to the fear when he bled. The agony of watching his chest rise and fall, but not knowing whether those pink, crystalline eyes would open again.
The terror of being left without him, alone.
Again.
"Daddy!" A young girl screamed. She was looking for her daddy, he and mum were usually in the kitchen, laughing with her little brother, so she was going there to look for them. The heavy oak door was right in front of her, she could barely move it because the hinges were so old, but daddy never oiled it.
There were loud noises everywhere, crashes, bangs from outside, even screaming. She could see fire, it reminded her of her mother's hair, bright orange like hers.
Why was there fire? It wasn't the festival yet, that wasn't for months, and they always did the best candy and bonfires and she loved to sit and watch, and eat and laugh, and she always asked to be carried on her daddy's shoulders and he always picked her up and could they go see the man with the balloons? The pink ones, please daddy.
She could hear growling now, but not like her dog when he had a toy, and she loved to play with him.
This was deeper. Scarier. She was so scared. But her daddy had said she was his big strong girl, hadn't he? She could be strong for daddy. She walked towards the door.
"Nora?"
"Coming Ren!" she giggled. She knew she could be difficult, but Ren was always there for her, and she for him, so she hoped that made everything ok. They had been together for so long (but, well, you know), and she was closer to him than she had been to almost anyone.
Almost, the thought made her breath hitch slightly, like it was suddenly cold. Why did it suddenly seem cold? She shook the thought away, and bounded to the side of the boy she knew. She trusted, like you'd trust yourself if you were another person, but obviously that was silly because you're you not someone else right? What was she thinking.
They'd reached the cafeteria by now, and they quickly grabbed food. Ren ate fairly healthy food, yoghurt and fruit and nuts and berries and a green drink that Nora couldn't stand but Ren insisted it was good for her but she couldn't help but retch when she tried it because ewwww, gross!
Nora had pancakes. They were her favourite. They helped her think of better times, long ago.
The young girl with orange hair opened the door, with a grunt. It was heavy and daddy still hadn't oiled the hinges so it made a loud creak. When it was finally open she stepped through and saw her family there, her big strong daddy who was a huntsman and he had a big heavy hammer and he could wave it around so easily but she could barely lift it and he laughed when she tried then hugged her, and he looked at her with a wide grin splitting his thick golden beard. She saw her mum with her bright orange hair and a happy look on her face as she looked at her oldest child beaming at her, eyes wide at the kitchen and how it was different to before and she was so excited. She saw her baby brother, though she knew he wasn't really a baby but he was so young compared to her because he was only 2 and a half, and she was si...
No. Now she was SEVEN!
And the huge birthday banner across the top of the kitchen was bright blue and pink and it was so cool and there, on the table was her favourite thing EVER. It was a stack of pancakes so big that she could barely see her baby brother and it was the best thing she'd ever seen and was it all for her? She looked at her daddy and his grin got wider and he waved his arm at the table telling her to sit.
"I'll race you," he said, to the scolding of his wife, though they knew she wasn't serious.
She squealed in delight, and ate far too much and was nearly sick but it didn't matter and when she felt better they went out and played in the park and it was the best day ever. There was a boy there, he had black hair and pink eyes and he was with the travellers that came through every year who always wore such exotic outfits and she loved them because they were so nice and polite even if they didn't say much.
And then they went home and spent time watching TV in front of a warm fire and it was wonderful. She was happy and safe and her family was there and she loved them soooooo much.
The ursa fell over as she rode it into the huge clearing, her ride seemingly ended prematurely. Ren scolded her, but she'd run off soon after to look at the shiny chess piece on the bright white marble pedestal. With this she could be a queen! And there were so many interesting people here, but they were all yelling and it looked fun!
Much later, after they'd totally demolished that Deathstalker (and the bridge... and the temple thing, but Ozpin surely didn't care about that right?) and they were gathered in the hall and they were announced as team JUNIPER which is a berry, and obviously the best name because berries are delicious. And she was with people she liked. And eventually they became close. Really close.
Closer than friends. After all, they were always together, and there's a word for that.
Family. She had a family again.
The deep growling was there. And so was the door. The young girl pushed the door with all her might because she was daddy's strong girl, and today she was eight and she knew they were putting the banner up for her because they always did and she pushed and it creaked because of the hinges and it opened slightly and in front of her...
It was black. It was big. It was scary. And the floor wasn't clean and the banner they always put up was torn in two and hung limp. And it growled and she was running and it jumped at her but the door was heavy and it slammed into it and couldn't get through and it scrabbled with its long white claws and then she was running.
She was running for so long and then the boy with the black hair and the green clothes was running next to her and pulling her hand but she couldn't remember meeting him but she didn't want to let go and she was so scared he'd let go.
But he never did.
He kept pulling her away from her home and towards the other people and everyone was screaming and she felt like screaming too because the floor wasn't clean.
The kitchen wasn't clean. Her mum always left the floor clean, but it was covered in dark stains.
And so was the table. And the burners on top of the oven which were still on.
And her brother's high chair.
And on the floor was a frying pan and it looked like it was dropped and it was covered in something.
Batter.
"Pancakes!"
Nora sat bolt upright in bed. She was panting heavily, and she was looking around.
Of course, she was in her dorm room with her team. Her new family. JNPR.
And Ren was there and he was looking at her with his concerned face on which she knew so well even though most people wouldn't recognise it because he was so calm all the time and she wished she could be calm like Ren.
But she couldn't. He spoke.
"The dream again?"
Nora nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He stood and walked over to her. She held her knees, and he sat by her, and put his arm around her and she rested her head on his shoulder and he whispered in his ear.
"Remember the good Nora. Remember your seventh birthday?"
Nora nodded again, and thought back to that day. It was one of the best days she had. And the pancakes reminded her of them. And she missed them so much.
But Ren was there, and he knew what to say. And he made amazing pancakes and they helped her remember. He was always there, for the little things that mattered.
He was her family. They all were. And she was so happy because of them.
And she finally drifted off to sleep.
"Nora!" A man bellowed.
It was in the camp with others from the village who had made it out. He was big and strong with blond hair and turquoise eyes which shone in the sun and on his shoulder a massive hammer he could swing with one arm.
And the young girl cried out and ran to him and he swept her up in his arms, while his hammer fell to the floor and embedded itself in the hard ground.
She wept, out of happiness and fear and love and sadness. And he held her tight.
"I thought I'd lost you. I'm so sorry Nora."
"Daddy! I was so scared."
"I know. But I'm here now, I'm here. But your mother and brother..." he was cut off as she held him tighter and wept more. His eyes were moist when he knew that she'd come from the house. No child should have to see that. No man either, but a child... it was cruel. They were all the family each had left and it was heart breaking.
But she was strong. And that boy was good for her, so kind and calm and patient and the man took the pink eyed boy under his wing.
They weren't the only ones who had lost everything. The travelling group was decimated, almost only children remained. He hadn't really known his parents, so he wasn't bawling like the rest.
But he still needed someone to care for him, so the blond man took him in as well.
A small, broken family. But a family nonetheless.
Nora hated seeing her family picked on. Jaune wasn't strong but he was her friend and she wouldn't let anyone hurt him.
But he wouldn't let her help, despite her wishes, and she wanted to break their legs a little (but not much because that would be mean) and she was worried that he'd leave, and her friend would go and her family would shrink again.
But then things got better after Forever Fall. And Jaune was stronger now, as a person. And a great friend and they were all here together and Pyrrha was helping him be stronger as a fighter and soon he'd be great. She knew it.
Soon the tournament came, and together they worked so well. She and Pyrrha had advanced to the next round (Jaune honestly saying they'd be the best choices), and won that. From there things were looking up. Even if Pyrrha didn't win (which wouldn't happen because Pyrrha is the best!) then they could be proud of what they'd achieved so far.
The young ginger girl was slightly older now, and training had begun to make her strong. No real match for a trained hunter, but not exactly weak either, maybe capable of killing a lone beowolf if she was lucky. Ren was much faster, and better at fighting, but she was stronger than he was. His aura always amazed her though. The travellers had taught him from a young age; you need to be able to fight in the wilds, whether you want to or not.
Nora didn't yet have her own weapon, but she'd been trying daddy's hammer and she could swing it a little bit now, though not for long, or very hard.
They'd been travelling with others from the village, some of them very old, and smelly, or young and loud, but all of them were scared. They hadn't really been able to set up a permanent home, and at last they were heading to Vale to settle there. But it was a long road, and the grimm were always there, hunting them. Their fear attracted more, so the few hunters they had, like daddy, were always hard pressed. But they also earned money for the group by taking contracts to help.
He was on one now with a skilled tracker, their last before they reached the safety of the city, and he'd told her all about it. There were supposedly two beowolves causing trouble for a local village, and they'd be back soon. The group hadn't moved since then, setting up sturdy tents and proper beds for once. Nora, Ren and her daddy shared a big one, and he had some status as their best hunter, so they were treated well. And soon they'd have a proper home! It was going to be amazing.
Nora and Ren were meditating in the tent. Well, Ren was. Nora was chatting at him happily while he occasionally made small comments. It worked though, and this was how they focussed, much to the surprise of her daddy.
There was a commotion outside. Nora looked at Ren and he nodded.
They stood up and walked towards the sound, just in time to see two men walking towards the medical tent. One was the tracker. His grey hair was short, and flecked with mud and red specks, and his black coat was torn. His right leg was wrapped in bloody bandages, and he was hobbling, using the other man for support.
The other was of average height, and build. He had a black waistcoat on over a white shirt. His long dark overcoat flapped behind him. Strapped to his back were two straight, single edged swords, and two pistols at his hips. His hair was brown.
The other man was not her daddy.
They walked into the tent and the strange man came out and after glancing in her direction, he walked away. Fear gripped her, and she ran towards the tent he'd come out of, the one for the wounded. Ren ran after her, but she was too focussed to notice.
She burst through the flaps into the tent, flustering the man acting as a nurse for the tracker, before he realised who she was. The nurse looked at the tracker, who nodded. The nurse put down the bandages and left, Ren coming through the flaps as he did. The tracker looked at the ground, then back to her before giving a long sigh.
"I'm sorry."
No...
"We were caught out en route in the middle of the night-"
It was supposed to be day...
"-and there were dozens of them-"
There were supposed to be two...
"-all ursai."
Beowolves...
"We were surrounded. Your father wouldn't leave me, even after I was hurt. He tried to draw them off, but... I'm sorry." His voiced cracked, and he grit his teeth, clenching his eyes.
Nora's breath caught, it felt like she was choking. She couldn't breathe and her vision blurred. She fell to her knees, pitching forward when Ren caught her. He wrapped his arms around her as she tried to suck air in, but every time she did it came back as a coughing sob.
It seemed to go on for hours, and the next thing she remembered was waking up on her cot in the tent. Ren was on his bed as well, just sat staring at the ground, a sombre look on his usually neutral face. Her vision blurred again and she realised that there were tears in her eyes. Ren looked up and once again enveloped her in his arms.
They sat like that for a long time, she breathing heavily and occasionally leaking tears from her eyes, he just holding her.
He was the last of her family now.
Everything was painful. Nora could barely move, and nearby she saw Yang and Blake lying on the floor together. Jaune and Pyrrha were nowhere to be seen. They hadn't been there since before the fight against the mechs. Sun and Neptune had carried them to safety, and they were evacuating. Ruby and Weiss had left to save the other half of JNPR, but they'd been gone so long. There was a white flash from on top of Beacon, but nobody knew what it was.
Then she saw Jaune walk in. His arm was battered, his front chest plate had black ooze steaming from it, where he'd obviously been fighting grimm. He limped towards them when he saw them on the ground, Ren having long since given up trying to move.
"Jaune! You're ok! Where's Pyrrha?" Nora asked, hissing afterwards at her chest.
"I don't know." Jaune's voice was cracked, weak, and on the edge of despair. "She shoved me in a locker so I wouldn't stop her, and went to fight the woman responsible for this. Weiss and Ruby went after her, but... I broke my scroll."
"So you don't know where they are? How they are?" Ren asked quickly. His emotions were getting the better of him for once.
"No. I haven't heard-" Jaune was cut off by a sudden arrival.
A scruffy man they recognised from Beacon, with a grey shirt and a tattered red cape. Trailing behind him was Weiss, hurrying desperately and without her normal poise.
And in his arms was Ruby. Out cold or dead, they didn't know, but based on the way they were rushing to one of the airships, it was serious.
Jaune ran towards them, with Ren and Nora hobbling after him, pain pushed aside, if not forgotten.
"Weiss!" Jaune cried out after them. She glanced over at them, and she looked as if there were tears already forming in her eyes, waiting for one last push to fall. The scruffy man looked back as well, still striding forwards towards a bullhead.
"Go, they need you more now, Ice Princess."
Weiss looked stricken, she obviously wanted to be with Ruby, but the scruffy man nodded, and she reluctantly departed. She stopped and waited for the three, still looking at their departing form.
"What happened, is Ruby OK?" Jaune gasped out, still gazing on as the man leapt into a Bullhead, before it quickly took off. He started looking around frantically? "Where's Pyrrha?"
"Ruby was at the top of Beacon," Weiss spoke hastily, without her usual confidence, and still looking at the bullhead as it faded away. "I don't know what happened, Qrow - Ruby's uncle, that man - he wouldn't tell me exactly what happened. But he said she's okay, just exhausted and out cold from expenditure."
Weiss looked back to the remainder of Juniper. Her eyes were filled to the brim.
"All Qrow said was they fought the woman who did this." Her voice was beginning to break now. Jaune grabbed her shoulders, though not aggressively.
"Weiss... where. Is. Pyrrha?" Jaune begged.
"She... Qrow said she... s... she didn't make it." Weiss stuttered out. The dam broke and tears streaked her pristine cheeks, shattering the image of a perfect girl. "I'm sorry." She sobbed.
Jaune's eyes glazed over. They became unfocussed, as if they could no longer see her. His mouth slightly open. "No..."
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Weiss sobbed out again.
Nora's breath caught, it felt like she was choking. She couldn't breathe and her vision blurred. She fell to her knees, pitching forward when Ren caught her.
Ren's face was pale, his jaw clenched and lips pursed.
He wrapped his arms around her as she tried to suck air in, but every time she did it came back as a coughing sob.
But she didn't pass out, although the pain was agonising. Her chest hurt, like it had all those years ago.
Jaune was shaking. His arms dropped, and he turned back towards Beacon. He staggered towards it, barely making it a few paces before he stumbled and fell to his knees. His face was to the floor, almost like he was in prayer.
His fist slammed into the ground, with a loud noise as it impacted. And again. And again. And again and again each time louder and louder, and he began to scream in a cracked, animalistic wail.
There was a loud crack, and Weiss sucked in her breath as she thought she heard his bones break.
Then she noticed he was glowing white.
And he kept slamming into the ground again and again, each time the cracking noise repeated, and his voice grew louder and soon they saw the cracks in the solid marble floor radiate outwards.
Cracked and broken, Nora thought.
Just like her family, again.
"May I come in?"
The tracker spoke from just outside the tent. Ren looked at Nora, who nodded.
"Yes, please." Ren voiced. The tracker pushed aside the flap and limped in, his leg freshly wrapped, and no longer stained. He was an older man, with wrinkles that showed he'd frowned more than he'd smiled. Nora didn't want those lines, she wanted lines that showed she'd been happy, but now she wasn't sure she could be.
He hobbled over to a chair on one side, and sat down with a hiss.
"Thank you. I only wish we could talk under better circumstances." He sighed. His words were more eloquent than she'd thought she'd heard from a tracker. He looked at her then. "He spoke of you often, your father. Very praising of you."
Nora's heart leapt at that. Then came crashing down as another sob wracked her body. The tracker looked solemnly at her.
"He was a good man. But you already know that, both of you, and don't need an old fool like me to tell you. I came here because of something else he said. One night when we'd stopped for a brief respite." The tracker looked around the tent again, and his mouth twitched upwards briefly.
"He said he was proud of you, yes. But he also said you wanted to be a hunter, like him. That right?"
Nora looked up at him and nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Ren spoke for them both, for once.
"Yes, we both do." The tracker nodded.
"I see. He told me you've already got your own weapons, young man, but that you haven't miss. That sound right as well?" Nora nodded again.
"He said he was working on that. Said it was being made as a gift. Said he'd hidden it." The tracker glanced about once again. "But there's not many places he could hide it here are there?" He said with a smile gracing that forlorn face, and then stared pointedly at her father's bed. "I'll leave you for now. If you ever need anything, just ask. I owe you both that, for your father." He stood, and, wincing slightly, left them.
Nora and Ren looked at each other. With a nod, she stood, and walked to his bed, before crouching down and pulling out the travel boxes they used.
At the back, behind everything, was a long black case.
On top, a note.
Nora
This is yours. I know you wanted one like mine, but I couldn't help add a slightly more bomb-bastic twist.
Don't be afraid to change it, a hunter's weapon is their own, and nobody else's. This is the start.
All my love
Dad
Nora's tears fell again, as she opened the case. Inside, a long warhammer, with a huge head. She looked back at Ren, who smiled at her. She looked back to the case.
"Thank you daddy. It's perfect."
"But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it." Nora stated. That very same warhammer - remade, repainted and redesigned many times, but still fundamentally her father's gift - slung over one shoulder easily. It had taken time, and while the pain was still there, she felt she owed this to the ones they'd loved and lost.
To her family.
"Then let's get started." Ruby asserted.
Family was a strange word. Related by blood? No.
She wasn't related by blood to most of her family, she thought, as Ruby stood over that gravestone.
But they were family. Broken, cracked, and above dysfunctional, but family nonetheless. She counted most of her friends as family now.
What was it Jaune said? 'Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet'?
Friends could be family. So doesn't that means strangers too?
She'd decided long ago to protect her family as best she could, and though she wasn't perfect, she still strove to do so.
And she'd strive to stop anyone else feeling as crushed as she had, so many times now.
Because family is everything, to everyone. That's why she was a huntress.
And she'd break the legs of anyone who tried to hurt them.
So this is my second ever fanfiction, and my first MonCon entry. Had a few thoughts immediately when I saw the rules for this one, and figured I'd give it a shot. It's not perfect, and is too jumpy for my liking, but I have a penchant for past/present crosses, so tried to use them well.
Thanks, and hope you enjoyed.