So, my dad got COVID, which means I got exposed to it as well. Thusly, I am in Day One of quarantine.
Kinda fucked up my plans.
[Two Days Later]
Jaune followed Sun into the hall where Ruby's room was located. Each boy carried a bowl of stew and a bag of bread in their arms, trying their best not to drop them on the way. As they walked, nurses, priests, or priestesses shuffled around them to get to their own stations. More students injured during the attack were up and about, hobbling on crutches or picking at the uncomfortable bandages covering an eye.
When they reached Ruby, Jaune found she was still there, sleeping with an arm crossed over her waist. The other hand was firmly secured within Yang's. Jaune doubting that she'd moved since this morning, continued with his intended purpose. He set a single bowl next to his fellow blonde with a piece of bread and water skin to accompany the meal.
"Thanks..."
"No problem," Jaune replied, patting her on the shoulder. "Hey, that magic storm is starting to let up. In a couple days, it should go away."
Thanks for the information, Velvet...
Weiss was right about Patch being a ley line intersection. An ordinary storm around the island could be made a hundred times worse due to the natural magic influencing it. So, what kept Yang and Ruby's father from getting here was just that. Ozpin couldn't do anything about it as he wasn't nearly powerful enough to bat a storm away. The girl's had to wait until it was gone for them to be reunited.
Jaune didn't know how her father would react to it. In the Paladin's head, as a single father of two, he'd probably lose his mind for a while. Just the fact his daughter was still alive wouldn't be enough with an injury like the one Ruby had. He'd be afraid she would end up crippled for life.
"Got it," Yang replied with a nod.
From behind him, Sun was setting a bowl down. Pyrrha had remained here most dutifully over the past four days. With her condition beginning to improve, she was sitting up instead of being confined to the bed with exhaustion. Nora had also since disappeared, lurking somewhere around Beacon with Ren no doubt.
"How's it feel," Sun asked, dropping off his delivery.
"It's sore," Pyrrha answered with a wince, pulling up her shirt to show off the scar on her belly.
The Spartan's stomach was like that of carved marble. The only blemishes Jaune could see were a mole on her flank and the nasty scar going across the centre of her abs. This line of cartilage matched the shape of the Alpha's blade, including the additional wounds from the sword's jagged edges. A single touch from Pyrrha made that sheet of muscle tense up in pain.
"Feels worse than it looks," Sun surmised, standing to his full height.
"Yep," Pyrrha agreed, painfully shuffling to the edge of her bed. "Lucky we had those healing crystals..." She let out a breath through her teeth as the aching wound cried out in pain.
"I'll look around and see if we can find more of those," Sun said, backing away from Pyrrha's food. "Maybe the auction house or that magic shop in town has them?"
Good idea.
Ahasver couldn't have been the only one to have access to them. Finding a reliable source of healing crystals would help the group out in any disasters like the one in the ruins. The ability to heal any injury like it did was undoubtedly worth the price they might pay.
Sun can take care of that on his own...
Looking to the pile of gifts that were collecting on the side of Ruby's bed, the entire group had come out in full. The stuffed animal and cookies Weiss and Jaune brought. Some adventure books from Ren and Nora. Blake and Sun had gotten ahold of some candy and added it to the pile. Pyrrha hadn't been able to leave to find anything yet, but Jaune didn't doubt she would at the first chance.
It was missing a new set of armour, a scythe, and the dragon tooth knife. Waking up to that would be a pleasant surprise. After Jaune failed to foresee the Alpha, it was just a start to make it up to himself. Even if Ruby didn't blame him for it, he needed to fit the Reaper with new gear.
...
Leaving the infirmary, Jaune found himself back in the courtyard again. The adventurer's Professor Port had hired were hard at work reinforcing the walls and front gate of the Academy. Elm and Harriet were drilling some guards on fighting in a particular formation. Overall, the Academy was beginning to look more like a fortress than previously.
"Mr Arc," a stern voice to the side spoke.
Jaune looked over and saw Winter standing a few feet from the door. It looked like she'd been speaking with a mage about something else before noticing his presence. However, the sudden attention he was receiving from Weiss' older sister was enough to startle him. Unlike Weiss, Winter was intimidating without even trying to do so. She commanded that kind of attention as second nature.
"Um, hi, Winter," Jaune nervously replied with a wave. "I was just on my way into Vale..."
"Then do you mind if I walk with you," Winter asked, stepping closer and keeping her hands clasped behind her back. "I need to survey more of this city, and you seem to know your way around."
"Sure..."
Great...
The pair moved through the open gates, crossing back into Vale like Jaune and Weiss had done yesterday. Winter had yet to ask any questions, looking at the surrounding area with a trained eye. Her obvious background as a soldier or knight seemed to give her some insight into whatever threats were around. Places, where an archer or crossbowman could take aim or an assassin might surface with a dagger. The only noise exchanged between either up to this point was the clicking of Winter's boot heels and Jaune's own riding boots.
"So, how's the Academy looking," Jaune asked, trying to get some conversation started. "Do you think we'll be able to fight off another attack?"
What else can I ask about? I don't know anything about her...
"Hmmm, Professor Port was right about hiring more adventurers to guard the Academy," Winter began, sounding like a seasoned professional. "So far, we have been able to reinforce the Main, North, and West gates. With Cinder's help, we used wards to protect the walls from explosives or magical attacks. However, as we are still unaware of who was behind the attack, we do not know if it will be enough."
"Any idea on how to figure that out; Ozpin hasn't told us anything," Jaune followed up with another question.
He said this wasn't going to be easy.
"I have sent some thieves or other rogues out to find information, but I doubt we'll know anything soon," Winter answered, shaking her head. "However, that is my concern... What are you doing?"
Okay, so she's curious about me now...
"Uh, I'm going to a smith," Jaune nervously explained, going to grab something from his satchel. Reaching inside, he pulled out an old book. "I was hoping he could show me how to forge with enchanted steels."
Alexandre was the man to show him how. If Jaune had to pay a high price for that knowledge, he was willing to do so. Hopefully, the others would forgive the Paladin for trading the book to see to that end. And if they asked for enchanted steel weapons and armour, the boy was more than happy to forge them.
"Yes, I remember Weiss mentioning you had a background in metalworking," Winter stated, looking at the book. "Is this for your friend, Ruby?"
"Yeah, I wanted to make her something for when she got up," Jaune replied, opening the book to show Winter. "I hoped Alexandre would like this, and I could trade it to him."
"I see; Ruby seems to be lucky to have you as a friend," Winter earnestly expressed, continuing to walk as she said so. "I'm also happy to know Weiss has managed to find friends such as you and Mr Rose here."
Okay, I have her vote of confidence... I was afraid she wouldn't like me as much.
At least Winter saw them as being a good friend group for Weiss. It was a good change for a girl as lonely as the Princess was back at the opening ceremony. Jaune didn't want it any other way.
"Thanks, our first meeting was rough, but it's working out so far," Jaune told Winter with a laugh, trying to suppress his flushing face as well.
"Hmmm, what do you mean by 'rough'," Winter asked with a curious expression.
"Okay, so it starts out like this..."
...
Jaune told the entire embarrassing story about how he and Weiss met. The Princess must have not told Winter about it because it got a smile out of her. Such a tale of a colossal misunderstanding would have been painful to put to paper for Weiss. Luckily for her, Jaune happened to have a long memory.
"I can understand her reaction," Winter commented formally. "I behaved very much the same way when I joined the Mage's College. A lifetime of beating back potential suitors or courtiers planning some scheme will do that to a person."
"Weiss made it sound bad," Jaune mentioned, recalling his and Weiss' first conversation about the topic. "Is that what nobles have to deal with all day?"
"Yes, but most of it is whispers about trade deals between families or who wanted to court my sister or me next; nothing too outrageous for the most part," Winter continued describing. "The important topics typically deal with events outside Atlas' domain." She looked to Jaune, realising something she could use for an example. "Have you heard of the Menegarie Shogunate?"
"I know Menegarie is where most of the faunus live," Jaune answered with what little he knew about the continent.
Wasn't it mostly desert?
"If you had access to the same information a noble had, you would have heard about them launching attacks on Anima's mainland," Winter explained, gesturing to show the Shogun's forces sweeping up into the south shore of Mistral. "Our job as princesses or any other noble is to also plan around any shipping losses and how wars can affect the status quo."
"Interesting, but it still sounds like a lot to deal with," Jaune replied.
Juggling all those intrigues and having to keep a dagger out of your back all at once was too much to handle. Jaune preferred the simple life of a slightly higher tier mercenary with his gaggle of friends. At least you only had to deal with demons stealing part of your staves or guys attacking the school you were attending. Then you could see the threat coming at you face to face.
"I agree," Winter expressed with a breath. "I certainly don't envy Weiss' position..."
As Jaune neared Alexandre's street, he spotted Nora and Ren walking about. The Berserker was still quite pale from her blood donation, but she appeared in good health. Ren was more focused on reading a sheet of parchment in his hands. The Ginger was looking over his shoulder as they both scanned the document.
"Hey, it's Ren and Nora," Jaune said out loud, breaking into a jog to catch up with them.
"Sup' Jauney," Nora chirped, wrapping Jaune in a bearhug that nearly squeezed the air out of his lungs. Before Jaune could lose consciousness, she dropped him and went for Winter.
"No, I'm ok-," Winter was about to say before she got the same treatment. The sound of the Spellsword's spine popping filled the air as the Berserker's greater strength bypassed the woman's breastplate. Luckily, before any damage was done, she was released.
"You'll get used to it," Jaune whispered to Winter as she recovered from Nora's vice grip. The boy then turned to the pair. "What are you guys up to?"
"Still looking for a house," Nora tersely explained, rocking back and forth on her toes. "Market kinda sucks right now..."
"We managed to get a list of buildings from the City Commission," Ren clarified, showing Jaune the parchment. "So far, none of them have exactly what we need or are too overpriced to be worth it."
Reading the addresses, Jaune saw that one of them was for the house the group stood in front of. The building was large, about the size of your typical merchant's home. Its stone-walled first floor supported a plastered wattle and daub second story. A glance through the boarded-up windows showed a large common area with a fire pit dug into the middle. Angling himself, Jaune could look upstairs, first spotting the broken staircase and dilapidated second-floor walkway. He didn't even want to look inside the rooms, given what he'd seen.
"What are they asking for," Winter asked, peeking over the group's shoulders to look at the parchment. "I can't imagine it would be much given the condition of the house. I would say five-thousand lien at the most."
I guess she has an eye for it... Makes sense; she would know.
"Thirteen thousand," Nora admitted with a laugh filled with disbelief. "So, you know what I mean now?"
"It's going to cost too much to fix up even if we negotiate down," Ren expressed, cupping his chin. "If Yang, Pyrrha, and Ruby wanted it for themselves, it would make sense. But I know we all wanted to find someplace together..."
"You think we'll have to pay someone to build it," Jaune asked the pair.
"Feeling like it," Nora admitted, looking back at the house. "We haven't even counted up all the loot yet, so we're not sure what we can buy either..."
"Hmmm, likely the prices are being driven up to scarcity, but there's also the factor of living right in the heart of Vale," Winter said out loud to herself. "Each of those will make anything more expensive to buy..." She looked up at the group. "Have you considered buying something outside the city? Maybe close enough to walk to and from the Academy?"
"Kinda, but that was gonna be the last thing we checked out," Nora replied, loathing the idea of living outside Vale. "We still have all these houses to look at..."
"It's an idea," Winter stated, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm sure there is land that the Kingdom wants to be developed into something."
With all the empty space surrounding Vale, there was always an open plot of land. However, any negotiating for that would have to come about later. There was simply too much going on to consider building a house for nine people to stay in for four years. Had Ruby not been injured, Jaune would have thrown in with the idea. Buying a place that was already there would make it a done deal.
"But while you guys are here, look at this," Jaune interjected as he pulled out the dragon's tooth. Unwrapping the cloth he concealed it in, he showed it off to Ren and Nora. "I want to make this into a dagger for Ruby. You think it's a good idea?"
"A dragon's tooth," Nora exclaimed as the idea washed over her brain. "Oh my gosh, that would be awesome!"
"I agree," Ren expressed, picking up the tooth and looking it over. "Would you like help with that? We're not getting anywhere with this..."
"Not right now, but in a couple of days, I want to make Ruby some armour too," Jaune replied, taking the tooth back. "Get Sun, Blake, and Weiss together at the forge, and we'll do it together."
"Yeah~, we'll meet you there, Jaune," Nora chirped as she got one last look at the soon to be knife.
The pair wandered off with a final exchange, still searching for a vacant home. This left Winter and Jaune to the Paladin's own objective. A few houses down, they arrived at Alexandre's front doorstep. This time, they could hear the sounds of metal banging on metal from the inside.
Jaune pushed open the door, finding it unlocked as he and Winter shuffled inside. A bell chimed farther inside the house, alerting Alexandre to possible customers. It was followed by the man shuffling out from the back, taking off a pair of goggles protecting his eyes. As he realised who came to his smithy, the man's smile cracked wide open.
"Ayyyy, Jaune, it's been a while," Alexandre greeted, gesticulating his hands to convey his mood. "You look beat up, my friend..." His attention soon became focused on Winter. "And I don't believe we met m'lady. You seem familiar. I think I met a shorter version of you..."
"My sister," Winter answered with a nod, moving to shake the man's hand despite him being covered in soot. "Winter Schnee."
Alexandre's face when the name reached his ears was of silent surprise. His jaw fell open, and he was lost for words as he very clearly knew who Winter was. No doubt, Weiss' own identity was also beginning to click in his mind.
"Winter Schnee, the former crown princess of Atlas," Alexandre asked, still struck dumb by Winter's presence.
"Yes, a very astute observation," Winter confirmed, unfazed by the realisation. She walked past him and inspected some of Alexandre's pieces on display. The Soldier came across an emblem he'd put on every article forged by his hand. "I see you are a part of the Hepheastoun family. These are some excellent pieces."
"Thank you, it means a lot to me," Alexandre humbly replied. "Is there anything you find suitable to your tastes?"
"No, I merely came here to see more of the city," Winter answered, looking closely at a sword. "Mr Arc is here on business." Winter then stood and gave both men a nod before walking back to the door. "I will leave you to it, gentlemen."
Jaune took that as his cue, grabbing at whatever was in his bag of holding. He reached in and pulled out the book and tooth, setting them both on a nearby table. The boy went in deeper and began throwing draugr breastplates or swords down, creating a massive stinking pile of old metal.
"You didn't tell me you knew a princess," Alexandre exclaimed in a harsh whisper, completely ignoring the mess Jaune was making in his shop. "I would have made her something!"
Crap...
"I didn't know," Jaune whispered back. "Weiss told me after I last saw you!" Jaune took a deep breath. "How did you figure out who Winter was anyway?"
"I'm friends with one of the Atlesian emissaries," Alexandre nonchalantly explained. "Told me over drinks a while back... When Winter said her name, it clicked. She looks exactly like how my friend described her." After taking his own deep breath, Alexandre looked back to the pile of stuff Jaune brought in. "Anyway, what did you bring me today?"
Opening the book, the man grabbed a pair of glasses off a table and began reading. Careful not to ruin the text with his dirty hands, he examined the piece in detail. Apparently, his Old Valean was far better than Jaune's was. The boy only waited with bated breath to see what the Smith gleaned from the manual.
"Okay, it's a book on how to forge with exotic metals," the Smith stated, flipping a few pages down. "It also contains notes on how to refine them from ores to pure ingots." Closing the book, he looked to Jaune. "You found all of these in some ruins?"
"Yeah, I wanted to trade with you," Jaune answered. "I want you to show me how to forge with enchanted steel and show me how to make this into a knife." He then presented the wyvern tooth to Alexandre.
"OHO, a wyvern tooth," he exclaimed, taking it into his hands. The man held it up to the light, seeing how the crystalline material inside glowed under it. "Where did you get one of these?! Was it from a live or dead wyvern?!"
"Dead, my friends and I killed it," Jaune answered, leaning against the counter. "I got the head and a bunch of bones too, but I wanted to turn it into a gift for one of my friends."
A Cheshire smile split the man's lips. "A 'friend,' you say," Alexandre inquired, implying there was more going on.
"Ruby, she got hurt pretty bad, so it's that kind of gift..."
"Really," Alexandre asked, his smile gone by this point. "All right then, I'll help you. We're going to work wonders..."
Inside his forge, Alexandre set the tooth on his anvil. The enchanted anvil glowed along its many runes as it detected the material. His forge ignited itself with a silent command from the Master Smith. From a rack on his back wall, he reached for a familiar-looking hammer and set it next to his workplace.
"And you need a scythe as well?"
"Yeah, I wanted to learn from you, so I could make it myself."
"You've come to the right person," Alexandre said, grabbing a pair of tongs. "My grandfather, my father, and I forged this beautiful sword made from true dragon bone and presented it to old King Reinhard back when I was young. It's an heirloom for the royal family now." He laughed a little as he relived the memory. "And since I don't have any kids myself, I'm gonna show you how."
"Thanks, I really appreciate this," Jaune expressed as he moved to set up Alexandre's workspace.
"Don't worry about it; it's not like you're gonna run me out of business," he quipped, setting his forge alight. "Someone's gotta pass the technique on anyway..."
[A Day Later]
Jaune and Alexandre didn't stop to rest, forging through the night and into the early afternoon. The Smith showed Jaune everything he needed to know about enchanted steel. From melting it down to working it into a usable weapon. The chance to learn from a master such as him was beyond valuable. He memorised every step shown to him. Every strike of the hammer.
They finished Ruby's scythe only a few hours into the night, creating a beautiful weapon for the girl. Its haft was no longer wood, but steel, carved with an elaborate swirled design and fitted to be used as Ruby intended. Five feet down the six-foot haft, a sharp angle was made before straightening itself six inches from the end. Here, Jaune and Alexandre fitted the Crescent Rose's blade, designed with the motif of death itself and the swirled carvings of the Old Valeans. This three-foot length of flame bladed steel was welded to the haft by the arcane forge, creating a weapon that hummed with energy.
Jaune was sure this beast of a scythe could fell a dragon in one swipe if Ruby was allowed the opportunity. She could already kill a knight in full armour with the plain steel scythe. This Crescent Rose could do that and destroy everything else they threw at her. With Alexandre's arcane forge and enchanted anvil, it couldn't be destroyed by anything less than the heart of a volcano.
When they finished the dagger, the two went for a far more rudimentary design. The arcane forge allowed them to heat the bone and mould it as they required without ruining the material itself. They lengthened the tooth from a simple canine to something closer to a shortsword bred with a scimitar. It was nearly a foot in length, bearing a single cutting edge, sharpened to shave the eyebrows off a mosquito. The dust lining the tooth's interior remained intact and would set anything Ruby cut with it on fire if she wished.
They were perfect.
"Now for her armour," Jaune said as he gazed onto the newborn pieces of Ruby's wargear.
"You can use my forge if you want," Alexandre said as he took a drink from a bottle of ale.
"Not for this," Jaune replied, strapped the scythe and dagger to himself. "I have everything I need for it..."
"Can't wait to see what it looks like," he expressed with a smile. "Tell her to come down here once she's up."
"I will."
...
Jaune rested as much as he could. The thought of forging Ruby's armour was making him jumpy. He pictured every plate, every thread which would encompass the armour. Jaune wanted the piece to be no less than perfect. It had to be perfect for Ruby.
While it may never be capable of saving her from attacks blocked by plate armour, Jaune wanted to get as close to that as possible. With Weiss' help, they would enchant the armour to go above and beyond what mere metals would do. Seals to boost her constitution, speed, damage, even allowing her health regeneration if they were capable of giving it to her.
That's what Jaune pondered the entire night, only getting a wink of sleep throughout. He awoke early, feeling well-rested but anxious to get started. The boy left a note for Ren to gather the others while preparing the materials. If he could do that, Jaune could create an assembly line for them to fasten the rest of the armour.
Jaune grabbed the magic anvil and Tubal Cain's Hammer before heading out into the cold spring night. Guards were walking back and forth, patrolling their routes. One noticed him but recognised the boy and allowed him to pass unmolested. No other students were out at this time of night, leaving him mostly alone.
Reaching the forge, Jaune broke down everything. He threw the original anvil into the corner, replacing it with the magic one. Any remaining draugr metal was tossed to the side in preparation for smelting. With those out of the way, Jaune lit the fires and stoked them as hot as he possibly could. He could only hope to heat the steel enough to be malleable at this temperature.
As that was completed, Jaune set fire to the smelter. He threw fire dust into the furnace to heat the flames even higher than coal would provide. The smelter itself stressed under these temperatures but held together for the moment. Its creator never designed it to match the powers of the Master Smith. After this, it would be ruined without repairs.
For the next two hours, Jaune cast as many ingots as possible. His entire body was drenched in sweat from the fires. However, he pushed through it to complete what he'd set out to do. Regardless of how his body ached from the proximity to those flames, his levels protected him from any real damage.
As dawn broke, the door to the smithy opened behind him. Nora was the first to come inside, followed by Weiss and Blake. Ren and Sun came soon after, setting their things aside to assist their companions. Each was silent as they watched Jaune pour the last of the ingots, the molten metal hissing and spitting as it touched the mould.
"We're all here, Jaune," Nora chirped, saluting the boy from the other side of the room.
Her vocalisation made Jaune aware of their presence finally. A smile crossed his lips as he realised it. The others waved or signalled a greeting in their own way to him. At that, he dropped the last ingot and walked to them.
"Okay, I need your help to make this thing," Jaune began, wiping some sweat off his brow. "Nora, Weiss, Ren, can you guys take apart any of the old armour? I need leather from anything you can grab. Cut your own threads if you have to." He looked to the other two in their group. "Blake, Sun, we're gonna make the plates."
As one, everyone broke into their groups. Nora dove into the pile of armour and began pulling everything out. Weiss and Ren grabbed whatever she threw at them and began untying whatever they could. Sun and Blake grabbed the enchanted steel ingots and followed Jaune to the forge.
"I'll get on the bellows," Sun said, reaching for the rope. "You two on the anvil?"
"Yeah, Blake, we're gonna take these ingots and beat them out into a sheet," Jaune explained, handing her the tongs. "Heat the metal until I say and then bring it to me..."
Blake clamped on several sets of tongs to their supply of bars to heat these ingots and continuously beat them into shape. This let them cycle the metal in and out of the fire as they rose to temperature. Sun constantly pulled on the bellows, feeding the fire oxygen to keep the temperature where it needed to be. His only rest came when more fuel was required.
Jaune and his team slowly worked to flatten the ingots enough to be used as plates. He created a sheet of metal five millimetres thick steel, more than twice the standard thickness. When three of these were finished, Jaune handed Blake the tools to cut out the individual plates before stamping holes into them.
"Let's try this," Nora said from the side. "Should be about this thick..."
Jaune looked over to see the other trio cutting a sheet of leather into shape. The abundance of scrap left them with lots to work with for this project, albeit damaged from the battle. Nora helped Weiss use a knife to shave off the quarter-inch threads along the edge before discarding the waste. Quickly, they amassed a pile of threads in only a few hours.
Ren was hard at work handcrafting a sheath. Jaune didn't know if he'd asked him about his experience with leatherworking, but the Monk was doing a fine job. Using Ruby's dagger as a model, he fashioned the piece around its shape to fit snugly. The Monk even had the mind to use darker leather for the base to match with Ruby's colour scheme.
[Two Days Later]
"That looks good," Blake complimented, looking over Ren's shoulder.
By now, most of Ruby's armour was finished. The group was adding on the last few touches before presenting it to her. With their minds and capabilities focused on this task, some creative ideas were introduced to improve the original design. Each and every one Jaune loved.
As a whole, they chose to add plate armour to the lamellar base. Her shoulders now had two pauldrons. A thick plate over her heart-shaped like a shield and fastened with a single leather strap. A set of greaves to protect her legs but made thin enough to not weigh her down. Finally, a pair of vambraces. The sheath Ren crafted was riveted to her left shoulder, allowing the Reaper to quickly draw the dagger when she needed it.
Ren had the idea to give it a personal touch for Ruby. He got to work slowly chiselling in the pattern of a rose into her pauldrons, vambraces, greaves, and chest plate. Inspired by the idea, Weiss, Nora, and Sun did the same on her back. They used a dark red string to embroider it above the lamellar face.
Jaune and Blake finished everything by painting her armour. Where Ren made the roses, Jaune gently painted in the blood-red petals and green stems. Blake coated each plate in a layer of black paint, sealing them from the environment and highlighting whatever Jaune didn't work on.
Much of this armour appeared just like what Jaune and Ruby had made together. Only, the group took it farther and improved upon it even further. While Ruby might have been disappointed in the state of her original set, Jaune didn't doubt she'd love the final product even more. Especially if she knew who it all came from.
As the group gazed upon their hard work, each sweaty and covered in grime from this project. The door to the smithy opened once again. Everyone turned at once to find a colossus standing at the entrance. The man had to bend over so he could glimpse inside.
The entire group realised it was Yatsuhashi. The winter-clad man didn't need to say a word as they knew what he was here for. Coco had returned to Vale and brought the herbs Ruby needed. This knowledge caused silence to form, which a pin could be heard dropping inside of.
Coco and friends are back!
I made this chapter a bit faster paced because I needed something to bridge the gap of events. Honestly, forging all of Ruby's new stuff was the perfect way to fill that void. The entire group gave her a huge gift.