A/N: Merry Christmas to you all! Thanks as always for all your support. Please don't hesitate to leave a review/PM me your thoughts! I'd love to get to know you all :D
Laws of Attraction
Nothing but silence was left in the canyon, and all they could do was make their way across one of the few remaining bridges towards Ruby and the others. The journey was uneventful, although the four of them held their weapons out along the way, ready in case another Grimm appeared. Looking at the exhaustion setting into the boys' faces, though, Pyrrha knew that any fight they had to face would be fought mostly by Nora and herself. And Pyrrha herself didn't have much left to spare, either.
When at last they had reached the other girls, the three were all standing before a set of stairs carved into the cliffside. "We found a way up!" Yang chirped brightly.
"Hurry up!" Ruby whined faintly in the distance from the top of the cliff.
Weiss huffed, "Shut your mouth and wait, Ruby! We're on our way, jeez!"
"Well, at least stairs are less deadly than those glyphs Ruby climbed," Yang added.
The white-haired girl pouted, crossing her arms adamantly. "My glyphs are plenty safe, you know. If your sister could figure out how to climb them, then it's pretty clear how good they are."
"Lay off my little sis, Weiss," Yang growled, eyes sparking red.
Pyrrha immediately intervened, holding her hands up between the two girls. "Now, now," she murmured soothingly, "you all fought wonderfully. It's time to head back, okay?"
The two girls glared at each other over Pyrrha's shoulder, but their expressions quickly softened and they began to climb up the stairs without a word. Blake ignored the inquisitive looks Pyrrha and Jaune sent their way, turning to follow the other two up. Clearly not reading the atmosphere, Nora began skipping up the stairs as well, leaving Ren behind to look up mournfully at the amount of steps he would have to climb.
"Time to go, I guess," Jaune moaned.
Pyrrha snorted at the disappointment in his voice and began the journey up the cliffside.
They climbed in relative silence, allowing themselves the time to catch their breath, eyes still trained upon the emptiness of the cavern before them. The steps were wide and rocky, making for a fairly straightforward climb. The further they went, the plainer it was to see just how much damage they had caused- the entire ruin was in shambles, less than half of the original structures standing intact.
Thankfully, they reached the top of the cliff without incident. The entire journey had taken the rest of the afternoon, as the waning light of the sun began to disappear over the horizon. In the distance, the remaining rays painted the sky pink and gold where the clouds above their heads began to fade. Everyone's fatigued expressions were only magnified by the lack of light, so they began to wander back to where the two professors had observed the initiation.
"Took you long enough!" Ruby said, putting her hands on her hips. Weiss rolled her eyes, grabbed the younger girl's hood, and began dragging her up the path. Ruby squealed, "But you said you'd be nice!"
Yang and Blake followed the two girls, leaving the four who had fought the Death Stalker to trail after them. Pyrrha sighed, the tension easing in her muscles. Now that the battle had ended and everyone was together, her mask slipped off completely, and she looked around at the rest of her peers. Everyone was walking in pairs, eyes focused upon their destination.
"Pyrrha… Ugh, I've got to say it. That was so cool!" Nora gushed, launching herself at Pyrrha. Her arms wrapped around the redhead's torso before she could say anything, the day's events clearly not having taken away any of her energy. "Hey, hey, Ren, wasn't she cool?"
Ren smiled gently, putting his twin blades away beneath each sleeve. "We have heard much about you. You are indeed strong, Pyrrha. I'm impressed."
"I'm surprised you didn't just take those nasty Grimm out by yourself when you found it!" Nora added. "Although, that totally wouldn't have been any fun."
The redhead blushed lightly. "You two as well. I'm impressed by your teamwork," she said, thinking back on how effortlessly the two had moved alongside each other.
"Yup!" Nora cried, squeezing Pyrrha even tighter. "We're greatest when we're together! But not like, together together or anything," she trailed off, but her exuberant joy was still burning bright.
Pyrrha chuckled, but it was weak, feeling Nora's enthusiastic arms crushing her in an death grip. "I'm- I'm flattered, really," she said, squirming out of the other girl's hold, "but Nora?"
"What is it?" Nora asked, beaming up at her.
"It's a little hard to breathe," she gasped, head starting to swim a little. Immediately, the orange-haired girl laughed heartily, letting her go.
"Sorry! Got a little too excited," she giggled sheepishly before running back to Ren's side.
She stretched, feeling her joints crack and pop back in place now that she was free from Nora's arms. I was not expecting them to be that powerful, she thought wryly. The girl's hug had been a little too excited, but… looking at the other pair who continued heading back to the professors, a part of her heart swelled up. Where Nora had hugged her was still warm, comforting. There had been no distrust in their eyes- only honesty. They were sweet.
I actually did it. I think we're friends. At least, they still trust me, no one's been upset, and we all made it out alive. I've… never been hugged like that by anyone at Sanctum, either. Overall, this was the best result Pyrrha could've ever asked for, and it warmed her from the inside out.
"I can't believe that all just happened," Jaune whispered nearby, startling her out of her thoughts.
She spun around to face the blond, who had been walking a few steps behind her. "Oh, Jaune! Are you alright?" she asked, forehead creased with concern. When he didn't respond, her face fell. "Did you get hurt after all?"
He shook his head slowly. "No, I'm fine, Pyrrha," he responded. But, after a moment, he added, "It's just…"
"Just?"
"I just feel… kind of useless, y'know? I didn't end up doing anything back there." And he looked straight into her eyes, defeat filling his gaze so strongly that Pyrrha took a step back on reflex. No. No, this was going so well, please don't hate me now-
Because she had, whether she wanted to or not, shown him up. Jaune hadn't been able to take a single swing at the Death Stalker, since she had been so focused on fighting the creature by herself. Although she had listened to his directions, she hadn't let him handle any of the combat himself- the only thing she had asked him to do was hold his shield up. Nora and Ren had been much more opportunistic fighters, landing critical blows based on their timing, while Pyrrha had run the creature ragged… but Jaune…
But I couldn't leave him to fight alone! the stubborn part of herself insisted. He doesn't know how to use his Aura, or how to fight, nor defend himself, no matter how much he likes to pretend. A small sigh escaped her lips as she remembered the numerous examples of Jaune's clumsiness throughout the day. He could've died out there without me handling most of the close combat- there's no doubt about it.
But those thoughts spinning around in her mind left a sour taste in her mouth, and seeing the regret in his eyes only amplified it.
She reached out a hesitant hand to clasp his shoulder. "Jaune?" she called, pulling him forward as they walked.
"Yeah, Pyrrha?" he asked dejectedly, mind clearly still focused on it.
"You did something really, really important today," she insisted. "Do you know what that was?"
He shrugged her hand off his shoulder and sped up, expression confused. "Well… not really. I barely helped at all- you and Ren and Nora handled most of it. I couldn't even make it to the Death Stalker without Nora catapulting me."
She couldn't help but let out a snicker despite her better judgement. "Oh, is that what happened? I didn't see it- too bad." However, she immediately sobered up when his eyes grew even more upset. "No, hey, you seriously did something valuable there, Jaune."
"Oh yeah?" he muttered, kicking a stone in his path in frustration. He watched the rock tumble off the edge of the path and out of sight into the canyon below.
Pyrrha jogged to catch up with him, taking a moment to choose her words carefully. Don't screw this up, Pyrrha. "You gave us a direction, Jaune. We were all bewildered, myself included. Who's idea was it to target the stinger and eyes?"
After a moment, Jaune cast a glance her way, hope shining in his face. "Did I really help with that?"
She nodded sagely. "Yes, you did. And I'm grateful you were there to come up with that, so thanks, partner."
A smile grew on his face. "…Thanks, Pyrrha," he murmured, punching her lightly on the shoulder. She giggled at how weak it was, but it was fair- it had been a long day for them all.
"That reminds me," she continued as they fell into step behind the rest of the group, almost at the professors. "What relic did you end up choosing? They were chess pieces, right?"
"Relic? Oh!" Almost surprised that he even had it, Jaune reached into his back pocket, pulling out a hand-sized object. "I chose this one. It was right beside Ruby's, so I didn't put much thought into it." Sheepishly grinning, he added, "I hope you don't mind."
"May I see it?" she asked, holding out a hand. Nodding, Jaune complied, and the weighty piece was placed into her hand. Standing it up on her open palm, she examined it curiously as they continued the trek. It was a golden-white rook, the castle turrets smoothly carved out of oak. She spun it slowly in her hand, discomfort suddenly gnawing at her. "It's… a rook."
"That's the one that can go sideways and stuff, right?" Jaune asked innocently, unaware of her discomfort. She flashed him a smile, but her eyebrows furrowed naturally while she gazed upon it.
Weiss overheard their conversation from up ahead, scoffing loudly. "Yes, you dunce, it's the one that 'goes sideways'," she sneered. Ruby oohed at Weiss' knowledge, leaving Blake and Ren shaking their heads in amusement. The pale, white-haired girl's expression turned thoughtful as she looked at the piece Ruby had chosen for their partnership as well. "It is interesting that they chose chess pieces, though."
"I wonder who grabbed which piece?" Yang speculated brightly. "There were some pieces already missing by the time we all got there."
"And a ton more still left," Blake added wryly. "Not everyone had made it to the ruins yet."
"Meh," Ruby shrugged. "We took care of the scary stuff- I'm sure everyone'll find their way there eventually!"
Ren raised a brow at her nonchalance. "It is odd that our first label is a chess piece," he murmured at last.
Pyrrha shuddered, an inexplicable chill running down her spine.
"Pyrrha, are you okay?" Jaune asked, worry in his eyes.
She smiled awkwardly back. "Yup, don't worry about me!" But her words were hollow, and her mind was a million miles away. She and Jaune were the white rook piece. It was just something he picked up on a whim- yet, why did it gnaw away at her like this?
"Pyrrha, seriously- what's wrong?" Jaune's voice was growing more and more concerned as he noticed the lack of energy, of confidence, in her.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts and smiled wide, putting more oomph into it. "I'm fine, Jaune," she repeated, more to herself than to him. "I'm fine. Just tired, is all."
"Ugh, tell me about it!" he cried, throwing his hands up in the air.
Before they could continue speaking, they heard a loud sip from a coffee mug. Standing before them was Professor Ozpin, the very definition of cool and collected. In one hand was his trademark mug, and in the other, he held the cane which he seemed to carry with him everywhere. Curiosity piqued, Pyrrha stared at the hilt of the weapon, but couldn't make out the engraving. She quickly gave up and joined the little semicircle the students formed naturally around the headmaster.
"Welcome back, students," Professor Ozpin said, voice neutral. "I see you've made it back in one piece. Good to see you are all relatively unharmed."
"Do you always throw Nevermores and Death Stalkers at first years like that?" Yang asked, equal parts amused and concerned.
Professor Ozpin merely took another small sip from his white coffee mug, the Beacon logo glinting in the evening light. "No," he admitted, "but we don't 'throw' Grimm onto Huntsman, either. Miss Xiao Long, you've got to learn that the Grimm will find you, no matter where you hide- it's your job to be ready."
She grinned evilly at him. "Can do, sir."
He smiled calmly back at the rest of their little group. "Now, run along to the auditorium, and give your relics to Professor Goodwitch. She shall enter you in the system accordingly."
"Yes sir," they replied in chorus, wandering back to the auditorium. It had been a long, long day- any rest before nightfall would do wonders for them. The group obediently faded back into silence, savouring the safety which enveloped them away from the Cliffs, and headed out to find Professor Goodwitch.
And yet, Pyrrha couldn't stop herself from pressing the rook back into Jaune's hand, if only to get rid of it as soon as possible.