Thank You for Sending me an Angel
It seemed wrong that there was nobody to tell.
Nora was a star, lighting up the night sky. When all others dimmed, she shined, unwavering. Nothing in Ren's life had ever been so constant.
He half-listened to Qrow's explanation of the plan. A base outside the kingdom, thought abandoned. Corruption. In Mistral it wasn't far-fetched. The entire place could be bought and sold, at least if what Ren had seen about the armed forces held true for the rest of the kingdom.
It was taken for granted that Ren would stay with them. Ren closed his eyes. He would stay with them. He had nowhere else to go. Nobody to seek out, spend a night at their house, and tell them that their daughter was dead. The people that truly cared about Nora were all in this room. The ones that hadn't beaten her to the afterlife.
He could leave. He never was the star pupil. Just quiet enough to stand next to them without anybody noticing. Ready to take a hit for them, but not capable enough to take two. Or at least not three. Four. Enough.
"The fair folk think it's all theirs," Qrow was saying. With Qrow around, they wouldn't even miss him in combat. Far from it. Probably wouldn't miss Neopolitan, gone as quickly as she swept in. "I don't know what they've been promising humans, but somehow they got allies, and for the first time in centuries they're making a big move. One maiden's power might not be enough for them. There's a maiden in Mistral, but she went to ground when the CCT blew and despite my considerable skill, I haven't been able to find her. So there's our choice. We protect the summer maiden in atlas, find the spring maiden here, or look for the fair city directly."
Nubu raised her hand.
"Fer dust's sake, just speak, you're wasting everyone's time."
"Mr. Branwen, what would we find in the fair city?"
"They're not like maidens, but the fair folk have powers. And I don't know how big it is, or how many there are. There's a lot of unknowns. That's why I think you kids deserve to have a voice."
"This is it, isn't it?" Asked Jaune. "This is the tipping point. Either we win or the grimm do."
Qrow scoffed. "It's always been the tipping point. Except humanity's only option has been to lose or stay still. Cinder captured the autumn maiden's magic using a gift from the fair folk, and Ruby was able to punish her for it. The power of Argents doesn't affect normal humans. It's our first clue that we may have a new weapon."
"I don't want to be a weapon," Ruby whispered. "Hasn't there been enough killing?"
"These people, or whatever they are, they made the grimm, Ruby. They're not playing with kid gloves."
"They made them, can't they unmake them?"
"I don't know." Qrow took a sip from his flask. "And I don't think I'll ever get the chance to ask."
Moving on, all of them. Ren could pretend to join them. They might even believe him. Avoiding scrutiny was one of his talents. When they'd returned from the attack, the headman had shunned Nora as a harbinger. Carrier of misfortune, who remained unscathed each time, to better infect the next group foolish enough to take her in.
Ren, he'd ignored. And Ren had stuck by Nora, never once letting her believe it. She hadn't believed it, had she? She'd seen Ren give up his happiness, and told him she'd smile enough for him too.
Nobody was smiling now. You were wrong, headman. You said she would survive. Every time, I expected it. Even if I suffered for my closeness, I knew she would survive. It was the function of harbingers. If they weren't alone, others died in their place. Ren had made sure Nora was never alone.
"So. Ruby." Qrow bent over her chair, locking eyes. "You're the special one. What's your call?"
It just seemed wrong that there was nobody to tell.
Words, Volume 3 - End