Solo Missions
Nora Valkyrie whooped as she shot a grenade towards the Giant Nevermore while it swooped down at her. She used the momentum from her grenade launcher/giant war hammer, Magnhild, to push herself back, safely away from the Grimm's talons that could easily rip her in half. The ginger-haired woman took momentary coverage in the thick, jungle-like undergrowth, rubbing sand off her face in an attempt to keep it out of her blue eyes.
She was a Huntress, having trained four years at Beacon Academy in the Kingdom of Vale, which was halfway across Remnant from where she stood now. After graduating Beacon, Nora had gone on very few missions with her entire team, which, although not unusual for many Hunters, was not what her team had planned. Team JNPR, composed of the leader Jaune Arc, who was a world renowned Huntsman, greatly admired for not only his strength but also his strategic abilities, Nora Valkyrie herself, the Mistral-born celebrity and legendary Huntress Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren, a man Nora had grown up with and preferred not to think about.
Nevertheless, Nora found herself habitually waiting for Ren's voice to call for her to switch, before cursing herself at the momentary mistake. Taking a deep breath, Nora rushed out of the thick undergrowth and back out into the sand where the demonic beast was using powerful wing beats to create a miniature sandstorm. Nora swore, the grin that now only ever showed itself in the midst of a battle wavering. She used the crook of her elbow to shield her eyes, wincing against the sand as it cut into her arms.
Nora had begun taking solo missions, a rare thing for Hunters. At first it had felt odd, not having any backup, but month after month of practice on the field, alone save the monsters she faced, made the solitude seem almost normal.
Almost, but not quite.
With a giant leap, using both her aura and a shot fired from Magnhild, she launched herself into the air, out of the reach of the whirling sand but entering the territory of the flying Grimm, making herself an easier target. She gave a cry, kicking out her legs and firing another shot, this time at the Giant Nevermore as it lunged for her. The grenade patterned with a cheerful pink heart hit the beast in the neck, just under the beak, exploding on contact. The Grimm screeched, and Nora cringed against the grating sound, fighting the urge to release her tight grip on Magnhild and covering her ears.
Nora was deep in the heart of the Kingdom of Vacuo, the desert continent dotted with jungles and oases where cities sprung up, desperate for water and shelter in the harsh world. Vacuo's population consisted more of faunus than the other three kingdoms of Remnant, and it was easily the least racist of the four, treating both faunus and humans as if there were no difference between the races.
Nora fell to the ground, bending her knees and landing in the same position she had been since she was thirteen and had just began her training as a Huntress.
"Nora, you're doing it again."
"I can't help it! The more I think about it, the worse I get!"
He sighed. "You need to focus. Bend your knees, keep your balance, steady your breathing, and focus."
"I'm trying!" she groaned. She climbed to the top of the net and launched herself down from high atop the wall, landing stiff-legged once more on the mat before her training partner. She fought against gravity in an effort to keep her balance, but she inevitably lost, falling to the floor with a noise of surprise. She hung her head in defeat. "It's hopeless. I'll never be able to land right."
He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Maybe you shouldn't focus."
She looked up at him despairingly. "But you just said—"
"And now I'm saying this," the boy cut her off calmly. "I have to focus to land properly. But you're not like me."
She smiled. "Nope," she admitted brightly, popping the 'p'.
Giving an almost imperceptible smile at his best friend, he said, "Just follow your instincts. See how well you land then."
Nodding determinedly, Nora scaled the ropes with blistered hands once more. At the closest point to the roof she could get without hitting her head, she took a deep breath, gazing down at the boy who smiled encouragingly at her. She gulped, closed her eyes, and flung herself off the net, letting her body go into autopilot. Her knees bent unbidden and she felt herself hit the mat, unhurt for the first time in weeks.
Her eyes opened ecstatically. "I did it!" She flashed a broad smile at him, bouncing up and flinging her arms around his neck. "Ren, I did it!"
Sharp, huge, black feathers impaled the ground around her, and her heart dropped. She had let herself be distracted. Rolling out of the way out the Giant Nevermore's feathers as they struck the sand, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she tried to catch her breath.
She heard a loud screech, closer than it should have been, and Nora's eyes widened as she converted Magnhild to its hammer form, ready to strike the huge Grimm.
Its claws were outstretched, and Nora put all her force into the blow as she swung, but the beast spread its wings out of the dive, briefly slowing it, and Magnhild connected with empty air. The momentum from the swipe with her hammer swung her around.
The Grimm's giant talons connected with her back, tearing through the skin. Nora gave an agonizing scream, the word ripped out of her throat. "REN!"
But her partner wasn't there and he hadn't been there in years. Her best friend wasn't there and he used to always be there. The man she loved wasn't there and he would never be there.
And with that last painful realization, Nora's world turned black.