The Unforeseen
The once complete and absolute darkness that overwhelmed the night sky starts to fade nearly as fast as it appeared. From encapsulating the entire forest and neighboring village to evaporating into a light cloud that the moon's glow dispels.
Yang pants as she stops momentarily and looks around. "Ahhh...haaa the sky...I can see the house from here...I have to hurry…" The brawler is filled with a swift burst of energy, as her excitement is easily seen on her face. As she approaches the house instead of knocking on the door she slams her shoulder into the door sending the door flying open. Ren and Nora stop themselves inches from landing, disabling blows on her.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?! YOU BRUTE!" Weiss shouts from atop the ledge with Erin.
"YANG your back…!" The young girl shouts excitedly, but her face drops as she notices Yang is by herself.
"Where is Ruby and Pyrrha?" Nora seems to ask the question on everyone's mind.
"Ruby is in the forest fighting off a pack of Beowolves we got ambushed...wait whaddya mean where is Pyrrha? I came back to get her...she isn't HERE?" Yang breathlessly shouts, her eyes dart side to side as she thinks. "Ren let's go. Ruby can't wait. We have to go now." The brawler grabs Ren's arm.
"Yang what is going on...why didn't Ruby just come with you?" Weiss shouts grabbing the ladder from off the wall so she can talk with Yang at as close to eye to eye as she can get with the towering woman.
"Nora, protect the Princess." Ren says before he nods to Yang and the two depart. Nora nods her head and looks back at the two above her.
"Princess please stay up there… until they or Pyrrha returns, I can't risk having you down here." The weight of the words hit Weiss harder than she thought. Nora pushes the door closed and blows all the candles around the house out.
"She could be dead by now…" Weiss whispers to herself. We should go with them and help! I can fight...I can help.
Erin grabs a hold of the Princess' arm and looks up, "are Ruby and Pyrrha okay?" Weiss looks down at her frightened eyes. Weiss gnaws on her lower lip, "I don't know...I want to believe they are fine but…" Her heart breaks thinking of an injured Ruby out by herself.
"Yang, are you sure you know where Ruby is? You both got caught up in that strange darkness right?" Ren mentions as he follows behind the worried woman.
"Yes but that while I was running, I made sure to leave a scuff on every tree I could reach." Yang huffs as she stops momentarily to point out a gash in the side of a tree and a few surrounding trees. "See...we have to hurry! I can't hear the Beowolves and we are getting closer."
How does she know we are getting closer? Ren follows Yang who has already started running deeper into the forest. "Yang, how bad is Ruby injured?" The man manages to get out while ducking and weaving through the densely wooded areas. Ren notices that the brawler doesn't answer or even acknowledges the question.
Yang takes a momentary pause, Ren finally chases up to the brawler. "haaaa...aaaa . Yang what…?" Ren looks out into an open field, littered with the carasses of dozens of Beowolves. "Where is Ruby?" The dark haired man realizes that there is no sign of the brawler's sister.
"RUBY! RUBY!?" Yang begins to scream running towards the center of the field. "RUBY!...come on where are you…" As Yang finally reaches the center of the bloodbath, "Crescent rose…" the brawler reaches down to pick up her sister's weapon but she collapses onto the ground. "RUBY!" Yang wails, stumbling to get up, she grinds her teeth looking around.
Ren watches as Yang begins to turn over the caresses in an attempt to uncover her baby sister. He walks towards the brawler, seeing out of the corner of his eye a piece of fabric flutters in the light breeze. "YANG HERE!" Ren dashes towards the tattered cloth, he grabs the silver Yang yanks the dead animal parts and debris off the fabric to reveal Ruby was collapsed under the caresses.
Ren looks at the leader's blood soaked body, he takes note of the gash on her leg. "Yang we have to get her back to the house." Without a second thought Yang tightens the cloth around Ruby's leg and takes her sister into her arms. Ren looks over at Yang and takes Crescent Rose out from Yang's hand.
"Thanks, she will be fine…" Ren tries to reassure Yang with her exhausted and battered sister barely breathing. Yang carefully wraps her sister in her cloak to keep her warm, and begins to run back to the house.
Ren awkwardly carries the gigantic scythe as he tries to keep up with Yang who continues to race back to the home. As he runs the dark haired man continuously gets the hooked end caught in various bushes, hanging vines and on the low hanging branches of some of the old trees. "Gahhh… Yang!" Ren shouts as he yanks the weapon out from another bush, how does Ruby run with this thing? The dark haired man shifts his hands in such a way that the scythe would cut through anything that gets caught in it. Alright now we are talking! Ren breathless chuckles, before being yanked backwards.
"It is going to be okay... Rubes...Ren and I are going to get you help." Yang pants as she carries her barely breathing sister. The older woman focuses on getting her sister back to the house, hopefully Pyrrha or someone in town can help. "Right Ren." Yang nervously chuckles taking a quick glance over her shoulder, no sign of the man anywhere near the bawler.
(^,.Back at the house.,^)
"When is everyone coming back?" Erin quietly whines to Weiss, who is attentively staring at the front door.
Nora anxiously gnaws on the inner parts of her cheeks, "please be alright." She whispers to herself.
Weiss places her hand on the young girl's shoulder, "soon I hope." Why am I so nervous...of course Ruby is fine...right? Weiss purses her lips as the thought of her being alone again causes her to shiver. Erin notices and instantly wraps her arms, the normally calm and cool Princess is now shivering uncontrollably.
The backdoor quietly jiggles, Nora turns her eyes trained on the door. Barely lifting her feet Nora completely turns her body she could achieve a complete swing if she needed to defend herself. The door handle turns the lock shakes and suddenly Nora watches as the lock slides over. Her eyes momentarily widen than narrow as she focuses on the door slowly opening.
Weiss' momentarily stops shivering, squeezing the young girl beside her tight. Weiss holds her index finger up to her lips, she turns to Erin who already has her hands clapped over her mouth. "Stay still and quiet." Weiss whispers to the young girl who nods squeezing her eyes shut.
Nora readies her hammer, her knuckles turn an ashy white. The silent sound of Nora's sweat dripping from her eyebrow to the floor. The back door rattles once more, the only thing stopping the intruder from entering is a simple wooden latch that will soon break from the force being applied to it now. Nora grits her teeth, "Well here goes nothing…" Weiss shifts her gaze from the door to Nora.
"What is she doing?" Erin tilts her head as Nora takes a big breath in. Weiss' mouth slightly drops as she watches the gigantic hammer get launched towards the flimsy door.
Nora swings, destroys the door while the spirited woman begins shouting incoherent nonsense. Even before the dust Nora kicks the door fragments outside and wildly swings into the dust. "FIGHT ME IF YOU DARE!" Nora's eyes seem to glow as if lightning passes through them.
"There is no for that Nora." A familiar voice calls as the dust settles. Emerald eyes shine through the dust, Nora squints her eyes.
"Pyrrha?" Nora quietly asks.
"Yes Nora." Pyrrha calls back, as she kicks the wood shards off her boots and pats the dust off her cloak.
"PYRRHAAAAAA" Erin cheers as if Pyrrha had been gone for days, in her excitement the young girl nudges and flails about nearly causing Weiss to fall out of the ledge the two have been up until now have been sharing comfortably.
Pyrrha looks up noticing that both Weiss and Erin are huddled together in the attic. "What are you two doing up there?" she turns to Nora, "What are they doing up there?"
Nora weakly smiles as she shrugs her shoulders. "Well you see...ummm…" Pyrrha looks past Nora who drops her hammer beside her so that she can lean on it. "Yang came back just a little while ago and Ruby is injured. Without you here Ren went alone though…" Nora shoots a quick glance up towards the attic in a hushed voice "Weiss wanted to go and help as well…"
"MMM" Pyrrha nods, the sound of the wood smacking against the softer wooden floor. Erin slides down the ladder as fast as she could without getting any splinters. Weiss climbs down quickly as well the clicks of her shoes hitting each rung of the ladder causes Pyrrha to turn. "Princess." Erin instantly latches onto the redhead's leg, hugging her tight.
Weiss walks right up to Pyrrha, her index finger pointed straight up, "How could you just leave?!" The usually calm Princess begins to pace around in the small home, as she quietly mumbles to herself.
Erin releases one arm, reaching out for either of the women to comfort her as well. Nora leans her weapon against before picking up the child and hugging her. "We have to go!" Weiss calls from near the destroyed back door.
"We will wait." Pyrrha snaps her head towards Weiss, who grits her teeth. Shaking her long ponytail, "what if they don't come back…" Before the warrior can answer she turns her head to a sound from outside.
"PYRRHA! PYRRHAAA!" A voice calls from outside. Was that REN?! Pyrrha and Weiss turn, holding the gaze of the other, both share the same mix of worry and relief.
Nora quickly places Erin down and rushes out towards the voice, "REN! REN!?" The woman calls back to her partner. "Where are you?!" As Nora yells and screams for her partner, she catches the glimpse of a flash of golden yellow in the forest. "YANG! OVER HERE!"
"NORA!" Both Ren and Yang shout at Nora with Erin beside her. "There they are." Erin waves the pair towards the house.
Erin squints her eyes and points, "what is that? Yang is carrying something red in her arms…"
Weiss takes a sharp inhale realizing...is that Ru….by…. "Nora clear the table! Weiss try to get the stove started. We will need warm water and fast…" Pyrrha rushes back inside and tears through her pack.
"Hold on Ruby…" Yang breathlessly calls to her pale sister in her arms. "Everyone is waiting for you to wake Rubes." Yang feels her body slowly heating up, from her burning legs to her lungs caught ablaze. Just a little further, I am almost there... her grip around the damp body in her arms tightens, I won't lose you too.
"Where is Ruby?" Yang hears Erin question as she rushes into the house past the young girl without a word.
"Place her here." Pyrrha points to the table that Nora prepared, Weiss watches as she carelessly tosses another log into the grow inferno within the small iron stone. It's warmth and light begin to fill the bustling house. Erin quietly stands in the corner watching as Pyrrha and Ren begin to examine the feverish woman on the table.
"She...Ruby was… a beowolf came out of nowhere…" Yang tries to recount the moments leading up to Ruby's gash on her leg but her words get lost. "I told her that I could carry her back here...why...wouldn't she let me!" Yang angrily disheveling her hair before punching the wall closest to her.
Nora goes to the brawler and wraps her arms around Yang. "Everything will be fine, Pyrrha and Ren will take good care of her." Yang looks down, gritting her teeth the brawler returns the comfort of the warm embrace and quietly sobs.
"Yang, We will take care of her, rest now please." Pyrrha remains calm as she quickly removes Ruby's blood soaked boot. "Did you try to slow the bleeding?" Pyrrha sees a cloth tightly wound around Ruby's calf. Yang nods as Nora tries to usher Yang to the bed but she pulls a chair out facing where Ruby lays.
"She looks so pale." Erin mentions, causing Ren to turn, "Erin, dear could you and the Princess please check on Yang?"
"Pyrrha and I will take care of her Ruby, but it may get...bloody. Yang could use some hot tea or water. Nora watch the door.." Ren says as he goes back to wiping off as much blood as possible so that he and Pyrrha can properly suture Ruby's leg.
Ruby's eyes open but they shift abruptly and her body begins to shiver. Weiss fights the urge to rush to Ruby's side, she gnaws on her lower lip to the point where blood flows from both corners. She will be fine….she is here now…
"AHHHHOOOOOUUUOOOOWWW" THe cry of a beowolf can be heard in the forest nearby. "I will kill every last one of them" Yang shoots out of her chair and is almost out of the doorway but someone catches her elbow.
Nora tightens her grip, "You are not going out there alone in this state." Yang looks down at Nora and throws her elbow out of her hand.
Yang snaps her head "I have to protect everyone...I already let Ruby…." Pyrrha and Ren continue to tend to Ruby, Erin walks up to Yang and hugs the woman.
"Ugh...mmmm…" Ruby groans from the table, Ren hands Weiss a towel to re-dampen to apply to her forehead.
"I won't let anyone else get hurt tonight." Yang solemnly declares as she leaves the house, Nora quickly follows behind her.
Nora grabs Yang's elbow once more as another howl can be heard closer now. "Don't try to stop me NORA!" Yang tries to release her elbow again but as the brawler goes to walk Nora trips her. Yang looks up at Nora "I told you you're not going alone, I was never going to stop you. Now come on the sooner we kill that wolf the sooner we can get back." Nora extends her arm with a smile, Yang smirks taking her arm.
"The wound is too big to suture. Ren here." Pyrrha takes out an iron dagger rotating it in her palm so that the hilt of the weapon is out to the man. "Quickly place this in the fire, we will have to seal the wound a faster way." Pyrrha grimly looks down at Ruby, sweating, barely able to catch a breath. Come on Ruby, hang on for a few more minutes… "Weiss go find a stick, a sturdy one and some leather, Erin please help her. We must move quickly."
Did Pyrrha just call me by my name? Weiss looks over to see that Ruby's state continues to decline.
Ren stokes the fire, waiting for the dagger to turn red hot, Erin hands Weiss a ladle and a small scrap of leather binding. Ren takes a cloth from near the stove and rotates the dagger, glowing as red as the embers that heated, "The dagger is ready." He calls back ready to bring the scorched weapon to Pyrrha.
"Alright Weiss wrap the leather around that and hold it here," Pyrrha opens Ruby's mouth, once the stick is in place. Pyrrha looks over at Erin and Weiss, "I am going to need your help, both of you." Weiss looks into Pyrrha's eyes, without a second word Weiss position's herself to help restrain Ruby.
"What can I do?" Erin asks, Pyrrha looks at Ren who nods.
"Erin I am going to need you to be very brave, Ruby is going to be in a lot of pain and I need you to make sure Weiss keeps her still, okay?" Pyrrha tilts her head towards Weiss. "Mmm" the young girl responds.
Pyrrha looks over at Ren as he grabs the knife out from the oven and carefully hands Pyrrha the burning weapon. "I am sorry." Are the last words that Pyrrha whispered before she pressed the searing metal against Ruby's wound.
Ruby instantly screamed while biting down so hard on the ladle that the leather around it was sliced around her teeth. Everyone in the house reacted differently to the sound of their leader's cries, Weiss latched onto the woman holding her down as Ruby struggled to sit up. Erin clapped her hands over her ears and turned away, Ren held Ruby's legs steady as Pyrrha slowly dragged the metal on the wound. The smell of burning flesh and boiling blood filled the entire house in mere seconds. After two excruciating minutes of burning, searing and cauterizing the wound, Ruby loses consciousnessPyrrha continues to press the knife around the wound.
Pyrrha places the now warm knife on the table, "Weiss is she still awake?" The Princess slowly shakes her head, "okay, the bleeding has stopped for now. We need to watch her for the next few days." Pyrrha takes a clean cloth out from her satchel and carefully dresses the area. Weiss continues to embrace the warrior for a few more moments before releasing her and wiping her forehead of sweat. Ren picks up Ruby's head and places a few folding rags beneath it.
Erin releases her hands and begins to cry. "Is..is..-hic- she ...i I want my mommy…"
Weiss, Nora and Ren turn to the small girl, unable to find the right words to comfort Erin.
A/N Hello travelers, thank you everyone as always for all the support. I hope you all are still enjoying the story as much as I am. Every comment, follow, like and just reading of each new chapter keeps me driven to continue to write. I will see you all in the next chapter!
