Disclaimer: I do not own any of the RWBY Characters. They belong to RoosterTeeth. (SORRY FOR THE LATE UPLOAD! I've been busy with Grimm Eclipse game... along with RP. But here it is, enjoy!)(Warning; chapter consists of mainly sad feeling - will lighten up nearing end of chapter)
Note; Story will be broken into small parts; Several Days, 6 Months, then a Year; the year being where the rest of the RP starts up to the main parts I had planned. Each part will have views on both sides but may not have a lot to say; sorry if this chapter won't be all that interesting but I do plan to get it kickstarting off fully in Chapter 3. This chapter won't be the most cheerful but, there'll be some spots of joy in there :3
Note to Guest review about not wanting heartbreak, sorry if this chapter will be hard to read; BUT I PROMISE YOU, it'll work out in the end :)
Parts will be small because I aim to do more on the one year mark. Sorry for any sloppy typing!
Special thanks to; Kaci! :3 the RP has given me some stuff to type for the last part of the chapter!
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Orange Lotus
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Chapter Two - Lonely
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Several days after seperation
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News had spread far and wide of thew new Grimm. it's rampaging at the harbour town along with an attack on the harbour town across from it; the village across from where the team had originally planned to go to next; where Jaune and Ren currently were. Sat on the edge of the bed, Jaune watched the news on the old television the inn room had; "following the reports on the monstrous, and very powerful, Grimm have sprung up in yet another harbour; thousands are wounded and many more reported missing or dead" the news reporter on the screen spoke "due to this serious event, all transportation via ocean has been cancelled until further notice as several more sightings have been seen. Until then, we can only hope that Huntsmen and Huntresses are capable of bringing this beast down and soon. Back to you Tom-"
Jaune sighs and turns the television off, dropping the remote and burrying his face into them as he sobbed quietly, rocking at the edge of the bed lightly. The last few days had become very tough for him; two days across that dangerous land bridge with a very silent and unpredictable Ren had been very unnerving for him, and just today the town they were currently resting at had been attacked by a large horde of Beowolf; leaving many injured and dead. He had tried to contact both Ruby's and Nora's scrolls but none had answered; always having a flatline tone. He tried to think that maybe their scrolls were destroyed in all the chaos like Ren's was and almost his own but he was just starting to overthink things far too much, starting to think that they truly were... gone...
Ren, however, he was sat by the window watching a heavy rainstorm roll in and he hadn't even bothered to even talk to Jaune once, nor even eat more than just an energy bar. He had never felt so lost, he couldn't describe just how alone he was feeling right now and Jaune didn't question it for he knew that pretty much every single day for most of his life the cheerful, orange haired woman had been there almost every single second and now with the thought that she was dead? It put him into an all time low and he had withdrawn into his shell, remembering all the good times they had shared and all of those special, tender moments where he would be drowned in her affection and sometimes surprising her with his own moments. Regardless... he was happy he had the chance to experience something as amazing as the time he shared with her, he just felt so lonely now that all of that was ripped away from him so suddenly. His thoughts drift back to the very last moment they shared alone together, sharing only the tenderest of affection 'you should have just kissed her...' he thought to himself, looking down into his lap where his hands were cupped around each other. He surely would have as well if the door hadn't have been knocked on that very moment; which caused her to jump away out of reaction.
Jaune looked over to him with worry as he dried his eyes lazily, he knew they should keep on with their set goal, it would take them several months to reach the other side of the continent as planned, and then the same amount to get back to this area before they returned to familiar places. He could see how far Ren had distanced himself and started to think that right now thee was no getting through to him as he lays back on the bed. The inn room looked grimey and old but it was all they could get and the single beds had uncomfortable matresses and horribly thin blankets that wouldn't even keep them warm. With a sigh he sat back up, stood, and then left to stand at the inn's exit for some fresh air as he thought to himself 'if I had known this was going to happen... I wouldn't have been such a coward when trying to say how I felt...' he thought to himself, toeing at the ground lightly as he thought. It had taken him a while to develop feelings for the sweet Ruby Rose, and from the moment he had realised that they only grew stronger.
He smiled slightly to himself as he remembered all of the times where she would break down laughing at his foolish attempts to tell her how he felt, even though it made him mad back then it gave him some comfort right now. In a way, he kind of liked it; her laughter was like music to him and her smile was just so sweet it could make you feel like you were melting away. Giving a slight, sad chuckle he looked up at the raining sky before turning his head to see Ren leave the building and walked off down the street "I'm going off ahead... I just want to get this search over and done with then go back to what I know" he stated firmly. Without second thought, Jaune ran to get his things from the inn room and quickly followed after the man, catching up easily as he walked at his side "yeah... I can agree on you with that" came his mumbled reply. He could see Ren was tired, he himself was tired, but neither of them could sleep and right now they wanted to get their minds off of all the gloom and just try and find some peace of mind for a little while. Hopefully their travels will help them deal with the pain a little better as they walk off into the rainy village; headed for their next destination.
Back on the other side, Ruby was comforting a wailing Nora who was hunched into the corner of their inn room, hugging her legs to her chest and hiding her face into the back of her knees. She was happy a moment ago, smiling away to herself then all of a sudden burst into a fit of uncontrollable tears which had shaken Ruby from sleep. Ruby had been having a hard time sleeping, only having gotten a few hours here and there over the past week but she wouldn't complain about losing out on this one if it meant trying to comfort her "hey, come on, calm down" she said softly, wrapping her arms around the ball known as Nora as she stroked her hair in a soothing way but Nora just continued to wail "it's not fair! Stupid Grimm! Stupid unstable rocky land bridge!" she complained "and now... now they probably think we're dead..." she mumbled, sobbing more "wh-what if th-they're dead...?" she choked out and Ruby sighs "don't ever think like that, I'm sure they're okay!" she tried to reassure.
Nora looked up at her with tear filled eyes "come on Nora... you know Ren a lot better than I do and I know Jaune just as much as you do. I think they're fine and I know you can think that too" Ruby stated "Jaune's smart and so is Ren, the only thing we can do is just keep going no matter what..." she continues, drying her friends wet face and slowly managing to defuse her crying fit. "Jaune likes you, you know that?" Nora spoke up after a long silence and Ruby just gave a small smile "yeah I know, but it's kinda cute and funny when he tries saying it. I guess I'm a little mean for keeping him going but... I want to hear him say it first, you know?" Ruby replied, watching the ceiling in thought "but... if I knew this would happen I would have told him first" she added with a mumble, fidgetting slightly in thought. Nora stared into the room silently as she listened, looking over when she was questioned "what about you, Nora? It's... kinda obvious" Ruby said and Nora gave a sigh.
"yeah, I like him. A lot... It's always been me and him before we started making friends at academies... well, mostly me making friends" Nora started, sighing slightly "he has pulled me through some very rough times and out of a lot of trouble, he'd get mad but then he'd make it upto me somehow for putting me down so much by getting upset with me" she gave a slight chuckle, remembering the day on the pier "I just wish... I knew how he really felt. He's so hard to read sometimes and that was always one thing I could never figure out about him" she added. Ruby gave a smile "well, I think he likes you. I have caught him looking when he thinks no one's paying any attention to him" Ruby stated, making Nora give a small smile and a blush at the thought of that which in turn made Ruby smile "they're fine, Nora... I just know they are, and we have to stay strong no matter what. If we just sit around and give up then we won't get anything done. So I say we get some sleep and in the morning we go and help the villagers to get our minds off of things for a little" Ruby suggested, pulling Nora to her feet and giving her a huge.
Nora gave a sigh and returned the hug "thanks, Ruby..." she mumbled, pulling away and crawling onto the bed with a lazy slump, grabbing a pillow and holding it over the back of her head as she slumps to her belly. Ruby watched for a moment before shuffling back over to her own bed, laying down and staring at the ceiling in thought. Eventually she found herself falling asleep after she heard the usual sleep mumbling coming from Nora, happy that her friend was at least getting some rest.
The next day Ruby had woken long before Nora, seeing she was still asleep. She knew the orange haired woman hadn't had much rest so she let her be, leaving the inn and looking around the town; offering her help to whoever needed it before reaching the town's blacksmith to see if Nora's weapon had been repaired. Ruby stayed around the village for a few hours giving her help before returning back to the inn with a restored and fully polished Magnhild, seeing Nora was still sleeping. Placing Magnhild aside for later, Ruby sat down on her own bed and just remained silent while her friend slept while she lets herself have her own moment of sadness 'please be okay out there guys... please make it back to us somehow...' she thought, drooping her head more.
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Six Months after seperation
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Ren walked through the forest, it was silent but seemed endlessly peaceful. The falling red leaves were all around and it seemed to be only him here as his eyes scan the area "how am I back here...?" he said to himself, eyes falling on a certain orange haired woman as she giggled "you never left, silly!" Nora said, giving him a playful push. Ren blank a few times and looked around, it seemed too odd for him... "no... this feels too odd..." he mumbles, perking up as his arm was grabbed and he was now being pulled through the forest slowly "oh come on now, it's as normal as it's ever been" she said with an amused giggle at him "you know, just us, our friends, the Grimm, breaking legs. All that stuff!" she added and he gave a small soft smile as she continued to pull him along towards an area with a small pond full of floating red leaves. It looked so beautiful and she stuck out so brightly against the red backround and he found himself staring; both in awe and confusion.
She tilts her head at him in question and smiles sweetly "hey, are you okay? You look kinda pale..." she asks, lifting her hands up to cup his face as he just continues to stare at her 'surely this can't be real...' he thought, trying to touch her face but felt... nothing... yet she remained standing there with a smile. Her hands on his face felt so very real to him, but he felt so down at the fact all his hands did was fade through her as his view turned black and he started waking to his senses. Looking around groggily he was no longer met with the gorgeous red leaves of trees but dull green ones and moss covered trees as he shifts ever so slightly on the branch he had taken sleep on through the night. Looking down he could see few Grimm lurking around in search for food as the first light of the day was now starting to filter through the trees. He sat up, rubbing his face and just keeping his hands there as he kept his eyes covered, as if to keep the world around him out of his sight; not wanting to see the loneliness he now had.
Jaune had been seperated from him some time ago now during their last stop on the other side of the continent, having been attacked by a large hoard of Grimm and having to split up to lead the masses apart to prevent innocent villagers from being in the firing line of the large scaled attack. They found no sight of each other after having dealt with the large numbers and had come to terms on they were no where near each other; now going on their own pathes. They had found out so little on Torchwick's remaining goons and had zero leads to a place where they could be hidden, deciding to just make their ways back and find a way across to the other continent to return to seek out the only others they knew for certain could be alive. Although not at each others' sides they were still headed in the same direction, knowing they'd meet up at some point during that.
Sighing heavily, Ren got himself up and climbed down the tree once the Ursa had moved along; having no interest for needless fights as he walked off through the silent forest on yet another long and lonesome day. Despite becoming more tolerant to the never ending pain of loss, he had managed to bring himself to at least eat when he needed to but sleep remained an issue. Many nights he found himself unable to sleep; using the lost time of rest to just travel onwards; his dreams were too full of sweetness yet too much waking sadness and he knew it would take him a long time to fully tolerate the feeling. He promised he would always be there for her, but failed to even make sure she got out of something as dangerous as the Grimm's attack and he grit his teeth, grumbling slightly at himself as he kicked a pebble off the path in front of him while trying to get his thoughts back on track.
After a while of walking he comes to a calm flowing river with many water based flowers growing at the banks and from in the water itself, taking this time to sit and distract himself with the nature around him. There were lotus flowers blooming in the water, surrounded by various water lillies and lilly pads and the light sounds of crickets and frogs chirped and croaked in the air at an almost constant. A soft sigh comes out as months of stress lift off of his shoulders slightly, having not had a peaceful moment like this for quite a while as he sits back against a tree and took in the scenery. The trees here were far greener than the ones where he had rested for the night, they looked healthier and more appealing. He watched the blue sky, only to avert his gaze as the soft blue would only remind him of those pretty eyes that looked at him every day with such love and adoration. His brow furrowed slightly and he turned his attention back to the flowers instead, looking through the various lotus colorations. There were many with soft shades of red, some yellow. a few light orange and one single very bright orange one that stuck out the most from the rest.
He found himself staring at the odd lotus, it was bigger than the others and it's petals were held more proud and strong; but instead of looking away this time he gave a small smile before standing and getting a closer look. The flower was absolutely glowing in vibrant orange while the underside of it's petals were a dark, almost purple. The stigma had a light hue and was barely noticeable while the filament and anther had a pretty baby blue hue mixed in with a light shade of white and a somewhat darker shade of pink 'even the flowers taunt me...' he thought, but the beautiful lotus was just too pretty to look away from. He had become so lonely that various colors and color placement kept his mind going, as if his brain was creating illusions to keep him from giving up completely. He sat down, watching the flower and just remembering all of the good times he and Nora had shared through the years, feeling only comfort and joy for a small amount of time and his senses had crazed for some comfort for quite a while, smiling to himself slightly as he let his mind lose itself in the quiet and safe little area he had sat down in.
Jaune, who was a full two days walk away from where Ren was, was currently walking around the town he had decided to rest in for a day or two while giving a helping hand to those who needed it. He had become so worried when he couldn't find Ren after the attack of all those Grimm but he knew that he was fine... he just had to be. Huffing hard, he pushed with all his strength to help a few others lift a large and very heavy plank off the ground; helping with some repairs to a building an Ursa had destroyed half of the other night. He was given thanks and walked off after he was no longer needed and instead helped an elderly woman carry her shopping bags after a little persistant offering. The elderly woman gave him a sweet smile and a little lien asthanks for his help once she reached her home faster with his help and Jaune gave her a bright smile in return before looking around. He had managed to cope easier with the thought of losing Ruby and Nora thanks to having so many people to help as he travelled on his way back towards where it all happened...
Althought they were several months away from there, every they had gotten closer their shoulders felt heavier and heavier; both his and Ren's. After seeing no one else needed help, Jaune returned to the inn room he had rented, sitting on the bed and turning the television on. This room was nice and clean unlike the last one which's walls were peeling and the ceiling full of holes. He flips to the news channel as he waits listens to the weather, it's just a shame he didn't feel joyed at there being a lovely sunny day for the next few days and he perked up as he heard the news report come on with update on what he wanted to know "reports of the ocean Grimm have not been seen for all of two months now without no sightings nor any sound of the horrificly large creature; it seems as if it had vanished into thin air, or so we can only hope... Following the events of the last 6 months, several Huntsmen and Huntresses have died trying to kill this large beast. leaving many others wounded and having to back out of their goals; those who have survived are fast on their way to recovery" the reporter said, the news was currently a live feed from the other continent and the area looked very populated and familiar.
The reporter continued talking "we hope to have confirmation on allowing ocean travel again soon once we are fully certain the large Grimm has moved on from major travel routes although some people are risking their all to cross the ocean in whatever water vehicle they can despite the law's attempts to stop such activities. Reports have said many of those who have tried never showed up to their destination while some have been found dead on shorelines, so we urge with deep concern that anyone watching this who is thinking of doing something so dangerous to please reconsider for your own safety and to wait until ocean travel is allowed once again" the reporter said "anything else you'd like to add for us?" the camera man spoke "yes, today we have a massive increase of people who have just come in from all around to help us prepare for the festival happening in seven month's time-" Jaune would have continued listening, but he completely tuned out the woman speaking as he saw something very familiar to him in the backround of the life feed which was dressed in red and black with a familiar cape blowing lightly around them.
He almost threw himself at the television as he got a closer look, seeing only little extra such as short black hair and silver eyes that were looking around, but he saw no Nora... he did however, see the red wearing woman throw a arm in the air with a smile on her face as she ran out of view of the camera and the blonde slowly and shakily sat on the edge of the bed; every sense in his body sparking alive as a grin grew wide on his face and he instantly grabbed his things, turned the television off and burst out of the room. He only stopped to pay the last of his rent for the room and soon sped off out of the building as a confused inn keeper watched the crazily smiling man ran off to who knew where 'she's alive! SHE'S ALIVE! I need to get back there... I need to!' he thought as he ran off down the streets. Running wouldn't get him there much faster but he was so filled with joy that he couldn't stop himself, he just hoped that he would ran across Ren along the way...
"Nora! Over heeeereee!" Ruby called, skipping off around a corner to grab the orange haired woman who showed little enthusiasm back, but she did give Ruby a warm smile as she let herself get pulled along and Ruby pointed to the news reporter, waving at the camera who's owner was too focused on the news reporter. Ruby knew that if the others were alive and were watching the television they would see them and Nora started waving as well. Although they didn't know only Jaune saw Ruby, they still waved as enthusiastically as they could before they could see the news report had ended and the cameras were off. Nora soon looked down, still being quite sad over the many months... her appetite was still as strong but her sleep patterns were very over the place and she found it hard to get a proper nights sleep... or a sleep where her dreams didn't turn dark and horrible. Ruby pats her shoulder gently "Ren doesn't really watch the news..." Nora mumbled "Jaune does, so even if one might not have noticed at least Jaune will have if he got to see the news today" Ruby said, trying to bring some hope to the downhearted woman as they walk along the busy streets.
As much as Ruby had began to deal with it more and more, she was still very down inside but she knew that she couldn't let that take over and her main goal had become trying to keep Nora going and it wasn't an easy task... many times she thought she was failing whenever Nora had fallen back into a very depressed state every now and then and she was only now starting to pull her out of another one. Nora straightens herself up and tries to keep herself proud and strong, walking alongside Ruby as she tried to at least keep herself up today and Ruby gave a wide smile at her as they walk from place to place to help wherever they could. They had decided to take up living around here for a little while since they got word of a festival happening in several months time and they certainly didn't want to miss it. They both agreed they would leave here after that to return to where Ruby's father lived so they could have at least somewhere to stay and not have to worry about anything for a long while. They were currently keeping in touch with her father via letter, hearing that her sister, Yang, had returned home and was doing just as well as their father was.
Her father had agreed to let Nora live with them as long as she helped towards paying for food and household needs and it had made both Ruby and Nora happy to hear that the others were doing alright out there. They had recieved word just days ago that they were all coming see the festival as well and they were to return with them after. They were currently residing at Mistral, finding whatever peace they could.
Later that day near evening; Nora had split from Ruby to have some time to herself since Ruby said she wanted to return to the inn to get some sleep, having had none the previous night due to many reasons of her own. Walking through the nearby forest, her Magnhild smashed down on the heads of any Grimm that decided they wanted to pick a fight with her. Huffing, she walked towards where the river was and just lazed around there, watching the sky in silence as she thought to herself. She didn't know what she would do sonce Ruby's father takes them both back with him and the others, she hardly knew what to do with herself now... every waking moment was always spent on getting her energy out by showing endless affection and love, but mainly just bouncing around Ren and pulling him around everywhere that was interesting. She gave a small smile to herself as she remembered those times, how he put up with her even if he didn't exactly like where something was going.
He would get angry at her so little, but she always wondered why he tolerated her so much but she would always be shown that he cares for her greatly and each time those affections were displayed it always lit her up and gave her so much energy as she would always feel so overjoyed by it; but now... She lightly toed at the ground and gave a sad sigh. There was no one else in the world that she would ever feel so strongly for in the way she does with him, and she might never see him again, or so she thought. She had her days where Ruby would fill her with energy but it was usually in the heat of battle or when something of great interest came along for the both of them and those little moments kept her going the most, knowing there's still someone there to care about her. Standing, she opened up Magnhild and roamed around to search for any Grimm to beat down while the light was still there, she would only return to the inn once the light had began to fade from the forest but stopped along the way to walk along a slow moving river where lotus grew; finding herself lost at the soft pretty pinks and various other colors.
Looking around, seeing no danger, she sat down and looked at the various ones with a small smile. She would often do this with Ren whenever there was nothing else to do and he decided he wanted to be surrounded by nature and it made her feel slightly less lonely for a moment as her eyes look over the brighter pink ones while many others had darker shades of reds and purples but only one was so dark red, mixed with purple, that it was almost black with a hot pink for the stigma, anther and filaments while the tips of the feathers had the slightly different shade of bright pink and it looked incredibally beautiful to her. The others near this color weren't as pretty and their colors were duller but just as pretty and she felt herself smiling more. Oh how she hoped to have days like these at his side again...
A few hours later, at the inn. Ruby had hardly gotten any sleep due to terrible nightmares, now sat on her bed reading until she'd get bored and doze off again, but instead she huffed and put the book aside before walking to the inn window and looking outside of it; seeing the sunset and Nora walking down the street, seeing she was coming back but she remained where she was while watching the sun setting. She'd be lying if she said her thoughts of them coming back weren't getting lower with each passing week, as much as she tried to stay confident it had become harder and harder and she had no idea for how long she could keep up hiding it from Nora, knowing full well that her support to the orange haired woman was something that had become that of a sister like bond between the pair and all Ruby wanted was just to keep Nora as happy as she could until something came up that would pull them both out of their troubles.
She looks to the door when Nora walked in and gave a smile before it faded, watching her friend shuffle over to her bed before collapsing onto it with a huff and hiding herself under the pillow. Ruby remained silent and turned her gaze back out the window 'please come back...' she thought, sighing to herself softly before standing and retiring to her own bed for a night of very needed sleep with dreams filled with peaceful scenes and memories of her past, taking comfort in them even if only for a few hours.
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One Year after seperation
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Jaune had spent the next six months trying to keep up with Ren, calling for him to slow down as he ran to catch up as the man sliced through Grimm effortlessly as they neared the docks of the harbour town that was directly across from the very harbour they crossed over from on that one day that ruined everything. After having been told by Jaune he had seen Ruby, alive and well, on live news, he had made it his personal goal to get back to the other side somehow for if Ruby was alive then maybe, just maybe... Nora was too... and it was the only thing right now motivating him to show any form of enthusiasm as they arrive at the harbour town and Jaune now found himself having to follow Ren instead of going to the inn for some very needed rest "Ren! Seriously... slow down!" he called, stopping to catch his breath only when his friend had finally stopped; seeing the ships docking and leaving the port "oh... they finally brought back ocean travel? That's great!" Jaune cheered, grabbing Ren's arm and pretty much dragging him towards the ships and he gladly allowed this.
Jaune asked if the ship was travelling to Mistral and the captain gave a nod and said "yes, but in one hour young man" the taller and much older man spoke, walking away for what could probably be a break to get himself some food or whatever it was sea captains did these days. Jaune huffs and sat with a slump next to Ren who slowly lowered himself and joined his blonde friend "so... one hour and two days across the ocean huh..." Jaune started, more of a mumble than enthusiastic "this will suck..." he added and Ren gave a small, soft sigh as he thought "just grit your teeth... two days out on that ocean and getting sick will be worth it if it means any chance of finding them" Ren said, watching the sky and waiting "and that's if they're still even at Mistral..." he added on and Jaune gave a smile !well, if they're not... we'll just have to go find Ruby's house and start from there!" the blonde chimed out, trying to gain some enthusiasm back to his mind while Ren gave a nod in agreement.
Ren gave a slight yawn as he sat in silence while Jaune thought up a plan for them to do when they'd reach Mistral, the best idea to simply ask around if anyone had seen any specific details such as hair and eyes and of course; weapons. Magenta eyes scan over the ocean lazily as thoughts rushed through his mind... they were so close to where it all happened and it unnerved him so very badly. Jaune watched his friend stare off blankly, seeing instantly that he wasn't as enthusiastic as before and places a hand on his shoulder to get his attention "hey... we'll find them" he said, trying to help raise Ren's spirits slightly which didn't do much at all, but at least he got a small nod in reply as they both watched over the ocean. They knew that Grimm was down in the depths somewhere... lurking... waiting... both would be lying if they said they didn't feel scared of the beast, but both knew the harsh reality that if it came back; Huntsmen and Huntresses from all around would be called on; including them...
Several hours later, Jaune would be on the deck of the ship while Ren decided he would try to at least get SOME sleep, which probably wasn't going too well. Groaning, he slouched over the railings as his stomach threatened to empty it's contents as he faught the urge to just let go right there and then 'stupid boat... stupid motion sickness...' he thought, groaning once more as he watched the few people who were outside in the cold night air that was breezing over the ocean as the sun was beginning to set. He saw their smiling faces as they walked around, minding their own business and conversing with those they boarded with... it was such a lovely sight to see and he gave a joyful, soft smile before he leaned over the railings once more with an even louder groan of distress while a few people nearby giggled and chuckled at him; but at least he wasn't alone... a young teenager across the other side was making just as much noise as their own stomach gave them motion sickness hell. Jaune knew this was going to suck... but he also knew it was going to be far more worth it by dealing with this if it meant seeing Ruby and Nora again.
After several moments he regained himself a little and decided to walk around while he finally had some peace from his unhappy stomach while watching the sunset 'it's so pretty seeing it out here...' he thought, sighing to himself as his thoughts continued 'only two more days... two more and then... what then? What if... they're gone from there, and they're not at Ruby's old house? Ah stop worrying yourself Jaune... you saw it. She's out there, alive and hopefully well, hopefully Nora as well... I guess there's no point worrying on it untill we reach Mistral and look around for them-' his thoughts stopped as he groaned, once again fighting against his stomach, whining to himself and muttering, annoyed, about his stupid motion sickness, he would remain there for several more hours before he would be capable of returning to the cabin.
In the cabin, Ren sat on his bed with elbows on his legs and hands resting at the sides of his face as he propped his head up with them, chin neatly placed in his palms as he watched the sunset in silence. The golden, red and orange blended into the darkening blue sky beautifully and for a short moment he found some peace staring into the exquisite as he remembered the times where he had shared these moments with the others, usually just with Nora and those nights were always the most comforting after long hard days. The memory was beautiful and he had become so lost to it that he turned his head to look to his side, almost seeing her smiling face looking back at him but there were only boring old wooden walls to be seen and he gave a deep sigh, laying back as he continued to watch the gorgeous view 'it's going to be a long night...' he thought, not finding himself to feel tired, nor did he exactly want to sleep; not wanting to wake from another dream to find out everything that felt real wasn't even there. He would end up dozing off several hours on, not even Jaune coming into the room disturbed him.
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The rest of their time on the ship was as uneventful as the previous days before, both staying quiet and only chatting slightly every now and then before conversation went dry and they'd end up wandering off around the ship doing their own things but now they were both stood on deck as the ship began to dock. They arrived during the sunrise but even now people were starting to wake and do readying towards their daily jobs. The town seemed colorful and welcoming but it was simply just a small town with a harbour and a long stretch of footpath that lead directly up into Mistral itself, and being unable to wait any longer the pair had decided to jump off the ship and down onto the docks before it had finished stopping fully while confusing several people along the way as they both took off through the streets with a sprinting start and for a change, Jaune was actually keeping up with Ren as his excitement of finally being there took over.
Their eyes scanned everything along the way in hopes of finding any hints or sights of their friends but they would find none as they ran off along the very long and steep footpath where only very few people walked; mainly those with carts delivering resources back and forth between the harbour and the city. It would take them an hour to reach the other side and they stop to catch their breath right outside the city gates which were open ready for travellers and business carts to arrive and leave and the morning noise had started to pick up as they enter and look around, asking anyone if they had seen Nora and Ruby but no one could supply them with the information they needed even as they went deeper into the city. Jaune stops at an information desk area and looked at the city map, having heard the festival would be happening right in the middle of the entire place and that must have been where the news had been broadcasted; is what he was guessing. He looked to Ren before walking away and towards where they needed to be "so... we should probably find an inn at some point" Ren spoke up, sounding distracted as he gazed over the growing sea of people.
Jaune gave a nod of agreement "yes, but we have a lot of places to go around first" he said, also scanning the area around him "everyone we've asked here hasn't seen them... maybe they've been seen deeper in. We can't really start screaming their names, not a good idea to draw that kind of attention to ourselves sadly" he gave a loud sigh "I just hope we'll find some sort of sign soon" he stated and Ren gave a node "yes... but maybe we should split up. We can cover more ground that way" Ren suggested, having already vanished off from jaune's side before the blonde could even agree and the man huffed and walked off 'always in such a rush' he thought, turning his attention back to looking for any familiar faces, colors or even noises. That day had turned up very useless to them as they eventually found an inn to stay at for the night, telling each other what they found and whatever useful things they had heard; which was absolutely nothing and both gave an annoyed sigh at that fact...
The next day had turned up just as useless to them, and so the next... and then the next... and eventually; a week had passed with no sightings or news of their friends.
They were currently seperate again, searching on their own and Jaune was now in the area he had seen the live feed from, currently seeing the news reporter being aired and he instantly started waving towards the camera, hoping that maybe it would bring him some good. They had only just started searching around the middle of the city just that morning and were already getting some information they've been craving to get and now their search had gone to much higher levels and he sat down on a nearby bench with a big sigh, just sat there waiting. He knew that if one of them was watching the news right now they would come to him but what were the chances of that? All they had right now was only small hints and tips of people who had similar hair and eyes; having only come across few people with that description but none were who they were looking for. He watched the clear blue sky in thought 'that's if they're still here...' he thought, casting his gaze over the bustling city square in hopes of even sighting anyone familiar; staying like this for at least thirty minutes.
He watched the many people walk around with smiles and laughter, children running around while giggling as they play with their friends, people walking their pet dogs, people browsing the market stalls that fill the busy area; it truly was lovely to see so many happy faces and his gaze had stopped dead in it's tracks on the face of a pale skinned woman with red tints to her hair ends with pretty silver eyes staring at him as if to question the reality of what she could see and he stood instantly as the woman started running towards him and pretty much threw herself on him as an almost death like bear hug was now almost strangling him "JAUNE! YOU'RE ALIVE!" her voice squealed out before she broke down into a sobbing mess from pure joy as he got over the shock of such a powerful hold and gave her an equally as firm hug back while giving a small chuckle "yeah... I could say the same for you..." he said, smiling at her when she pulled back, wiping her face free of the happy tears.
"wow you look rough..." she said, giving a small chuckle as she watched him. He looked tired, sleepless nights not helping "yeah... it's... well it's been really rough for us... you think I'm looking rough, wait till you see Ren! He has more black lines under his eyes than me!" Jaune said, trying to at least make light of the topic "REN'S ALIVE?! OH MY GOSH! WE NEED TO FIND HIM!" Ruby screamed out, startling several people nearby who shuffle away with uncomfortable stares at the sudden loudness and Jaune gave a nervous smile to the ones looking while placing his hands on Ruby's shoulders "yeah we'll uh... ah... we'll do that in a little" he said with a nervous chuckle, pulling her along and away from the area so he didn't have to deal with the many stares "he's no where near me right now from what I know, he's following whatever information he can to find... Nora" he started, looking down at saying her name "Ruby... where's Nora?" he asks, looking at her sadly.
Ruby stared at him, seeing how sad he looked and she could only guess that both jaune and Ren had definitely thought they were dead, but his gaze became brighter when Ruby gave him a happy grin "she's fine! but she's not about right now, she had to go and deal with a disturbance down at the docks she's not going to be back until later" she explains, seeing Jaune relax a whole lot more and he shakily sat down, holding his head and rocked back and forth lightly. This made Ruby panic slightly and she dropped down next to him, hugging him close when she heard him starting to sob "we-we... th-thought you guys d-died" he started "we c-couldn't see you... a-all we c-could see w-was the ground breaking away a-and that THING a-aiming your way" he continued, hugging up to Ruby as close as he could "we... we" he stopped, taking a deep breath and tried to calm his trembling body down "the only thing we saw was the end of Magnhild's handle... we honestly thought you were both gone... but then i saw you waving on the live feed news and that started to make everything feel so much more better" he explains, wiping his face free of the tears as his sobbing calmed down.
Ruby listened to him and gave a small, soft smile as he spoke but then her smile faded when he starte to explain the rest "Ren gave up, the moment he thought Nora was dead he just gave up... he's been careless in fights and pays little attention to his safety and he hardly ever speaks a word to me. He's almost gotten himself killed several times and he's slept a lot less than me that's for sure... whenever he does he just ends up waking up from vicious nightmares and the things he sees in those dreams... they're just... horrific... absolutely horrifying and it's really been taking a heavy toll on him the passed few months; seeing things, hearing things, spacing out... and.. and... what if right now is just a dream and-" he was already starting to wind up to sob again but Ruby cupped his face, stopping that dead in it's tracks and she gave a wide, warm smile "it'll be okay now, Jaune" she said calmly as he stared at her.
She moved her hands away and grabbed his hands, pulling him to his feet "it's real, this isn't a dream. Please... calm down, everything's okay" she spoke again and he gave a sigh after a moment or two, pulling her into a hug which she returned "come on, let's go and fine Ren and then find wait for Nora" she spoke up, moving away and grinning while trying to get the current atmosphere to a much cheerful mood and he gave her a smile in return as she waits to follow him "yeah..." he agreed, starting to walk with Ruby at his side "THIS DAY WILL JUST BE THE BEST THING EVER!" Ruby cheered, throwing her fists into the air, making Jaune chuckle and grin brightly "YEAH!" he joined in, both ignoring the questioning stares they were getting as they walked down the streets with their cheerful attitudes and huge grins. They walked for a while before Ruby began to explain how things had been for them; she had explained that Nora had been the worst and had to be kept in sight at all times several times due to her depression kicking in. She explained that the hammer swinging woman had become so silent with little enthusiasm to hardly anything and Jaune felt quite sad about the fact that his liveliest team member had fallen so low.
The one thing that made Jaune want to cry was the fact that he was told Nora had almost actually died several times, having become even more careless with her actions in the heat of battle, along with various nights of thinking the orange haired woman had killed herself when Ruby would return to a locked bathroom door with no response but thankfully she hadn't hurt herself during those events, which relaxed Jaune's nerves slightly but not to its full. Nora just wasn't Nora without the enthusiasm after all, and he was worried of if she would be the same ever again... other than that just how was Ruby coping with all of this? She hadn't really told him about her struggles and he honestly didn't blame here for not wanting to, the topic had become quite dark and both just wanted to have a day where they can be as happy as they could be and to just forget all the stress they had gone through for the passed year.
Near an hour later; they had found no sights or tracks for Ren so they had decided to sit down in a cafe somewhere after deciding to just wait a little. Jaune knew Ren would return to the inn later that night so if he didn't see him at all today he knew he'd find him later so it was no rush to find him right now, and Ruby knew the same for Nora so either way they would all be grouped up within the next day or so and both felt quite excited about that as they sat there and talked lightly to each other about whatever good things they had done or come across within the passed year, both laughing away as Jaune explained the time where Ren had to save a kitten from a tree "and then it pounced on his face and latched it's little claws in and bit down on his nose! That kitten DID NOT like him for some weird reason" Jaune continued, laughing along with Ruby "oh wow! ahaha! poor Ren!" she said "yeah! he spent the rest of the night trying to clean the wounds without wincing, it was kinda funny but really it wasn't... but what else can you do really than to find some amusement in this cute little kitten that has a bad attitude" Jaune responded
"but he got me back! I had the misfortune of being laughed at by him when I fell into a muddy ditch and there was no inn or even any place to bathe for the next four days and I had to walk for all that time covered in mud and then when the mud dried my clothes felt like pieces of board" he said, pausing before laughing slightly when Ruby stared at him before breaking down into an highly amused giggle fit at the poor blondes misfortune of having to walk for so many days with dried mud on him. He gave a warm smile at seeing her breaking down into a fit of giggles, the sound of it was great to his ears and he had missed the sound of it so very much. His smile only widened when she paused to look at him "what...?" she asks, confused at why he was looking at her in such a way "... I've missed you, Ruby. It's nice to hear your laughter again and to just... see you in general" he said and she gave a slightly shy smile but soon grins at him "aw Jaune! I've missed you too! These next few days are just gonna be AMAZING!" she stated, grinning even wider at him and he gave a nod of agreement "yes, yes they are" came his reply.
They would spend the rest of their time here just talking about good times, and good things; both smiling and laughing along with each other and just letting all their stress leave their shoulders and they finally started to feel the heavy weight leaving them while their spirits rose and their moods became the most cheerful that they had become in quite a while and it felt amazing, feeding off of each others energy and joyful mood, making light of silly little things they had gone through which was actually quite embarrassing but why sit there and sulk over it when you can just laugh it off with your friend, it was always better to make light of silly times like those.
-xx-
A few more hours had passed, Ren had slowly made his way back to the docks from whatever information he could find from others and had come across a very wrecked looking market area with people complaining loudly as they picked up their merchandises and tried to fix their stalls, muttering things like "stupid Grimm" or "annoying Beowolf" but what really caught his attention was the stall at the very end of the area where a much older man was angrily muttering to himself "god dammit... why must that hammer, swinging maniac chase it through here!?" the older man looked very unhappy about it, but knew full well that if the Grimm were going to run through places there was little anyone could do to change it's current path other than to kill it "excuse me..." Ren spoke up "what!? Oh... sorry guy, stall is closed until I can get it fixed up" the stall owner spoke, eyeing Ren cautiously "I don't want what you have to offer, sorry... I heard you mention something about a hammer, swinging maniac? Are they by any chance female with orange hair and blue eyes... and wears a pink skirt?" Ren asks and the stall owner stopped for a few moments while staring at him but then thought "yeah! Not sure about the eyes though... she was moving far too fast for me to even see her eyes or her face for that matter but she chased that damned Beowolf off into the forest- er SIR! There's a King Taijitu lurking out there- sir?!"
As much as the stall owner called out, Ren paid no more attention to him even though he heard everything they had said. The moment the older male confirmed what he wanted to know he had instantly started walking away with a hasted speed and was now almost running into the forest, leaving a confused and still rather angry stall owner behind to deal with his broken stall 'please tell me it's her this time...' Ren thought as he eyed everything around him as he roamed around the forest for any signs of the one person that could fix everything in his head, take away all of his stress, and to find some very comfort around. He found no signs of any hammer related damage around him, guessing she must have chased the Grimm much farther in but stopped when he saw paw prints on the ground along with shoe prints 'this way...' he thought, following after the sloppy prints that darted around everywhere until they stopped at a river where the tracks ended with a medium sized dent in the ground which he could only think of as the hammer named Magnhild crushing the poor Beowolf's head.
His eyes scan the surroundings and saw nothing, walking along the river side for any more signs before stopping in his tracks to loud commotion some distance away and he instantly started running in that direction 'her? maybe? sounds like the Taijitu as well...' he thought, knowing it would take him a little while to get there judging by how far away the loud noises were coming from but he knew that if there was any chance of the cause being Nora... then he'd take it.
The noise was definitely Nora, she was currently fighting the black side of the King Taijitu, while the other one was currently no where near so she was guessing maybe it was already dead. She had heard that there was a pair of them lurking around but she had no idea where the second one was. Although she wasn't used to fighting things like this particular Grimm she managed with great efficiency; jumping away from strikes, avoiding being constricted and using the trees to her advantage as she used her grenades to confuse and blind the large snake before she jumped from the tree and then slammed Magnhild down on any part of it's body that she could get during it's fast and twisting movements; each power filled contact made with the hammer on it's body made is hiss and screech loudly into the air as it faught back against the woman while she charged up the head of the hammer with electricity while slamming it down onto the snakes body once more before quickly swinging upwards with enough force to throw the Taijitu into the air with her before swinging forewards in a front flip and slimming back down to the ground, earning a spine chilling screech from the Grimm as a sickening crunch sounded; signalling she had smashed it's back into shards.
Panting slightly from the effort she lifts up the hammer and quickly slammed it down on the paralysed Grimm's head, killing it instantly on contact before slumping down to her backside with a loud huff; catching her breath for several moments before shakily standing and closing Magnhild, putting it back on it's holder at her lower back before walking away from the smoking body with an annoyed grumble "stupid snake, can't even just sit around and just be alone to relax but nooooooo it has to just come slithering on in and ruin all that peace!" she muttered, hands balling into fists as she stormed off from the area like a grumpy child who had just been denied something. If only she knew who was almost there...with another loud huff she walked far enough to reach the river which was at a least five minutes walk away from the fading Grimm's body and she slumped down, watching the sky silently as she calmed her temper down 'stupid Grimm ruining the peace, can't even sit here and just enjoy the sky' she thought, slightly annoyed but her thoughts were interupted when she heard thrashing from the other Taijitu and then... gunfire that had a unique sound to it, making her brow furrow as she thought 'wait... am i hearing things now?' she thought, standing and climbing to the trees before jumping off along the branches back to where the sound was coming from... stopping at a safe distance when she saw the other Taijitu which currently looked very tired from the violent fight... 'no... it must be a dream... right? Slashes... bullet holes... but that's... that's... his...' she thought, confused and then she saw him; flying from a tree at deadly speeds towards the beasts head in a spinning based attack which looked bright green.
Ren had just arrived to where he heard the commotion moments before, seeing the Grimm body almost fully faded away and a lot of turned up trees, dirt and rocks and he sighed, seeing no person there so he looked around for any evidence of who could have killed the giant snake; finding everything he needed to know as he picked up an empty grenade tube and seeing many holes from where the strike of her hammer had missed 'it's her... she's here, but where?!' he thought, wanting to call out for her but within that moment before he could he had to jump out of the way of a strike from the white side of the Taijitu 'a second Taijitu!?' he thought, seeing that this one wasn;t using it's black side; it looked lame and possibly paralysed but not by Nora's weapon... this one had large gashes on it from a blade of some sorts on it. With a low annoyed grunt he pulled out Stormflower and started shooting as he ran around to avoid the thrashing serpent, slashing at it's face whenever it struck while he moved out of the way before it could get him, springing out of the way once more and onto a tall rock before jumping off of that onto the beasts back, digging the blade down into it and holding on tight as it began to twist and throw itself around in attempt to get him off.
He kept a strong grip on his weapons during the thrashing, pulling the blades out and spinning away, landing on the ground with a barrel roll and he was instantly on his feet, running around it in a circle formation while shooting mainly at it's face; aiming to get it in the eyes. The Taijitu let out a howling screech as one of it's eyes was blinded by the bullets; sending it into an even more aggressive rage as it's thrashing became loud and noisy and filled the area with even louder aggression than the Taijitu before it had made. With a grunt he was hit in the side of the snakes head and sent stumbling backwards with enough force to knock him down but he was quickly back to his feet again before jumping out of the way to avoid another strike from the massive Grimm which only become more and more aggressive with each strike that missed and it began to stop striking, rising it's front up like that of a cobra and hissing loudly at him, taking a defencive position and Ren became more alert... he knew it would be harder to get near it now.
He observed it closely, noticing that the other head was struggling to even rise itself up off the floor and it's jaw no longer worked but it was hissing loudly at him. He could see the white side protecting the black side with the thickest girth of its body and thought to himself that if he could get to that head and destroy it first; he'd have a better chance of killing the Grimm faster. As if reading his mind, the white Taijitu struck at him with deadly speed over and over, forcing him to jump and flip out of the way and he instantly began using it to his advantage by jumping onto it's head after the seventh strike before jumping off and down onto the black head, digging the blades of his weapon into it's skull which earned a screech from both heads and the violent thrashing and twisting began once more, throwing him around like a ragdoll as he held onto his weapons for dear life, seeing the white side coming in for a killing blow.
Using this to his advantage as well, he quickly pulled the blades out and jumped off the black head at the last second, running down it's neck and jumped out of view into the trees to catch his breath as he tried to think of a quick plan to get near the white head. The blow had killed the black side and the white side gave out an even more spine chilling screech as it drew back and thrashed around more before stopping and flickering its tongue in the air as it hisses and growls loudly, it's body was all cut up from the fight and it's other side was now dead and created a heavy weakness for the white side, magenta eyes scanned it's current condition while thinking 'it's out of breath...' he thought, but he was cautious for it could be a trick the Grimm was playing to draw him out. With a low, annoyed grunt he focused his thoughts, walking along the branch as he saw the Grimm beginning to turn in attempt to get away from the area and Ren was having none of that.
Jumping from the branch at high speed he gave an annoyed yell at the Grimm which now turned it's attention back to him with a hiss, but it was too late... it was struck at the neck with Stormflower's blades at a spinning speed fast enough to cut clean through it, body slumping down to the ground with a loud crash as Ren jumped away and out of range of possibly being crushed before watching for a few moments; placing the weapons in their holders before letting out heavy breaths as he sat down shakily for a moment to regain his energy 'finally... it's over...' he thought, the panting breaths become less as he observed the heavily damaged area while the Grimms body faded into nothingness. The next sounds he heard were the birds finally beginning to chirp again once the commotion had finally vanished and the sounds of the chirping melody was very refreshing, far better than that of the screeches of the Grimm that's for sure.
With a light sigh he remained here for several moments, enjoying the peace and the melody of the song birds filling the air, watching the area in thought as he lets his nerves settle from the vicious fight with the Taijitu 'I swear it... those things just get more aggressive every time I fight one...' he thought, watching the body of the giant snake fading away as he listened to the singing of the birds, finding peace for a few short moments before looking at his feet in a sad way as he thought more 'she's probably nowhere near here by now... probably ran off to the next Grimm. My current chances of even finding her are getting lower and lower' he continued to thought but grits his teeth and huffed, trying to get his thoughts on track in attempt to keep away the bad feeling and negative thoughts for a little while longer.
Nora was watching from a nearby tree, completely hidden and she stared directly at him 'it's a drea,... it has to be IT'S A DREAM! This... it's not real... right? Please tell me it's real!' she thought, finding it impossible to even move, she was frozen in place as she stared with many mixed emotions to her eyes. She eventually began to accept the thought that both Ren and Jaune were dead, and the thoughts of that made it almost impossible for her to even believe what she could see right now but that fight was very real... if she were dreaming it must have been one hell of a dream that's for sure. She slowly started walking along the branches, jumping over to the next ones with ease while keeping herself silent as she got much closer, stopping at the branches above him.
She watched him standing slowly as he looked around, seeing how much paler he looked... noticing the thick black lines under his eyes... 'wow he looks rough' she thought, still cautious on if this was reality or just a cruel dream 'but he looks so real this time... everything about this feels so real...' she continued to think, almost forgetting how to breath from what she heard next. Ren scanned the area calmly before looking at another empty grenade shell before sighing slightly and called out "Nora!?" his voice rang loud in the almost quiet air and Nora was finding herself unable to move again, that definitely sounded real enough for her and her cautious expression slowly faded into a happy smile as she slowly crouched down onto the branch and carefully sat down before moving backwards slowly, her legs holding her on the branch and she was now head level with him, but from behind.
She waited until he would catch on, watching him scan the area in front of him with slouched shoulders before he suddenly straightened up which she was guessing signalled that he had sensed her behind him. Slowly turning around his eyes widen as he was now staring into the beautiful sky blue eyes of a smiling Nora who let her arms dangle freely. He stared at her as if to question the reality in front of him 'illusion, maybe...? Those things have become a thing as of late after all but... this time it feels... different' he thought. They both stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before he was shaken out of his stupor roughly in surprise of her finger tip flicking upwards under his nose tip "boop!" her voice rang out, full of great excitement and pure joy as her pretty eyes began to fill with tears, but not tears of sadness this time.
Little did they know... nor sense for that matter; lurking in the trees nearby a shaded figure was watching them, face hidden away by a thick black hood of a hoodie with a wolg head symbol on the back of it and a long tail idly twitching behind them as they observe the pair silently. They had tracked the Taijitu here, having remained out of sight and out of view as the entire fight happened, understanding that Ren was quite capable in a fight but also knew that this was something they should not interupt with so they silently turned away and vanished off into the woods without a sound, having better things to do than to watch whatever sort of overly joyous moment the pair would enter. A single red eye watched the scenery ahead from under the hood as they moved along the woods like a phantom, leaving no trace or even any sound while the tail helped them keep their balance. Friend... or Foe...? Who knows...
The Faunus jumped from branch to branch with complete ease, eyeing the Grimm below that turn their heads and follow after like a moth to a flame. With a sigh the figure jumped down into a clearing, the area was dark other than for slight glimpses of light filtering through the tree tops that had a thick canopy and the eerie red glow of the Grims eyes and faces as they snarl and growl as they surround the figure we reached behind their back to pull a stick from it's holder, which then slowly spred out into a long staff before the ends form into a thin and thick scythe shaped blade, the red eye under the hood scanned the number of Grimm that surrounded them before jumping into the air as the pack of Beowolf lunge towards them, spinning in the air and crashing down onto several with the larger and thicker end of the weapon before starting to spin it around like a normal staff; carving up the pack with ease before making an annoyed grunting sound before walking off from the pathetically slumped and very cut up bodies of the fading pack... whoever the figure was; they were not to be taken very lightly. Their use of the weapon would prove highly fatal to anyone getting on the wrong side of it...
-xx-
OKAY! Little hint there of a new character, they're my OC (Own Character) but won't be making a full appearance until much later into the story. Sorry to just cut it off short when things were just about to get really could for Ren and Nora but... why put it in this chapter when I can put all the fluff into chapter 3?
Sorry if this chapter wasn't all that exciting, and probably sad and such but oh well, some good things for the next chapter, hoping to get a lot of Renora time in there for you guys. Sorry if it's taking me so long to publish, but I need more ideas for chapter 3 so... please be patient!