Yang stuck her fork into the large slab of steak on her plate and sawed roughly at it with a knife, jamming the chuck on her fork into her mouth and chewing it ferociously. She repeated the same motion, this time dipping it in the squirt of sauce next to all her other food.
"Vif if good!" she said, her mouth too full to speak clearly, "Hm-hm!" She swallowed the mass of food in her mouth with a satisfied smile. "Thanks, Maria!"
Maria smiled and nodded, carefully cutting her own bit from her food and neatly eating it. The group sat around Maria's dining room table, enjoying the large amount of food Maria had prepared with the help of Blake, Nora, and Ren. Everyone but Ruby and Qrow sat there, as Qrow had gone to take some time with Ruby, who lay in bed.
It had been nearly a week since they had come back from the mission. Not a whole lot had changed, but a few questions had been answered.
After several days of trying to get ahold of some information about Vorst, Weiss had finally just that morning learned most of the story behind who he was and how she hadn't known about his fraternity with her. Ruby had began to recover, much to their relief. Weiss also got to see Ruby, fussing over her and her bump, which she seemed to take a lot better than Ruby had expected. The nickname "dolt" had been used several times, though.
Weiss had also learned of the official passing of Willow Schnee, becoming unusually quiet and slightly more irritable after receiving the news. Ruby had helped to console her, as well as Jaune. It had helped, but a lingering feeling of unsettlement and sorrow remained, as well as a fear of what Jacques was planning on doing about it.
Jaune had managed to let go of their failure to retrieve the Relic, despite the fact that taking it would've killed and destroyed an awful lot. He was also working on getting back to his old self, the most he could possible handle. Just accepting the fact that Ruby couldn't be his was sad, especially since his hopes had been up before.
He also learned how Weiss felt about it, which was a little surprising, considering how much she had hated him before. Of course, she had seemed to be warming up towards him over the year, but the memory of his doing CPR on her flashed in his mind. That probably had something to do with it.
He was a little curious as to how much Weiss liked him, but the problem was, he didn't really like her anymore. Before hand, it had really just been her beauty that had caused him to fall head over heels for her, so now there wasn't really too much of a romantic connection. It was somewhat amusing, however.
Yang got to fuss over Ruby after their return, joking about Jaune falling for her rather than Ruby. Oscar remained at her side until Maria chided him for not getting enough rest and then sent him off for a brief change in scenery. Qrow had been generally quiet the whole time upon returning. His concern for Ruby did show quite a bit.
So now they all ate together like one big family, talking and telling an occasional story. Tonight was something many had been curious about, however, since Weiss had promised to tell everyone the truth about the mysterious Vorst Schnee. After learning about it, she decided it really wasn't private or personal enough to be kept only to herself, and thus she decided to tell everyone about it, quenching their curiosity.
"So..," Yang said, playfully stirring her last bit of steak in the remaining traces of sauce she had left, "What's his deal?"
Weiss rolled her eyes at her teammate's curiosity and shook her head with a light smirk. She cleared her throat and pushed her now empty plate forward, implying that she was now finished. Then she took a quick sip of water and looked over everyone, readying herself and renewing her newly received knowledge.
"So you've all been wondering who this 'Vorst Schnee' is," she began, receiving many eager nods from nearly everyone at the table, "And I've finally gotten the story as to who he is and how he's related to me."
"So he is your brother?" Blake said, "It's been confirmed?"
Weiss nodded briefly before continuing.
"Yes. Now, it all began when-"
"Pass the mashed potatoes, please!" Yang said eagerly, holding her hands out towards the white pot half full of fluffy mashed potatoes, which sat just out of arm's reach. Weiss rolled her eyes and pushed the pot towards Yang, who snatched it and heaped a large serving onto her plate.
"Thanks!" she said back in a happy voice. Weiss nodded, a bit annoyed, and cleared her throat again.
"As I was saying," she said, looking over everyone again, "It all began when my parents were nearing the time of their engagement. Now, my mother was very in love with my father, and one night...well, the two of them ended up getting very close, and she ended up getting pregnant."
Nora glanced at Blake. Blake glanced at Ren. Ren glanced at Jaune. Jaune glanced at Yang. Yang glanced at Oscar, and he gave them all a "what?!" shrug, which was responded by many eye rolls. Weiss gave them an irritated look before she continued on.
"After they found out," she said, "My father proposed to my mother, and about two weeks later, they got married. My father admitted that he was planning on getting married a little later, not to mention having children. But whatever the case, they had a baby boy and named him Vorst.
"Now, my mother adored Vorst, and my father...well, he tried for a little while to get used to the differences of having a loud, squealing baby around all the time, waking up constantly at night and all that. Money wasn't a problem, which is one of the reasons they kept him in the first place. So anyhow, for years, Vorst was my mother's 'sweet little baby', even after he grew to be nearly as tall as her.
"But during those years of growing up, he found that my father would seldom spend any time with him, and if he did, it never seemed sincere or heartfelt. Vorst was a more attentive one, analyzing things and taking note of them. So when he realized that his own father took hardly any interest in him, he felt unloved and heartbroken."
"Please pass the roasted carrots," Yang murmured, her hand outstretched the the pan of steaming roasted carrots. Weiss gave her a frustrated growl and a cold glare as she handed her the pan. Yang smiled her thanks and dug in. Weiss cleared her throat to continue.
"He also had no friends, since my father didn't allow him to make any and my mother had little control of what he did. He also decided that they wouldn't have any more children for the time being, due to him being so busy or something like that. My mother still loved and cared for him, as she did to my father, but neither seemed to be enough."
Her tone sobered greatly and she folded her hands.
"One night, Vorst snook away. He was only 13 at the time, but he was so sick of the lack of love he received from his father, which is one thing I guess a son could really get upset about. Not having love from his father. He didn't permanently run away or anything rash like that; he just hid for a little while, exploring Atlas.
"He met General Ironwood sometime during his little time away, who was newly deemed headmaster of Atlas Academy. He was still the general of the Atlas Military, of course, but he was much younger than now. Well, he saw Vorst and mentioned to him a couple things about huntsmen and such, then of his army, fascinating him. He was only a boy at the time, and he found it quite interesting.
"After about a week, he returned home and back into my mother's worried arms. He wasn't home too long, though, as only about a year later, he made a choice to train to become a huntsman, explaining General Ironwood's invitation to train with him and about his promise to accept him into his Academy when the time came.
"Of course my mother spoke against it, but she said nothing to my father, and when the time came, Vorst left. Like Winter did. Like I did. He was first of us to leave my father's grip, and my mother couldn't blame him. When my father found out he was missing, he demanded an answer, only for my mother to lie him out of it.
"About a year later, Winter was born. Then three after that, I came along, and then did Whitley. And little did any of us children know, but we had an unintroduced older brother training to become a huntsman. That, or some kind of helper for Ironwood, but that wasn't clarified.
"Well, sometime later, when Vorst was about 21-"
"Wait, how come they never told you?" Yang interrupted, her head leaning on her hand as she held a cup up to her mouth with the other, "It's not like something like that is super classified information or something." She took a long drink of the milk in her cup.
Weiss frowned and shook her hands at her, annoyed.
"I don't know!" she snapped, crossing her arms, "Even Winter doesn't know why."
"Wait, Winter knows now, too?" Jaune asked, scratching the back of his head. Weiss looked even more irritated.
"Yes!" she howled, "She was the one telling me all this in the first place!"
"Wait, how could your sister possibly know all this if she was never told?' Ren asking, confused, "Didn't you say no one ever told any of you or your siblings, including Winter?"
Weiss was starting to look very mad now.
"My mother told her, okay?!" she yelled, her cheeks a steamy red. Her voice softened and her tone shifted over to a sadder tone. "She told her shortly before she d-died. About a week ago."
"Oh, right," Yang said, giving her an apologizing look, "Sorry 'bout that."
"It's fine," Weiss mumbled.
"Losing a parent, no matter how close the relationship was, is always hard," Maria sighed, looking down at her plate that she had licked clean minutes before, "Me and my mother were never too close, thought there was that mother-daughter connection. When we lost her, there was still grief, despite how little I had truly bonded with her."
Weiss gave Maria some form of a thankful look, along with the barely noticeable glint of tears in her sky blue eyes, which the old woman noticed almost immediately. She gave her a comforting slight nod back, along with a small assuring smile.
A stretch of silence followed the sudden sorrowful moment, the sounds of people awkwardly poking at their food and Yang's somewhat loud eating noises the only sounds that could be heard, as well as the ticking of a nearby clock and the ever-present crackling of the fireplace. Weiss just stared at her reflexion in her mug, hardly blinking.
Everyone else just waited for someone to say something.
Blake was about to open her mouth to suggest starting clean up, when the sounds of muffled footsteps coming down the stairs could be heard. Everyone's eyes immediately looked to the entryway to the dining room, where the bottom of the stairs could be seen, and saw Qrow. But it wasn't just him.
Holding onto his hand for the sake of comfort and a little for support was Ruby, wearing a red tank-top with a soft black robe draped over it, and some simple white and black leggings with red stripes on them. The tank-top clung to her, making her somewhat swollen stomach quite visible through the opening of her robe.
The group's gaze followed her as she and Qrow walked into the dining room and then to the kitchen, where they both washed their hands. Then Qrow took a seat at the table, while Ruby stood in the kitchen, leaning up against the counter top.
"Good, you've got plenty of leftovers," Qrow said gruffly, quickly filling up his plate with the various dishes at the table. "I'm starving."
Maria grinned.
"You've come at the right time," she said with a tone that partially contained a smug feel to it, "I have some creamy frozen yogurt waiting for dessert in the freezer, and no one's touched it yet, of course."
Qrow flashed her a teasing, thankful look, along with a famous grin of his as he began wolfing down his food, much alike to Yang. Everyone else, minus Maria and Qrow, looked at Ruby, who gave them a shy and slightly nervous look back. She looked like she had no idea what she was suppose to do, though her gaze eyed up the dinner on the table.
"Um, could I maybe..," she began slowly, looking nervous, "Uh, could I please, er-maybe e-eat-"
"You wanna come eat with us?" Yang broke out, finishing Ruby's sentance for her, "Sure! Come right up! I even saved you a spot!" She looked to the seat next to her, only to find Oscar there. Giving him a rouch shove out of the chair, she patted the now empty seat.
"Hey, ow!" Oscar said, irritated as he rubbed the back of his head while he lay on his side on the floor next to 'Ruby's' chair. Ruby giggled softly and made her way through the kitchen and back into the dining room, everyone's eyes still on her.
"Uh, sure, thanks," she answered, sounding very quiet. She gave Oscar a quick apologetic glance before sitting down on the chair and facing everyone, fidgeting uncomfortably under their eyes. Oscar sat up next to her, standing up and then trying to find an empty chair to seat himself on.
More silence.
"Hey, Ruby, are you doing okay?" Yang asked a moment later, interrupting the long, awkward quietness. Ruby looked over at Yang and silently nodded, looking like a young child who was either mute and lonely, or felt guilty and lonely.
"Yeah," she answered quietly, "Why wouldn't I be exactly?" Even her voice sounded weak and oddly low in sound.
"You seem a little..," Yang began, touching her finger to her chin in thought, "Drained, if you know what I mean. You alright? Something bothering you, cuz I can probably help if there is."
Ruby looked down at the clean plate on the table in front of her, then up at all the faces around the table. Then she stared at Maria's kind, welcoming face, and then Qrow's slightly concerned, understanding face. And then she looked over at Oscar's handsome, soft face, and a tear glistened in her eye.
"Ruby?" Blake asked slowly.
And then she did something no one expected in that suddenly quiet, sober moment. She began to cry.
Large sparkling tears rolled out her eyes and slid down her cheeks, one after another until she couldn't stop. She began wiping repeatedly at her eyes, trying to get the tears away, but they just kept on coming. She felt Oscar's hand on her shoulder, heard his voice asking her if she was okay over and over again.
Then she heard Qrow stand up out of his chair, scooting it backwards, and walk over to her, putting his hand on her other shoulder, but not saying anything. She looked up at him through misty, blurry eyes and could just make out that rare smile on his face, one that could comfort her in nearly any time. She tried to smile, but it wavered and the corners of her mouth turned down.
Then she hid her face into her hands, the others looking at her and not knowing what to do. Ren glanced at Nora and the duo's hands slowly locked under the table. Jaune sighed and looked sadly at her, feeling her pain. Blake looked down. Yang looked ready to cry. Maria just watched with a sorrowful expression as she watched the poor girl gush.
"I-I'm so s-sorry, guys," she sobbed, her hands still covering her face, "I-I've let you all d-down and now I'm m-making our mission t-take longer and making u-us stop so many t-times! And now I'm s-stuck expecting a b-baby and I have no idea w-what to do!"
Maria's look softened even more and she tapped her fingers lightly on the table.
"Now, now, child," she said softly, "It's alright. It was just an accident, so you don't have to worry as much. We're all here for you no matter what happens, right everyone?" She gestured towards everyone at the table.
Jaune gave his head a slow, mechanical nod. Ren, Yang, and Nora nodded a bit more sincerely. Blake just looked down, and no one said anything. Maria felt a bit agitated at this, but decided not to say much about it. Instead, she continued on.
"Once you and Oscar's babies are born, I can help you with them while the rest of the group continues on their big old mission of saving Remnant. And I know I've never been a mother, but I still know a few tips for you to use."
Ruby looked up from her hands, glancing briefly at Oscar and Qrow before looking partially confused and partially relieved at Maria, her eyes and entire face soaked. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes again, looking like one big mess.
"R-really?" she stammered, sniffing again. Maria's mouth opened into a wide, sweet smile and she nodded her head.
"Of course," she answered warmly, "Now start eating. You've got to feed those hungry little children inside of you. Feed them!" She had a tone of playful scolding in her voice as she waved wildly at Ruby's stomach and said the last bit of her sentence.
Ruby giggled lightly and began to serve herself some steak, when Oscar quickly interjected and started serving on his own. She gave him a silly, slightly annoyed face, rolling her eyes a little and attempting to wipe the rest of her tears away.
"Thanks, Maria," Ruby sniffed, a wobbly smile on her face, "I-it means a lot."
Maria nodded again before taking a long drip of her tea, which had cooled down significantly since the beginning of the meal when she had forgotten its existence. She momentarily frowned at its flat, cold taste before drinking some more.
After Ruby had been completely served and Oscar and Qrow had found their seats, the group found themselves poking at the last bits of food on their plates, not saying much and just awkwardly stirring in their chairs. Qrow looked unamused and tired, his eyes often on Ruby. Oscar stared at her nearly the whole time.
Everyone else...well, they just sort of sat there. Then Nora, who couldn't bear such awkward silence with so many friends around and at a time when they weren't being specifically hunted at the moment, decided to spark some life into the moment.
"Hey!" she shouted, standing up suddenly and scaring everyone half to death, "Um, who wan't some of that frozen yogurt Maria just mentioned before? I know I do! What do you say, Maria?!" She pointed her finger at the old woman who simply shook her head and stood up.
'Alright, I'll get it," she said, leaning over on her cane and waddling over to the kitchen. The group's eyes went from her, back to Ruby, and then to random places. Ruby felt her teeth grit, feeling annoyed that everything had suddenly turned awkward just because she had appeared. Why in Remnant did they have to act like that?!
"So!" she said, unusually brightly for her weakened condition, "Uh, Weiss! What's the whole deal with that Vorst guy, do you know? I heard Jaune say something about you calling Winter and trying to get some answers. Did you figure it out yet?"
Weiss eyes jerked up to lock with her leader's, and she nodded her head.
"Yeah," she answered, "He's my brother, about a whole 18 years older than me, or something like that."
"Ooo!" Ruby continued, using energy she didn't have much of, "Why such a large age gap? Did your parents have some kind of secret love affair or something before Winter or you were born? Oh, I know! He was born at a time when your parents didn't plan on having any kids!"
Weiss raised a brow at her, confused at her sudden energy, and shook her head.
"You should really stop straining yourself like that," she said matter-of-factly, "You've just recovered from being decently messed up and you're still weak, not to mention you're growing two whole human beings inside of you. I don't need you to put on another face for me, you know."
She crossed her arms and gave her some kind of look that mingled between, I care about you, and, You're annoying. Ruby felt more anger begin to steam up inside her. She was sick and tired of people constantly shunning her about things, just because she was pregnant. Sure, it was likely a statement made out of concern, but there was always the chance that they just found her annoying.
"I know, I know..," she muttered, looking down at the wooden floor boards. The dinner she had just wolfed down had been good; steak, mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, dinner rolls, and salad. But despite how full and satisfied she felt, one feeling remained, making her feel a bit rude if she were to ask.
Maria had several bowls out and was now scooping spoonful after spoonful of creamy frozen yogurt into each one, adding sprinkles, whipped cream, and then a cherry on top of every single serving. Then she crossed over to the table and began handing them out.
"Oh wow, thanks Maria," Oscar said, nodding gratefully at her. She grinned and nodded back.
"Yumm-mmy!" Yang said, immediately digging into her bowl. Nora, Yang, and Ruby all ate their dessert in a similar manner, while Ren, Blake, and Qrow shared in technique, and Oscar and Jaune ate it in no special way. Maria was about to sit down when she had another thought come to her mind.
"Would anyone like anything else?" she asked, clasping her hands together and staring at them all, "Last call for anything extra before we clean up for the night."
Ruby stirred in her chair, feeling more and more afraid to ask. But the constant, nagging feeling continued to press and pull on her, and she had to blurt out her request last minute when she finally did ask.
"C-could I please h-have some-" she began, her eyes slammed shut and her hands balled into fists, "S-some...watermelon...?"
Maria blinked, raising a brow while Oscar had to clap his hand over his mouth to stifle a stray chuckled. Ruby had ranted to him constantly when the two of them were alone about her constant craving for watermelon. She had supposedly been craving it from the second month of her pregnancy, so to have some would be like heaven for her.
"Watermelon?" Maria repeated, cocking her head to the side, mildly amused. Ruby nodded her head earnestly.
"Y-yes," she stammered, "Watermelon...please."
Maria laughed aloud and shook her head, walking back to the table and sitting herself heavily down. Ruby felt some kind of disappointment fill her, wishing desperately that she could jam a sweet, juicy slice of cold watermelon into her mouth, chewing on it's perfect quenchiness.
"I would, child, I would," she said, sticking her spoon into her dessert, "But unfortunately it isn't watermelon season at this time of the year here, so I don't have any to cute up. I apologize very much." She chuckled again and began to eat her frozen treat.
Ruby just sat there, blank eyed and mouth dropped open as her heart shattered into a million prices. No watermelon. She wasn't getting any while she was in Atlas, which was who-knows-how-long. She would forever miss that sweet fruit that she had always enjoyed and gorged herself on in the summertime-
"Hey, speaking of watermelons and stuff," Yang said, pushing her plate back and giving everyone a smug smirk, "Do you notice how good this frozen stuff is?"
"Oh, Yang, don't you dare...," Jaune sighed, leaning his head on his hand.
"It sure is...sMELON good!" she said with an even wider smile than before. Blake and Ruby cringed. Jaune, Ren, Weiss, and Qrow all just groaned and shifted in their seats. Oscar shrugged.
"I think it was pretty good," he commented simply.
"Eh!" Yang said pointing eagerly at him, "Someone understands the value and power of a good pun!" She held her hand out to high five him, but simply slapped him hard on the face, missing his hand.
"Ow, Yang!" he moaned, regaining balance on his seat as he rubbed his cheek. Yang laughed loudly and shook her head, her thick golden hair following along and waving around.
"Whoops!" she giggled, "Sorry, Oscar! My bad." She didn't look the least big guilty, nothing but laughter to show how she felt about what she had just done. Probably still had a bit of anger left towards him or something. Ruby felt a little bad for him, the poor guy, but she had to admit, it was kind of funny.
A few giggles went around the table and the atmosphere had returned back to its mostly warm and happy feeling. Nora licked her bowl cleaning, resembling a wild dog very closely, and then set it down, patting her belly and sighing with satisfaction.
"So, Ruby!" she said, looking eagerly over at her friend, "Have you been thinking about any names for the twins yet? It's been like, a whole four months since you've had them, so how about it?"
Ruby blinked. She had been thinking distantly about names once or twice, but not too seriously or too long. It hadn't really occurred to her to start thinking about names already. There was still quite a while to go.
"Um, well," she began, unsure of what to say. She was cut short by a gasp of disbelief from Nora, who's hands were pressed up against both sides of her face in horror.
"Whaaaat?!" she gasped, "You haven't?! Okay, this is not acceptable. Not acceptable at all!" She put her hands on her hips and stood up abruptly, flashing an accusing look at Oscar, who shrunk slightly away. "Are you responsible for this?! Did you not think of anything, either?"
"Um, no," he answered, feeling less scared and more startled by Nora's craziness, "I haven't had any time."
"Well, then!" Nora said, marching over to Ruby and grasping her firmly by the wrist, jerking her up and dragging her away, "Ruby, you have certainly had enough time, if you ask me! We are going to my room to discuss this matter right away! My future nieces aren't gonna have a minute without names after we're through!"
"Wait, what?!" Ruby cried as she was dragged mercilessly away, "What do you mean, future nieces?! You aren't even related to them! What is happening right nooooowww?!"
The group watched as the two friends disappeared up the stairs, the ruckus they were causing slowly drifting off as they made their way up the rest of the stairs, through the hallway, and into their room with a loud slam of the door being roughly shut.
"Well that was..," Yang began, scraping the last of her bowl clean while looking at the entrance to the dining room.
"Random," Blake finished, also staring at the same place.
"Yeah," Jaune agreed. Everyone's eyes, minus Maria's, were on the entrance to the dining room, a lingering feeling of craziness settling on everyone. Oscar looked like he was trying so hard not to laugh, which was a mild surprise to Qrow. He seldom saw Oscar looking like he was about to burst into laughter, due to how mature he'd been getting and such.
And then the floodgates opened and Oscar let out a loud, long laugh that had been so rarely heard nowadays. His head was leaned back, a tear glistened in the corner of his eye, and he was laughing so hard, he looked like he was struggling to breath. Qrow smirked, happy to see Oscar, not Ozpin, actually happy at the moment.
Even Jaune, who was still feeling a little bitter towards the young man, felt some kind of heartwarming feeling inside himself at the sight of Oscar. It made a smirk appear on his face, and he looked down at the scarlet sash tied to his waste.
Ya know, Pyrrha...if you were here right now, I wonder what you'd do. About Ruby being pregnant and all that with Oscar. I image you'd give the two of them a hug and try your best to help them the most you could, kind of like Maria, but in your own little way.
His smirk remained, despite the aching feeling of sorrow that had begun to lodge itself into his throat.
I bet you'd even follow after Nora to talk about names with Ruby, seeing how you were. To be honest, though, for some time now I'd hoped we could've done the same thing with our own children someday...
He felt a slight chance of tears coming as he sat there, a happy and cozy atmosphere around him with his friends laughing and memories being made while his head rested on his hand and he stared down at his sash. Imagining Pyrrha there was wonderful and terrible at the same time.
Jaune looked up, spotting an empty chair in the corner, and then, with a long, shaky sigh, closed his eyes and then opened them again, prepared for what he was about to do to himself.
Opening his eyes again, he saw that the chair in the corner was no longer empty, but was now seating the woman of his dreams; a legend in human form; an angel in disguise.
With a sweet smile set on her perfect lips, her silky red hair framed her milky white face and her bright emerald eyes. Her golden and brown armor glistened in the light of the dining room lights, and she looked even more beautiful than ever right then and there. A soft look was in her eyes as she overlooked the table, and a tear slid down her cheek.
Then she locked eyes with Jaune, the familiar feeling of his heart beating seeming to sync with her's, even though he couldn't actually feel her heartbeat. She smiled a little wider at him, and her mouth opened, mouthing her precious last words to him.
"I'm sorry..."
Jaune closed his eyes again and opened them, seeing now that the chair was empty once more. But no tears fell from his eyes. No more stabbing pain seared in his heart or throat. Only a feeling of numb, almost hollow contentment filled him as he stared flatly at the seat. He sighed and then shook his head, turning his attention back to the group that suddenly seemed a lot less interesting now.
"...And that's how I discovered my semblance!" Yang finished proudly, earning a few mocking claps from some of the people at the table, "Not a super special occasion, but still a great one!"
"I have to say," Ren interjected, sipping slowly at his hot tea, "The tale of Nora's semblance is quite an amusing one. But I think she would prefer to tell us all herself, rather than for me to deliver the story myself."
"Maybe we should get her back in here, then," Yang said eagerly.
"No thank you," Weiss grunted. They all laughed some more, Oscar included, and continued on with their lighthearted tales. But through it all, Jaune just sat there, listening with half an ear as he thought absently about Pyrrha.
If he had just made it to the top of the tower, would he have been able to save her? Even if it meant his death, would he have been able to stop Cinder from killing her and taking her away forever? With a numb heart and frozen emotions, he sighed flatly and shook his head a little.
"I'm sorry, too..," he mumbled, so quietly, it might as well have been spoken in his mind.
Besides the part about guilty Ruby and sad Jaune, I thought we deserved a break from Sadville, especially after last chapter. Hope y'all enjoyed this one. ;P And yes, next chapter we get some more break when Nora and Ruby discuss names...
Christmas takes from my writing time; New Years seems to give me more, apparently. Yes, a new update right away! I'm even a bit surprised myself, so I hope y'all enjoy that, too. Thanks for reviewing and following and favoriting and reading and stuff, people. :D
Firewyrm, not quite sure how'd they use the Relics to restore Ozpin, but I guess it's possible. And Guest, thank you very much! So many times, I've wished I could PM guests, but I can't. ;-; Yeah, I agree, there aren't an awful lot of good Rosegarden fics that have some decent length to them. As for your idea on how to separate the two, I have put it int consideration and honestly find it very interesting. Thanks!
Story Advertisements: I Can't and Welcome To The Real Wold, by Alois H. (Fans of excellently written poems, read these. Two great poems, one being about Ozpin and Salem, and another about how cruel Remnant is...kind another way of Roman ranting.)
First Impressions, by ArthurSG. (Good one-shot fans, read this. Be warned, though, it has some course language in it. I myself haven't even finished it yet, but's it's pretty good XD)
Thanks for reading and tune in for more chapters!