A/N:
Hi friends!
Welcome back to RWBY: The Selection. Coming at you live from Remnant's Capital, it's THE CAPITAL REPORT.
Enjoy!
Chapter 44: Ren
Ren hadn't made pancakes in over a week.
He tried to stay positive after Nora had left. This was what was best for her, after all. By attending the Selection, she had the opportunity to live her dream by becoming a Huntress. The castle, by the sound of it, was beautiful, and the instructors that they had were highly prestigious. Besides, it wasn't like they had ever been together together, so why was it so hard for him to be happy for her and move on? He tried. He planted vegetables as normal, fought Grimm as normal, and even binge-watched 'Return of the Wyvren' on one especially difficult sans-Nora night. But pancakes were too much.
On this particular pancake-free Saturday, Ren completed his difficult day of planting, fighting Grimm, and missing Nora by flipping on this week's Capital Report.
He sat through the updates on the war against Vacuo, pondered the recent violent White Fang activity in Southeast Vale, and was about to turn it off and go to sleep when Peter Port made an announcement that made him turn up the volume and sit upright, eyes wide.
"Now that all of that boring news is out of the way, let's get onto the main event: the Selection," he cried, and the camera panned out to catch rows of contestants sitting behind them. It took Ren all of two seconds to spot Nora: bright-eyed and grinning widely as the studio audience cheered. She looked happy, at least, and that made him happy. "And, introducing the man of the hour: Prince Jaune Arc."
The audience exploded with applause as Prince Jaune walked onto the stage, sitting in an armchair opposite of Port and Oobleck. There was an empty chair beside him, which, Ren assumed, was meant to be filled by whichever contestant was being grilled at the moment. Jaune sent the camera a nervous smile and the audience lost it once again. Ren hardly noticed. Nora was still visible in stands of the background, and he only had eyes for her.
"So, Prince Jaune," started Oobleck once the applause had died down. "Your life over the past week has certainly taken an… interesting turn, to say the least,"
"That's a bit of an understatement," Jaune chuckled. The audience laughed, "but seriously, it's been a whirlwind. These are all incredible girls and I can't wait for week two,"
"Is there anyone who made a particularly strong first impression?" asked Port, raising his eyebrows.
Jaune glanced at the stands of girls and seemed to blush slightly. "Yeah," he said, "one girl saved me from a wild Boarbatusk, so… that was pretty strong." There were gasps from the crowd, and Port and Oobleck exchanged shocked looks. "But, honestly, all of these girls took my breath away the first time I laid eyes on them,"
Ren saw Nora whisper something to a girl with long blonde hair. They both snorted. He smiled. It seemed like she was making friends. Port and Oobleck grilled the prince a bit more, before Oobleck cleared his throat. "Excellent. Well, we're going to interview each girl one-on-one, but first, let's answer some citizen questions," he pressed a button on his scroll and a voice came through the loudspeaker.
"Hi Remnant, Malachite here," a woman's voice announced. "Your highness, I was just wondering: at this point in time, do you have a favorite?"
Jaune paused and leaned into the microphone. "No," he said. Port and Oobleck raised their eyebrows. "I've got over three months to make this decision. It's been one week. Cut me some slack," he pleaded, laughing.
Citizens asked some more questions after that. One asked about the dates. One asked about his 'type'. One particularly enthusiastic caller who introduced himself as Tai gave a shoutout to Yang and Ruby (it wasn't technically a question, but Port and Oobleck allowed it). One woman, who introduced herself as Sepia Kobe, asked for a brief pan of the studio, to see if anyone in the audience wore any fan merchandise, which Port and Oobleck were happy to oblige.
Then, the contestants were called up one-by-one for interviews: starting with Weiss Schnee, a Two, and progressing down the caste system until finally, finally, Nora Valkyrie was called to the stage.
Ren couldn't help himself but clap with the rest of the audience, even though his small, lonely farmhouse was miles away from the TV studio on the Isle of Tenebris. She looked beautiful in a flowy, pink dress, and her smile (as always) made his heart skip a beat.
"So, Lady Nora," Port said after Nora hopped into her chair, "what has been your favorite part of this process so far?"
Nora leaned her head back, thinking for a minute. Then, she answered, "the dessert,"
Ren laughed, and the rest of the audience did as well.
"That, or the Huntress training," Nora continued, grinning. "I get to punch stuff and kick stuff… it's awesome."
"Interesting, very interesting," Oobleck cut in, "and what would you say you are most looking forward to in the upcoming week of the Selection?"
Again, Nora leaned her head back to think. "Ooh!" She put on her idea face. "My hammer!"
Ren couldn't help but beam at the happiness in her voice. Punching stuff, kicking stuff, and wielding a giant hammer. This was clearly where she was meant to be.
"And what of your relationship with Prince Jaune?" Port asked, raising a suggestive eyebrow.
Nora and Jaune looked at each other. Ren noticed the edges of Jaune's lips curling, as if he was struggling to hold back a laugh. "It's good," Nora shrugged. "We played mini-golf. I hit the ball really far. I won."
Jaune quickly grabbed the microphone. "She did not, in fact, win,"
"I basically won," Nora protested. Everyone laughed, and Ren shook his head, smiling. Nora could get so competitive sometimes… "Jaune and I get along pretty well," she said, nodding and smiling, "if anyone tries to hurt him. I'll break their legs."
The audience laughed again, and Port and Oobleck did as well. "I don't think you understand the severity of that threat…" Ren thought, smiling, "Nora has broken many legs before."
"Let's go on to some questions from the callers!" Oobleck announced. Ren instinctively reached for his scroll. To call Nora, to hear her voice, was the most tempting thing in the world right now. However, as Oobleck went to the first caller, he forced himself to put down his scroll. Nora didn't that need the kind of distraction that a call from him would bring. She didn't need that kind of trouble, either.
"Hello, my name's Henry, and I'm a Two," drawled a pompous voice from the call-in. "I was just wondering, having grown up a Six, so low on the caste totem pole, is there anything that you miss from your small, Mistral farming town? Or is everything here just so much better?"
Ren bit his lip. He wasn't sure what answer he was hoping for. Nora seemed to think for a moment, and her energetic, happy demeaner was replaced with something more pensive and sad. "There are things that I miss," she admitted.
"Like what?" asked Port after a few seconds of silence.
Nora sighed. Jaune looked at her curiously. Ren looked away. "I miss pancakes."
