The path to the future is strewn with the bodies of the past.

Jaune shook his head, dismissing the unwanted thoughts that continued to crowd his head. These had become more the norm than the exception over the last several weeks. As he looked up at the streams of light sliding through waves of leaves his mind slipped back to that day, that horrible day. He remembered it as though he were still standing there, waiting...

...It felt like it had been hours by the time he'd reached Beacon. He'd arrived, gasping, only to find Weiss staring up at the flash of red streaking straight up the side of the tower...was that Ruby? Flames exploded from Ozpin's former office and the huge gears that had once worked the massive clock began to rain down, smashing upon the ground one after the other. Then there was that horrible, all-consuming blaze of white which made him think the pale moon had finally shattered completely... then nothing. No word from Pyrrha, no sign of Ruby or Ozpin, not even an attack from the mysterious witch who'd murdered the Fall Maiden right before his eyes. There was absolutely nothing. Nothing he could do. He was powerless. Useless, just like he'd always been...

"Jaune, how close do you think we are to this town here?"

Startled by the map that had been thrust in his face, Jaune jumped back a step and threw up his arms. Nora and Ren paused to snicker (Nora's was more of a snort), but Ruby lowered the parchment and looked up at him, concerned.

"Oh, sorry," she squealed, while somehow managing not to sound like a complete blond. "I didn't mean to..." She trailed off as she noticed the look in his eyes.

Jaune had always prided himself on showing as little emotion as possible. He had never wanted to be one of those really sentimental types, always crying or moping or being depressed. Instead he had tried to pretend like nothing touched him, like nothing really got to him. 'Like water off a King Taijitu's backs,' his mother had always said. Even after everything he didn't want to drag the team down with his own selfish sorrow. So he pushed it all away and managed to throw out a cocky grin.

"Whoa, Ruby, you scared me. I thought there was going to be a pop quiz or something."

Nora cracked up and Ren actually smiled, but Ruby's face told him that she saw through his attempted witticism.

"Anyway," he continued, grabbing the map while pretending to overlook her worried expression. "Based on how long its been since the last village, I figure we've still got at least a week until this next one."

"Oh man!" Nora whined. "I wanted to pick up some new socks. These are all worn out from all of this walking!"

It had to be said that Nora was less than a huge fan of long-distance travel on foot. As she trudged ahead grumbling about how she'd 'said we should at least get horses, if not an airship...', Ren walked over and took a look at the map himself.

"I think you are correct," he agreed, nodding toward Jaune. "But if perhaps instead we traveled as the crow flies..." He traced a path through the forest, away from the roads. "We could in all probability make the journey in half as much time."

"Every day quicker is a day closer to Haven," Ruby added. "I say we go for it."

"Did you say quicker?" Nora exclaimed, having suddenly and immediately recovered from her moping. "Whatever it takes to get me some socks. Let's do it!"

Jaune frowned. "We would be right in the middle of the forest. There's bound to be hoards of Grimm, not to mention bandits, brigands, and who knows what else. Its a lot less safe. I don't want to lo..."

He'd been about to say, 'I don't want to lose anyone else', but a lump in his throat prevented the words from leaving. Thankfully Nora butted in, twirling her massive hammer around in the air.

"Ummm...hello? I'm pretty sure it's the Grimm who need to steer clear of us. We can handle anything these woods have got!"

Everyone was looking at him. Waiting. Waiting for an answer. Just like he had been. Waiting outside Ruby's room...

...Her father, Taiyang Xiao Long, shut the door to her room behind him. Jaune jumped to his feet. "Is she awake? Did she say anything? What happened to Pyrrha? What was that white light?"

The older man stared sadly at him for several moments. Then he sighed and shook his head. "You should go home, Jaune. I'm sure your family wants to be with you, especially after..." He paused, swallowed, and continued. "I'll call you if anything changes, but no-one knows how long she'll be like this." The man's expression softened somewhat. "I know that you're anxious for any news, but...the fact still remains that your friend on Beacon Tower..." He trailed off, seeing in Jaune's eyes the refusal to believe what was undoubtedly true. Placing his hand on the young man's shoulder he simply added, "You can stay as long as you need."...

"Jaune?"

Once again Jaune blinked back into reality. They were still waiting for him. At least this time he could give them an answer they would like.

"Let's do it."

Jaune slid his sword out of the corpse of the last Ursa. The few that remained were running back into the forest in hopes of avoiding the fate that had befallen their brethren. As he wiped the sticky blade on the grass he felt a pair of eyes upon him. He whirled around, but was met with only the sight of the swaying trees and the setting sun. He frowned, sure that something was awry, but unable to find any evidence of it. Shaking his head he rejoined his team, who were just setting up a campsite for the night. The thought of hot stew and coffee managed to almost completely overpower his sense of foreboding.

Almost.

The pair of eyes hovered unblinking behind the cover of a small bush. From the unwashed pot wafted the tantalizing aroma of fresh meat and vegetables. The small mouth began to salivate as it licked its lips in anticipation.

The sun had set hours before. The fractured moon was hidden behind a mantle of clouds. What little light there was glowed from the dying embers of the campfire.

Now the blond one, supposed to be alert and watching, began to nod off. His sword and shield slipped from his grasp, its sound dampened by the carpet of grass.

Now the pair of eyes crept forward into the clearing, its footsteps trained to avoid the slightest sound. With the patience of the trees themselves the creature inched towards its goal, freezing in place at even the most minute of noises.

Now the small hands reached out into the pot, wincing slightly as an incautious knuckle rubbed against the still-hot metal.

"Gotcha!" Jaune cried, grabbing the creature from behind. The other three immediately leapt up from their feigned sleep, weapons in hand.

The little girl in Jaune's grasp began to cry.

"Please don't kill me!" She wept pitifully, tears of shock and fear streaming down her face. "I wasn't gonna tell on you, I just wanted some food! I've been so hungry and alone in these woods and there were big monsters and mommy and daddy got lost and I couldn't find them and..."

The child blubbered on for several minutes until mercifully, either from fear, exhaustion, or perhaps both, she fell asleep in Jaune's arms.

The four friends stared at the little girl in disbelief.

"What. Just. Happened?" Nora asked, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't dreaming. "I thought you said there was some kind of monster following us, not a poor, lost little girl."

"I thought so too," Jaune declared, setting her down on his bedroll. Her face was smeared with mud and her clothes were torn in a dozen places, but she appeared no older than 8 years old.

"I guess all we can do is wait for morning," Ren observed. "Though I suppose we can piece together most of her story ourselves. A family outing in the woods, the girl gets lost, or more likely they are attacked by Grimm. She tries to find her parents, not knowing if they're living or dead, but just keeps getting farther from home. Based on the state of her appearance I'd say she been here at least a week, maybe more."

"How do you think she survived the Grimm?" Ruby asked, placing a blanket over the sleeping child. "For that matter, why didn't anyone come to find her?"

"This is more common than you'd think," Ren continued. "In these rural towns people disappear all the time and never come back. It's one of the risks of living in a Grimm-infested area. As for her, I guess she was just smart enough to avoid them. I mean, she almost snuck past us, and we're Huntsmen and Huntresses in training."

"We'll bring her with us to the next village," Jaune decided. "I'll bet that's where she's from anyway."

The little girl murmured in her sleep and rolled over.

"It's a scary thought," Ruby remarked, folding up her scythe and setting it on the ground.

"What is?" Jaune asked.

"You know. Being all alone in these woods, surrounded by Grimm, waiting for someone you know isn't coming, and completely unable to do anything about it. Not knowing if you'll ever stop running away from everything you've ever known."

Jaune looked over at Ruby. She was watching him closely, seeing how he would react. He looked down at the little girl with newfound compassion. 'And I thought my problems were bad. This little girl has gone through all the same stuff I have, and she's all by herself.' Seeing the pitiful child sleeping peacefully he found himself slipping back to the past once again...

...he was sitting outside Ruby's house, his back against a huge oak tree. Multicolored leaves swirled around him, forming patterns of scarlet and orange across the dying grass, but he paid them no notice. Pyrrha was gone. In his heart he'd known it was true, but had still hung onto some slight vestiges of hope, forcing himself to believe that somehow she had escaped and made it to safety.

But then he'd looked into Ruby's silver eyes, and saw, for perhaps the first time, no joy, no hope, only loss, only pain.

So there he sat, alone, staring off at the high mountains whose peaks seemed to mock him with their lofty serenity.

"Jaune?" It was Ruby. Jaune didn't even acknowledge her presence. So she sat next to him, staring with him at those white-tipped mountainsides...

"I just feel so lost," he murmured, echoing the same words he had finally spoken to Ruby, back on that miserable fall day. "Like there's nothing left to fight for."

"Ummm... we're not talking about the girl anymore, right?" Nora interjected.

Everyone glared at her.

"Okay. Juuuuuust making sure."

"Jaune," Ruby continued. "You've still got us. You're not in this alone. None of us are. We've all lost a lot, but that just makes what we've still got worth all that much more." Ruby looked again at the prostrate child. "Sure, we've been through some tough times, but we're all still really lucky. Know why?"

Jaune knew what was coming, but for once he was ready to face it, and to accept it.

"Because we've got each other. And that's enough to be thankful for."

The sound of Nora blowing her nose shattered the mood like it was glass in an avalanche. Everyone glared again.

"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard you say," she sniffled, wiping her eyes with her pink gloves.

Everyone continued to glare.

"What?" Nora inquired defensively. "What did I do?"