They're too weak and injured to protest when the airships take them away.

"We can't leave, not without Jaune and Pyrrha!" Nora croaks out, gasping in pain as they load her onto a stretcher. But the doctors don't listen, and they're whisked away.

Jaune is found later, wandering the streets, shellshocked and wide-eyed, and Ren has never been as happy to see someone in his life.

NotagainnotagainIcan'tlosethemagain-

Jaune's first question is, "Where's Pyrrha?" Silence falls and they don't know.

It isn't until Glynda comes to them, bearing a tiny bundle wrapped in red cloth, days later.

"I'm so sorry. Miss Nikos was an excellent Huntress." Her voice breaks and she hands it to Jaune, the leader. He unwraps it slightly, and Ren can see the remnants of her sword, her shield, her crown, warped by fire but still shining.

Jaune crumbles, and Ren and Nora crumble with him.


Nora is the first one to reach out to Ruby, Jaune is practically catatonic, going about his day in almost perfect silence, like a robot – except not like a robot, because Penny was a robot and she was so vibrant, Ren thinks - but Nora is pragmatic. She's determinedly cheerful, because somebody has to be. Ren has caught her crying when she thinks no one is watching, but he's never brought it up. It's not like he hasn't been doing it too.

The response is slow, but it's disappointing. Ruby still hasn't woken up yet, Mr. Xiao-Long writes, but he'll let them know immediately. Yang has been doing as well as to be expected.

Ren interprets that as "Yang is doing badly."

A letter arrives a few days later, postmarked the day after the first one, letting them know that Ruby has finally woken, and invites them to write to her. He warns them that she doesn't remember much about what happened on top of the tower, and expresses his condolences about Pyrrha.

"Ruby said she was wonderful. I would have liked to meet her," he writes in careful, neat penmanship. Ruby did mention he was a teacher.

Most of the other people have been moved back into their own homes, as the Hunters take back the city block by block. There's still lots of rebuilding to do, but except for a few stragglers, the Grimm have mostly been contained into Beacon. The students from other academies were able to retrieve some of their belonging and were flown out, but the three of them refuse to leave. Ren and Nora have nowhere to go to, anyway. Jaune is still silently stubborn.

The food rations in Vale aren't too bad. At the very least Ren can make something out of them. They've been spoiled by the Beacon cafeteria, Ren thinks as he pushes back the distaste at the measly sack of rice and slightly wilted vegetables. He and Nora scavenged far worse from village dumpsters.

Jaune doesn't complain, and Ren knows from experience that he's probably not tasting anything right now. Nora cracks jokes around the fire, and they huddle closer to her warmth. She's always been dependable. Ren may know how to cook, and how to keep her on task, but he knows he would have died long ago without Nora. He doesn't like to think about that possibility.

They find odd jobs around the camp and Vale. Nora works construction.

"I've always been good with hammers," she laughs as Ren rubs knots out of her shoulders and back. Ren helps out at the soup kitchen, getting extra food that is a little old to leally give out to the refugees. No sense in putting it to waste. The children of the camp need more protein.

Jaune does a little bit of everything. He scrubs floors and does laundry, experienced with the messes a large family makes. The children scurry around his feet and it's the first time Ren has seen him smile. He wishes he was better with kids, but he can barely talk to people he doesn't know. He used to be better about it, but at one point he just started letting Nora do the talking.

He meets Cardin in the soup kitchen line, and it's more awkward than he could possibly imagine. Most of the students from their school have been resettled. Worst of all, there's no line behind him so he stops to chat.

"Listen, I'm real sorry about Pyrrha," and ugh, he actually sounds like he means it. Ren shrugs, staring down at the tray of sandwiches he's supposed to be handing out.

"If you need anything, the rest of CDNL is at the southern camp. They've been asking for Huntsmen to help out with defense, so we stayed behind. You should join us sometime." Ren wonders if he could use his semblance to disappear from this situation. Someone comes up behind Cardin, and he starts to move on.

"Cardin, thanks. I'll pass the message on." He doesn't. The last thing Jaune and Nora would want is pity from Cardin.


They sleep side by side, the tent getting colder as winter approaches. Ren's in the middle, because Jaune thrashes and screams and nothing could possibly wake Ren. Nora curls into his side, small and warm, the way they've slept since they were small. He usually wakes up with Nora's arms around his waist, and his arms around Jaune, pinning him down.

On weekends they join the hunts. It feels good, hacking and slicing and shooting and watching the Grimm disintegrate into puffs of smoke, drifting on the wind. They have to adjust. They used to be able to slip into well-defined roles while fighting, but without Pyrrha… They huddle around the fire and draw plans in the dirt, and Jaune lights up while discussing strategy, waving the drawing stick enthusiastically as he gestures wildly. He and Nora butt heads over her over the top ideas, and Ren just laughs quietly. It's almost back to normal, but then someone will say something and Jaune will shut down again.

Ren has seen this cycle, lived this cycle time and time again, but he doesn't know the words to say, or what to do to break it. Occasionally the teachers check in on them, when they have the time. The other schools have promised to take Beacon students, Glynda tells them, urging them to go.

"You've all made some great progress," she says. "I've seen you hunt recently, I'm impressed. You should continue your training. Move forward."

They've talked about it, vaguely. But the fear is still there, and it's paralyzing.

Whatifithappensagainwhatiftheyseparateuswhatifwhatifwhatif-

So they don't go. Not until they can decide together.


The letter arrives from Ruby a month after she wakes up. The last leaves are falling, and winter should be arriving soon. Nora's breath swirls around her face as she reads.

"Should we go?" The question hangs on the cold air like a ghost.

Jaune paces around the tent, then opens the tent flap. Nora yelps as the cold air rushes into the tent.

"I'm so sick of looking at it," he confesses, and Ren follows his gaze to the top of Beacon Tower. There's nothing left of her body, Ren knows that, but he can't help but think that she's still up there. It's morbid, the place where your friend died standing over you. Beacon, which used to grace the skyline with its striking architecture, has never looked uglier.

"I think we should leave," Ren says quietly. He feels like a coward. He always leaves the dead behind.


They quit their jobs, and gather what little they have. They don't tell Glynda what they're doing. She would never forgive herself if the rest of them died. Better to not tell her.

In the end, it's Nora's idea.

"We should hold a funeral," she says. "Put her to rest."

Ren's never been to a funeral before. He's seen plenty of dead before, though. But they have nothing to bury, nothing to burn.

So they each write a letter to her. Jaune and Nora write theirs easily, spilling their feelings onto page after page. But Ren has never been good at expressing himself. Concise it is, then.

I'm sorry I couldn't help you. Please, be at peace.

And as they silently burn them, he wonders if he's writing just to Pyrrha, or to everyone he's lost.