Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 57: Fragility
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.(Chapter Start)
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October 14th
Monday
Cloudy
After a debate over where to bring Pyra, everyone on team RWBY and JNPR were back in the latter's dorm. Without knowing what was going on, Azura would have preferred bringing her to the medical building for a checkup, but he was once again convinced by Ruby and Blake to keep it more on the downlow. His thoughts churn in his head as he sits on Pyra's bedside, wanting to stay beside her while everyone tries to reconvene on what happened.
Their voices were drowned out as he watched his partner on the bed, having been simply placed down on top of the blankets, and wondered how such a girl could exist. So strong, yet so quiet. So stubborn, but oh so fragile. He should have paid more attention to her, should have been by her side more, should have been a better partner.
She wasn't asleep, he knew that much, but she didn't seem exactly awake. It was like a state of limbo, one that he wasn't sure if he should try breaking. Even as the questions of why and how and when razed his mind like her flames, he couldn't bring himself to try and force her to answer questions.
As he absently brushed her hair with one hand, he was brought back to the conversation by a soft hand touching his arm. He looked over, broken out of his stupor, and saw Aurora looking at him with those beautifully innocent pink eyes. He smiled at her as he let everyone try to reason why Pyra was missing in the first place, speaking softly as he patted the space next to him.
"How are you feeling, Aurora?"
"Okay." She answered, her gentle tone conveying a calmness as she sat next to him. "You are...conflicted. Not like Pyra, but still conflicted."
He breathes out a small laugh, pulling the small girl closer to his side. "Can't hide from you, huh? Yes, this situation has brought up some questions I have to ask myself."
"Will you be okay?"
"Of course. I'm more worried about you and Pyra. You felt what she was feeling, even if it was from an outside perspective."
The girl looks down, drumming her fingers on her legs in a motion akin to Ruby. "It was a...whirlwind of negativity. A mixture of emotions that I couldn't see well. I felt it from here."
"Is that normal?"
She shakes her head. "I didn't even know it was possible until now."
"Maybe it's because of Ren training you." Azura offered as an explanation to it. "Your aura and semblance control have been improving, so it could be helping."
Aurora nods. "I wish I knew how she was feeling, but I can't. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. We'll figure this out."
Their conversation dies off, leaving Azura to try to comfort both Pyra and Aurora. He finally tuned in to the conversation going on around him, but when he found that he had absolutely no idea what was happening, he reached out to Summer for a bit of assistance.
"They've been going in circles about what happened with Pyra, but I wouldn't even know where to begin with it. You teenagers are very confusing."
He sighed at the words, not disagreeing with them, and cleared his throat to speak.
"Everyone." He said, slightly louder than usual as everyone turned to look at him. "I think we're worrying a little bit too much about the what if's. Not even Aurora knows the why and how, and she was the first one to find her. Until Pyra is in a more stable state, we won't have an answer."
"He's right." Ren said, when no one else spoke for a moment. His next words were laced with barely heard sarcasm. "I was trying to say exactly that."
"Then, what should we do?" Nora asks, her tone worried. "We shouldn't just leave her, if her condition could worsen."
"Well," Ruby started, shrinking slightly as all eyes went on her. "Why not have Azura and someone else stay here with Pyra and Aurora? We can quickly examine our schedules, too, and have everyone else make sure Azura and whoever else stays behind aren't going to miss anything."
"Oddly thought out, coming from you." Weiss says, her dry humor never dulling.
"Oh, shush. You know I'm a planner!" Ruby retorts. "Let's just see who stays behind, okay?"
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.(Line Break)
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As it turned out, it was Nora that he shared the least amount of classes with. The normally bubbly and energetic girl was almost solemn, something that Azura had only seen a rare few times. He wouldn't tell her that it looked good to her face, but it was nice to see something beneath the energy and child-like hyperness, even if the circumstances weren't the best for it. The one problem with that attitude on Nora, however, was that she could neither sit still or 'stand guard'. She hadn't spoken an entire word for an hour, though, which did worry him.
He stole a glance over to her as he sat on the edge of the bed facing Pyra, finding her to be watching Luna reading a story with Aurora, her chin resting on the girl's head with arms and tail wrapped around her. As he examined her face, he wondered what was going on inside her head. She seemed obviously bothered, but by what? Pyra's condition and how it's been recurring? That's what he presumed, and he couldn't blame her. She wouldn't tell them anything about it, not that he was one to talk.
"You okay, Nora?"
"I will be." She answered, looking at him now. "Where were you last night?"
"I was out in the city. Had something come up."
"Doing what, though?" She asks then, her serious demeanour off putting. "You and Pyra have gone from secretive, but around us, to secretive and never around us. It's concerning."
Azura looks at Pyra, finding some shame in his secrecy when it's questioned by Nora of all people. Something about her being serious is much scarier than one would think.
"I don't know what Pyra's been up to, I'll admit." He says quietly, letting the other part of the question fall off without meaning to. "I've not been a good partner to her."
Nora sits down next to him, shoulder to shoulder, her lack of personal space not unwelcome to him. "Then spend more time with her. Be around her more. I know it's obvious, but some people don't think of it when it's not visible."
He nods slowly, looking at Pyra with a guilty smile. "I didn't think of it until now. Even though I should have."
"There's no point in thinking like that, you know." Nora says, her words wiser than her abnormally calm tone as she takes another look towards Aurora and Luna. "Ren told you that we're orphans...I see that young me in Aurora every day."
She pauses then leans her head on Azura's shoulder. He looks at her then, like he was seeing a completely new side to Nora. A more exposed and vulnerable side.
"But I shouldn't let the past haunt me. It's taken enough from me, so it shouldn't take more." She continues quietly, so as to not disturb Aurora. "The same applies for you and Ren. You both have that look in your eyes."
"What look?" Azura asks, finding that he wanted to know the true words and feelings of Nora Valkyrie
It was a change of pace in the girl's mannerisms that interested him. What else did she think about that never got spoken?
"The look of someone who has one foot in the past still. I think the two of you could learn a thing or two from each other." She explains, a quiet laugh exhaling from her lips. "Makes me worry about both of you. Pyrrha's not the only one who worries about everyone like family, you know."
The words give him pause. He wasn't exactly sure how to take them, either. He hadn't considered the idea of team Juniper, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, Ren, Pyra, and himself as one family. Was that what they were to Nora and Ren?
"I'm sorry for being...ignorant, I guess."
"It's fine." She replies instantly. "Well, it's not all fine, but I understand. And if I didn't, I know Pyrrha does. You're so focused on this bigger picture...don't take this the wrong way, but I think you would have fit team RWBY more than us. All five of you are so focused and full of ideals and reasons to be where you are. You all came here with a goal and mission in mind, and you all fight for them like tooth and nail."
"You're like us, too. All of you." Azura argued, not wanting Nora to downplay herself. "In the end, don't all of the students here have the same goal of defending the remnants of humanity left?"
"Of course I am." She answers with confidence, lifting her head to look at him with a smirk. "I'm just saying that you five are always doing more than just the bare minimum. It's like you guys found your stride and beliefs already...though, you didn't seem so dead set before the Summer thing. You seem so much more focused now."
"We're still two different people, Nora."
"I know that. I mean that you seem more confident with Summer around. You would think it would be Ruby or Yang more, but it's different with you. Maybe it's because of that closeness you now share with her."
"You think so?" He asks, looking over at her and into her turquoise blue eyes.
A moment's silence found Azura looking into the deep depths of them, captured in this moment of vulnerability. Was Nora always this perceptive?
"I know so. You just have to believe in yourself, because I know I do." She says, poking him on the nose with a finger. "And I have to accept that this is all I can do for you right now, but you have to accept that you can't hide everything."
She gets up and out of her sitting place next to him, stretching onto her toes with raised arms. Their eyes meet once more, then they smile at each other. As infrequent as they spoke, a mutual understanding had formed between them. A boundary of privacy and family. Pyra's body stirs in front of them, breaking the moment as they watch her on the bed as she seems to start to come back to reality.
"I'll take Aurora out for a walk, try to get her to open up a bit about what she's feeling at the moment." Nora speaks quietly, winking at him humorously. "I'll have you make it up to me later."
"Thank you, Nora."
It didn't take long for Nora to convince Aurora to leave the room as Azura stood up and watched Pyra become more and more aware of where she was, rubbing the smaller girl's head as she passed by with Nora pushing her along by the shoulders. The door closed after Nora, leaving him in the room with Luna, Summer, and Pyra.
He approached Pyra and sat down at the edge of her bed in silence for several moments, catching the bags under her blue eyes. Where they typically glistened and seemed to gently glow within the shade like stars lighting up the night sky, they were now dull and confused. Azura composed himself with a deep breath before speaking to his partner.
"Morning, sleepyhead."
All he received in response was a hum of acknowledgement. He smiled softly, finding a mild desire to nurse her back to health blossom in his heart. But he couldn't do that now, knowing just how much he had to explain.
"How do you feel?"
"Like shit…" She halfheartedly muttered. "What…?"
"You were found in one of the Beacon garages by Aurora. We had to search to find the two of you." He explained, focusing on her facial features for any sign of pain.
"I...don't recall that. How did Aurora find me first, of all people?"
"She didn't explain in full detail, but she said that...she felt, or maybe saw, a mass of negativity from you. Do you...know what that's about?"
Pyra's gaze meets his for the first time since waking, confusion and uncertainty present in her blue eyes. It tugged at his heart to see her like this, that silent guilt of it being his fault whispering in the back of his mind, despite the more optimistic aura of Summer. He could see her thinking it through, rubbing a hand down her face before sighing and frowning.
"I don't know. I don't remember." Her voice breaks as she speaks, distress flooding across her body. "Why do I never remember?"
Moving to her side of the bed, Azura tentatively reached out and pulled her into a hug to try and comfort her. It was the only thing he could think to do in this scenario, knowing that she just needed somebody.
"It's okay, Pyra. Let's take this one step at a time."
He waited for her to calm down slightly, feeling her twitch and draw out shuddering breaths. As seconds turned into a minute, he spoke gently, like he typically did with Aurora.
"What do you last remember?"
Pyra sighs quietly, putting her weight onto him. From an outside perspective, it would look like they were cuddling, a stray thought considered. Azura blamed Summer for it before pushing it away.
"Everyone was exhausted from training together. You weren't there, and neither was I. They all showered and slept early...but I stayed up because you were nowhere to be found." She starts, pausing to try and remember. "Then I...don't remember beyond that."
He nodded, thinking over his next words. He had hoped there would be more of a conclusive answer, but he was willing to bet that neither of them would get an answer without being around each other constantly.
"I have a proposal, then."
Pyra shifted away from him, and he dropped the hug to let her. "A proposal?"
Azura smirks. "Well, the issue seems to be that it happens when no one is around to see it. So, wouldn't having you always with someone fix that problem? We can even work with it from Luna watching over you, if need be."
"You would do that, sure. But, what about the others? Much as I don't fully like the idea of having to be watched over, I can't imagine someone else would want to watch over me like that."
"We're all here to help each other, Pyra."
"But we can't help you?"
Azura pauses, thinking back to his thoughts when they found Pyra and Aurora earlier this morning, and then to Nora's words to him just now. Not hiding everything, but he couldn't drag everyone in. They'd be his responsibility, on top of the fact that they need to make public appearances for the tournament.
He shakes his head after thinking it through. "Not without time to think...definitely not all of you, if at all."
"What about Blake, then?" Pyra asks, sounding slightly annoyed just at the mention.
"What does this have to do with her?" He asks back, knowing fully well she was the closest he had to a confidant in the topic right now. "Give me time, Pyra. There's no other place I'd want you than by my side right now. I feel that it's my responsibility to watch over you until we figure out more of what is happening to you."
She looks down, sighing quietly. "I'm sorry. I'm just very...frustrated at my state."
Azura reaches out, touching her hand to make her look at him as he smiles. "It'll be figured out, Pyra. It will be stopped, too. Together?"
Pyra smiles then, a brief relief coming on her face. "Together...I think I'd like that."
Azura smiles back, then grows more serious in his demeanor. "You'll be safe, Pyra. I promise to help you however I can."
"You make that promise to everyone under your care, Azura."
"And I just made it again. In words, this time."
Pyra's face reddens slightly, in what was a first as far as Azura knew. "I am in your care, then."
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.(Line Break)
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The broken moon hanging overhead was casted in shadow large enough to cover all but the floating bits that kept aligned with it in darkness. It made the nighttime much darker in comparison that even night vision could see, Azura noticed, as he watched the stars glitter brighter within the shadows. It gave him something to do while waiting for Blake to appear, having sent her a message asking her to come to their spot on the roof of the dorm buildings.
Last night was too important to not speak to her about, and now he had the added reason of Pyra. He needed to consult someone about it, and he trusted Blake the most under the circumstances surrounding all of them with the White Fang's growing aggression in Vale. A stray thought went out to the other branches of the White Fang as Azura wondered if they were also growing radical in the same way the Vale branch was. He doubted Blake knew, since she left early into the change in their ways. But it was still a valid question to ask her at some point, maybe even tonight.
Luna's ears flicking to the side as she sat cross legged in the air next to him said everything that it needed to. He didn't even need to turn his head to know that it was Blake, her silent footsteps unheard to him.
"Thanks for coming, Blake."
"I don't think anything could get by you with Luna around." The cat Faunus muttered as she sat on the side opposite of Luna by pure coincidence. "Safest person in the world."
He shares a look with Luna, then shrugs. "Not wrong, though I don't know about being the safest person in all of Remnant."
"You do have a tendency to throw yourself at danger." She conceded. "What brought about this nightly rendezvous, anyway?"
"Needed to talk to someone. You're the only one able to listen at the moment."
"I see. Is this about why you vanished overnight and never came back until this morning?"
"Mostly, yeah." He nods, sighing as he looks into the starlit sky. "I think something very bad is unfolding and we're all two steps behind it."
Blake looks over at him with a frown. "We knew that to some degree already, at least. What happened?"
"We tried intercepting the White Fang at the old police station. Some vault was being breached and it held what we thought were confiscated weapons and gear."
"Wait, the breaking news about the old police station was you?!"
"Well, I was technically the other side of the group that caused the explosion, yes." He answered dryly.
"Hm...that wouldn't make sense, would it? A police department just leaving such important things for years? Doesn't add up. Unless…"
Azura looks at her, holding a fist to her mouth as she absently chews on her thumb. "Unless what?"
Her amber eyes hold hints of concern in them. "Unless there was a deal. Or even an insider of the police planted by the White Fang."
Azura's face scrunched up and he frowned deeply just at the thought of it. "You won't like what I say next, then."
He had her full attention now, her eyes piercing into him like daggers.
"One of the women from the CCT incident Ruby and I got involved in was there at the police department. She seemed to be sneaking around us and the White Fang, and never engaged until I approached her in the data room. She had a flash drive and seemed to already be done with whatever she was using it for, since she didn't stop herself from destroying the room to fight me and Luna and my companion for that night."
"Something doesn't add up there. If that's the same woman as before, does that mean they're working separately from the White Fang? That's a situation that I dread more than them all being White Fang." Blake mutters to herself, trying to figure it all out. "Did anything else happen?"
"Well, my companion got hurt pretty bad during the fight and then we were knocked unconscious by an explosion of...I want to say wind, fire, and lightning Dust all together. They're Dust users, that's for sure." He explained, trying to recall the foggier details. "When we tried escaping, the fire-escape broke and I fell down from near the top of the building. Luckily, Luna had one of us and I had Summer's semblance to break my fall as best as possible."
"Wait, you fell from the building at that height? And you never checked for any injuries?!" Blake exclaimed, slightly louder than she expected, hissing her next words quietly. "Are you insane?"
"I'm relatively fine, I swear. Poor wording on my part." Azura said, trying to calm her with raised arms as he stretched away from her. "Summer's semblance broke my fall for the most part, aura did the rest."
"Then say that ahead of time, idiot."
Azura breathed out a laugh, lowering his arms as he shook his head. "After that, I was kind of left defenseless in the open lot with White Fang members all around. Luckily, I managed to escape with the help of my newfound ally, and everyone made it out unscathed beyond some injuries and bruises." He frowns then. "But it seems like some sort of higher up is here in Vale now. You were right, Blake, they're trying to pull one up on us after the breach attempt."
"I figured as much." She mutters, her eyes hardening. "I wish I could still keep tabs on them. Have someone to still contact from within."
Azura saw her regret as much as he felt it. The idea of what she could have done instead, what if's and maybe's regarding her decision to leave the White Fang. In the end, he knew that her decision to leave was one filled with letting go of many things.
"You made the right decision, Blake. Starting anew means leaving everything before then behind."
"I sure hope that's the case. I could have done more to stop the…" She trails off, at a loss of words for how to describe it. "I should have done more to stop their turn to anger and bloodlust."
"Arguing with yourself over what-if's doesn't change anything, you know that." Azura says, raising one hand out for his mother to take, watching her closely. Luna floated down gently in front of him, placing her hand in his as he revealed her to Blake. "But what-if's don't matter if you decide to do something about it."
"Azura?"
He kept his gaze on Luna, wanting to make his point known. "I wasn't there when Luna died. I was just a little kid, even, going from being raised by my mother and a family we were close to to not having any blood-related family left. Even when my semblance bloomed into what it is and reunited us, I was filled with a burning desire to slay the beast that killed her. I still am, but I think I understand that I was controlled by that childish question of 'what if I was strong enough before she died?'. Oobleck made sure I questioned it, and you guys help me to think about what I want beyond that."
He smiles at Luna, getting a smile in return as he feels Blake's gaze on the two of them. Even Summer was alert and no longer listening idly.
"You should turn your regret into a new strength. You keep telling me to use my fear and turn it into strength." He looks at Blake finally, letting Luna go but letting her stay physically visible. "Even if it's fragile and new, you should turn to how you can change them back to what they fought for originally."
Blake looks out across the school grounds towards the city lights. "Back to what they fought for originally...what I fought for originally. Equality, a chance, love without fear."
"We're in a situation that, as little as we know in actuality, isn't about what if's anymore." He said, nudging Blake's shoulder with his own. "Just like how I realize I shouldn't think about what I could have done for Pyra. But, I do know what I can do for her now."
The girl to his side eyed him. "You want to involve her with what's going on."
"I don't want anyone else to have the burden of watching over someone day in and day out, and I know Pyra isn't the most comfortable with the idea either. She can take care of herself in a fight, and as you said just now and as I've been told several times over my life, I am the safest person I know."
"Do you think they'd want you to involve yet another student?"
"I know who wouldn't." He answered, meaning both Hood and Neo. "But I have more on my plate than what they want from me. Bad partner or not, Pyra is a close friend of mine and she's having trouble with something that she doesn't understand. She's afraid of it, Blake, Aurora might as well have confirmed that."
Blake smiles then. "You've grown more confident."
"With your help."
"I mean that you're more sure of what to do with yourself in a dangerous situation than before. You were afraid at first, which you should have been, anyone should be. But now, you know what you want. I admire that."
"I got it from you." He says in a partially joking, partially serious, manner. "People that are unsure of themselves just need a little push, that's all. And if that uncertainty is easily breakable, then being there for them until they're sure of themselves is what you do."
"You sound like Ruby." Blake mutters, shaking her head with a humoured chuckle. "You're both so confident in your actions, even if you feel unsure or uncertain. It's something I aspire to do, to be honest."
"We just do what we believe in."
"Like bringing Pyra into your nightly activities? Don't trust me enough to do it?" Blake asked jokingly. "I think you should do it, if you can. I would personally feel better about letting you do what you do if I knew someone as capable as Pyra was watching you on top of Luna and Summer."
"I'd feel better if I could watch over her from now on, too."
"Then do it, if you believe you should. We aren't alone in this fight, even if you feel that we are." Blake said softly, as if also saying the words to herself. "For now, though...why don't we take in the peace we have?"
They sat there and watched the stars for at least an hour in silence, the two Faunus finding a small comfort in being together to watch and listen to the peace of the night. He had been given a lot to consider in regards to his current position in the White Fang conflict and Pyra's memory issues and emotional distress.
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.(Line Break)
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The small fire crackled as another night of soup was currently sizzling in the camping pot, their bowls warm as Qrow and Folina ate in silence. The forest they overlooked from the cliffside of their camp was eerily quiet, which would have unnerved the older man if he was not used to silence by now, but he knew very well that this was a silence of animals or people missing. No animal would want to be near such an apex creature such as a Grimm, much less a Grimm as old as the Nightmare.
He sighs quietly, setting his bowl down to the ground by his side once finished, and looks over at who he was sitting next to. Her green eyes were as deep as an ocean, reminding him of the morning glow of Beacon's tower as the fire reflected in them, while her solemn face looked softened against her smooth and pale skin, dirty as they both were by now. Her normally pure white hair, flowing past her waist as always, was muddled with dirt and small debris, and he couldn't help but wonder if she just didn't care.
Looking at her outfit now, he finally noted that she had adjusted her usual outfit. She was still in a shrine maiden get-up, similar to the old tales of shrine protectors in Anima. Red pleated skirt and ribbons and tied up string held it to the long sleeved robe-like white shirt that she wore. While looser in the chest and backside, the sleeves tightened up before loosening against just before the wrist, covering her hands from the outside. Armor ran down her arm and stopped where her wrist was, mainly black with a visible tint of emerald-colored markings that glittered in the fire. She also wore armor on her legs over black leggings that covered all the way around her feet, but it was colored white with the same emerald green markings that curved in an ornamental design.
"I am not interested in whatever you're looking at, Qrow."
The man snorted in amusement and looked away, drinking from his flask as the near tasteless alcohol went down his throat.
"I noticed that your outfit changed slightly." He says after a moment. "That, and you're being much quieter than normal."
"Oddly serious of you, Qrow. Any particular reason why?"
"Lack of banter makes me have to think." He answered with a dry laugh. "And I still don't know the real reason why you're here."
Folina's eyes narrow slowly. "Do I need a reason beyond ancient Grimm needing to be released from this world?"
He shrugs. "I suppose not. Just curious how it feels knowing that someone with a semblance similar to you is out in the world."
She pauses, seeming more willing to think over the idea. "I am certainly interested in meeting this…"
"Azura." Qrow offered.
"Azura." She says, trying the name out. "Perhaps I will travel to Vale to meet them after this is done with. It is about the Grimm chasing them, after all."
He hums in response, shaking his head. "He's an interesting case, that's for sure."
One that Qrow wasn't sure if he liked or not. He couldn't exactly blame the kid for bringing up such a painful part of his past, though.
"It runs in common with the semblance." Folina responded, brushing her hair back with a hand. "Let's sleep now, waking early means we could catch the fresh tracks."
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.(Chapter End)
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Perhaps not as interesting as the last time we were with Qrow here, but I wanted to put it in nonetheless.
Have a great day/evening!