A/N: Finally, the trip begins. You have no idea how long it took me to figure out what to name the Huntsmen mentioned.

Let me know what you think!

What We Call Home

After just over a week in Patch- a week of blissful innocence, of making pancakes and eating milk and cookies and making awful jokes and playing video games- it was finally time to go.

Nora regretted leaving. In the end, Ruby never told Tai about her departure. The blond man just innocently assumed that the Mistralian youths would be heading off that day- he had mentioned something about baking some dessert for lunch as a treat before they caught the ferry Ruby had mentioned, which could carry them straight between Vytal and the north side of Sanus all the way to Anima. The orange-haired girl didn't want to think about how the man would react upon seeing all of their belongings gone, and, worst of all, the bed of his youngest daughter empty, when he awoke that morning. He was a good man. He didn't deserve the suffering he had been dealt in life.

It almost hurt more, though, to not say anything to Yang. During their entire stay there, they had interacted with the injured girl only once after that first reunion. She had never stepped foot out of her room, aside from using the bathroom. It hurt to know that she was explicitly ignoring them as her eat her meals alone in her room, refusing to let Jaune and Nora in when they had attempted to talk to her.

Everything was different now.

When they asked Ruby about it the night before their departure, the younger girl had merely smiled. "Yang's still hurting. She needs Dad right now, and Dad can't really focus on her while he's still trying to pretend that everything's normal and okay for me. I just… it's best this way."

They hadn't argued. It wasn't their place.

Dawn was just breaking over the horizon when Ruby finally opened up the door. Ren shivered- he, Jaune and Nora had already been outside waiting for the younger girl. While the snow had begun to melt, making a fast pass over spring straight into the summer months, the early morning air was still frigid and icy.

Nora noticed his trembling. "We'll be walking soon, silly," she said warmly, smiling up at him. He just relaxed, a gentle smile on his face. Seeing that expression, Nora reached up her gloved hand and quickly tapped him on the nose, whispering, "Boop!" before he could roll his eyes and avoid it. When he simply shook his head wryly and focused on Ruby locking the door behind her, Nora felt herself wilt a little. She hadn't been booping him as often as before, she realized suddenly. She hadn't been booping him as much as back when they were in Beacon. It wasn't as if her feelings for him had waned- if anything, the Fall and the months following had only grown to strengthen her love for him. How could she not adore someone who worked so hard, who was so noble and kind, who accepted her and all her flaws, who made her a better person, even in the worst of times?

There were so many more reasons to be happy back then, though.

She shook her head. There was no time for that pessimism- not at the onset of their journey. It was her job to keep the smiles coming, to keep the party at ease. Everyone else had far too much on their minds. She was proud to play that part.

Finally, Ruby turned to the group, letting out a deep sigh.

"Hey," Jaune whispered, keeping his voice low. They couldn't afford to let Tai or Yang hear their departure.

"Hey, Jaune." She looked wistfully at the winding road behind Nora and Ren. "Haven's a long way to go."

The blond nodded. "I know. But it's the only lead we have."

The girl frowned, regret blooming in her eyes. "And you're sure you wanna come along?"

Ren chimed in, "The journey will be perilous, and whether we'll find answers at the end is entirely uncertain."

"But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it," Nora added. We need the answers. We need to know.

Ruby took one last look at her home. When she turned back, Nora knew that she was a little overwhelmed by the concerned gazes the three of them sent her way, their eyes all reading the same thing. Are you sure you don't want to say goodbye?

The younger girl paused, then nodded determinedly. "Then let's get started."

There wasn't any going back.

So, they began the long journey up the trail through the snow-covered forest. Ruby walked without hesitation.

There wasn't any going back.

About halfway to the edge of the forest, however, Ruby veered off the main path. There was a small foot passage to the right, veering to the edge of the cliffs a ways away. Obediently, they followed her, not bothering to ask any questions- they had all silently agreed to avoid talking any more until they were clear of the forest completely so as to not alert any possible pursuers.

Their side venture was fairly short. In only a few minutes, Ruby guided them into a clearing, one half of it a jutting cliff face looking out over the water, looking to Vale in the distance. There was a simple rectangular stone buried in the ground. Curious, the trio trailed behind Ruby, peeking at the writing on the small monument over the kneeling girl's shoulder.

Nora read the words Summer Rose and immediately backed away from it, wrapping her arms around herself awkwardly. It was a tombstone. It was Ruby's mother.

Well. That wasn't what I was expecting.

Ren quickly fell in beside her, trading weary glances as Ruby murmured quiet, loving words to the tombstone. Then, in a few moments, she stood again, looking a little less guilty. C'mon, she mouthed, waving them back into the woods. Jaune reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing reassuringly. Then, he turned to the grave and bowed his head respectfully. Nora could barely hear the words he whispered under his breath.

"We'll… do our best to bring her home."

Nora bowed her head as well, along with Ren. They repeated the same words, sharing a knowing smile before going after Ruby.

After that, the journey was relatively straightforward. There were two ships that headed towards Vale- one went straight to the docks that linked to the downtown centre, while the other ship docked at the continental train station. There were barely any passengers for the latter, and the weather provided no delays, so the foursome found themselves comfortably seated upon a train heading to the other side of Sanus before lunch hour.

Oddly enough, there weren't any Grimm who bothered them on their journey. While it was true that majority of the Grimm on the continent had long ago begun trekking over to Beacon, it was still strange. They didn't even see any Huntsmen on board who could have been hired to protect the passengers, so to have an entirely uneventful trip was surprising.

They welcomed the calm. The food was complimentary, as the journey took almost 36 hours of chugging along the tracks. It wasn't delicious, but the fact that they were able to eat in their own private room made it feel cozy, safe. Ruby and Jaune played card games. Ren read a book, and Nora was able to snooze periodically on the boy's shoulder, so she was happy.

During the journey, they decided to finally ditch their older, bedraggled clothing, changing into the new supplies they had picked up in Vale. Ruby surprised them all by showing off a new wardrobe of her own, proudly announcing how the outfit had been part of a teeny shopping spree courtesy of her father to celebrate her recovery. After getting changed, they felt renewed, ready to face the journey ahead with new vigour.

It was only once they were on the boat on the other side of the continent, basking in the refreshing sea breeze after being so long trapped inside the train, that they thought to see if there was any airship that could take them even partly across Anima. The best answer they received was from a deckhand, the young man mopping up a spill of something or the other on the portside passenger deck. "A few of the villages have rentable ships," the young man explained, wiping the sweat off his brow. "You can commission pilots pretty easily these days- with all the Grimm stirring up trouble in Vale, not a lot of people are travelling lately. It's cut tourism a bunch."

"But what about airborne Grimm in Mistral?" Jaune asked nervously.

"Not too many lurk in Anima these days. They all migrated the moment the ice storms broke at the end of winter," the deckhand supplied. His eyes darkened worriedly. "But the land itself isn't too safe, y'know. The forests are full of monsters."

"If you're talking about the Grimm-" Ruby tried, but the boy shook his head.

"No, not just Grimm. I wish Grimm were the worst of the lot." He sighed. "If you're crossing a large distance, a ship's probably your best bet over land."

The group looked around, finding confirmation in each other's eyes. "Then, we're off to find an airship," Jaune announced.

Nora nudged Ren with her shoulder, heart sinking a little when he nodded. He knew what she was thinking of, what the 'worst of the lot' could be. They were more than familiar with the worst the continent of Anima had to offer. So, the thought of taking an airship and avoiding that hassle entirely sounded like a pleasant dream.

The boat docked without any complications. Other than a few hired hands and the odd straggling civilian, there was no one around, the majority of the port left deserted at that time of day. It was odd, though. Jaune murmured, "Don't fisherman need to be working, or… something?"

"And feed who, kid?" a nearby elderly man chuckled in a gravelly voice. "There's no one around for miles other than a few villages, and now everyone's borders are tighter than a Grimm's-" His companion cleared her throat, cutting him off. He caught himself and continued, "Now that trade's tight, there's no point. The fishermen all migrated to Argus for the season."

"But there's still people around, right?" Ren asked.

The man's companion, a slight, older woman, shook her head. "Not many, honestly. Only those who are passing through usually come here. It's not safe, not with the Huntsmen shortage, anyways."

That phrase piqued Nora's attention. "How could there be a Huntsmen shortage?" she scoffed, propping her hands on her hips. "There were so many of them around only a year ago!"

The man raised his hand, pointing towards a poorly-maintained bulletin board near the entrance to the port, alongside the main road leading out of the area. "A year ago, Beacon wasn't overrun by Grimm, Vale wasn't a mess, and I could watch my favourite news channels on the CCTS, kid. Can't even call my grandkids now. Things change fast 'round these parts." With that, the man walked away, the woman trailing worriedly behind him.

Before anyone could respond to the odd encounter, Nora shifted the straps of her pack on her shoulders and jogged over to board in question. It was just an old posting board- while Beacon and other major centres usually enjoyed the luxuries of holo-screens and district-wide Huntsmen locators, allowing any Huntsmen in an area to check in and post their availability for and progress on missions so that the community could reach out if they needed help, smaller areas like southern Anima were far more old-fashioned. Huntsmen just carried headshots of themselves and posted them on community boards such as this one if they were planning on staying in an area for any amount of time.

When they had been shipped off to Beacon nearly a year earlier, they had known most of the faces that would post upon each board. They had travelled so extensively throughout Anima with those that raised them, that aside from the Huntsmen who stayed in the major city centres, they were familiar with at least the names of most Huntsmen on the continent.

Yet, on the board, barely any photographs remained. There were clearly the remains of many headshots on the board- almost all of the slots had at least a little unique scrap of paper in it- but none of them were whole. Many of the photos were cut apart, or the names were crossed out ominously with black marker. Nora felt a chill run down her spine. It didn't look like a posting board anymore- it looked like a hit list.

"Are they all…?" Ren's unspoken question shocked her back into the present.

She scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. "There's no way that all of these Huntsmen were taken out. There's just no way!" But her words didn't assuage Ren's concerned expression.

The boy said quietly, "Do you see any of them on here?"

She quickly scanned the board. None of the names which they were looking for were present. Happiness immediately surged forth, but it quickly replaced with uncertainty once more. Pulling out her phone, she quickly dialed the number she had long-ago memorized. Ren watched her expectantly, but when the phone beeped, signalling that they were out of range in the boonies, all she could do was sigh and shake her head, replacing her phone back into the pocket of her skirt. "No answer."

"We'll find them." They nodded in unison, then turned back to Jaune and Ruby, who had followed them up the path at a much more leisurely pace.

"Everything okay?" Jaune asked, worry plaguing his face.

Nora gave him an enthused thumbs-up. "Let's get this party started!" she cheered.

Ren pulled out the map from his bag and spread it open momentarily. "We have a few miles before the first village- good news is, we'll likely be able to ask about the airships over there."

"Sounds good!" Ruby pumped her fists in the air. "Let's go!"

So, the foursome began ambling down the road, away from the port and into the woods. It was beautiful springtime on the continent of Anima, and they set off exuberantly, enjoying the shimmering light falling through the leafy Mistralian forests. Jaune and Ruby oohed and aahed at the wildlife and the gnarled trees, so different from the tall, upright, imposing figures in the forests around Beacon and Patch. Thankfully, the path was peaceful, the road clear, and making their way through the trees was an easy task.

"This is kind of exciting though, huh? Huh?" Nora pressed everyone, grinning up into everyone's faces. The last time she had wandered through these trees, she had been on a mission with their guardians. The time before that, she had been hunting down some Grimm. And years before that, when she had first wandered the road near the western port to Sanus, she had been running.

Every single time, she had been with Ren. And now, they were there together. They were almost 18 years old and the sky was blue and the air was crisp and their friends were by their side and they were there, together.

Life wasn't all that bad.

She skipped a few paces ahead of the group and turned on her heel, mind racing a mile a minute. "Y'know, this is just like what our first mission was supposed to be!"

The others stared blankly at her for a moment. Ren was the first to realize what she meant- his eyes softened wistfully. "Shadowing a sheriff," he murmured, referring to the mission they were supposed to embark upon directly after the Beacon Dance.

Despite the fact that she had brought it up with all the best intentions, however, a shadow fell over Ruby's face. "Sorry you guys couldn't go to that. I know you were excited for it," she said quietly.

Nora stumbled a bit, lost. "Wha- no, no it's okay! We wanted to help."

Ren hummed in agreement. "We're proud to have helped you all during the breach. No one team would've been able to take that on alone."

It was true. Nora sobered up as she recalled the chaos which had ensued after the White Fang had caused an underground train to ride straight into downtown Vale, unleashing hordes of Grimm straight into the city centre. The death toll had been massive, the injured even greater. It had occurred right when the first years were going about their first official missions as teams. Team JNPR had been boarding the airship which was going to take them to a northern, rural county to trail a sheriff that was dealing with a pesky Grimm outbreak.

The body count had given even Nora sleepless nights for a while. After the Fall, though, the memory seemed almost trivial- almost like a warm-up to the horrors that would plague the city in barely a few weeks' time.

Jaune's expression was muddled, confused. Nora cocked her head to the side, peering up at him. "What's up, Jaune?" The blond shook his head. She sighed. "We're a team, Jaune. That means you've gotta start sharing those angsty confusing thoughts so we can figure it out together, right?" Ruby and Ren chuckled in agreement.

After a moment, Jaune just whispered, "That was… going to be our first mission. We never got to go on a single mission as..." Team JNPR.

"Oh Jaune, that's… don't focus on stuff like that."

Ren added, "We're here now. That's what matters.

The words fell hollowly on deaf ears, and they continued walking in glum silence.

By twilight, the road was broken up by a rest stop. It was supposedly halfway between the port and the first real village they would stop in, meaning that it was the perfect place to rest and relax for a while. The change in pace was welcomed by the group, who had no idea how to recover their momentum after Jaune's heartbroken comment.

"How long do you think until we've reached an actual town?" Ruby asked worriedly. The sky was darkening, and the map had indicated that they would've reached the first settlement by now. "Do you guys know?"

Nora shook her head. "Last time I was in the area, I got there in like… half a day." She paused, digging back into her memory. "But I was also running. And maybe kind of sick? So don't take my word on it."

Examining the map, Ren narrowed his eyes, then looked to Ruby determinedly. "We should be nearby. Since you have your speed, do you want to check ahead? We'll grab your bag."

At the prospect of moving faster than a brisk, comfortable walk, the younger girl perked up considerably. "Sounds like plan. Get a room booked for us!" She tossed her bag towards Nora, the orange-haired girl catching it with ease and slipping it over her shoulders so that her own pack sat on her back and Ruby's covered her entire front. She patted Ruby's bag as if it were a baby belly, and Ruby rolled her eyes, giggling. Then, the girl leapt up in the air and disappeared in a flurry of red rose petals drifting away on the wind, a speeding bullet flying down the trail.

The group adjusted their packs on their shoulders and pushed open the door to the inn, taking note of the hours of the general store to its right. They could double-check supplies at the store the next morning before heading out.

The inn was a tidy place, made of old, but well-kept wood, not a single speck of dust to be seen. Jaune and Ren immediately walked over to the counter, speaking to the innkeeper about lodging fees. As they dealt with that, Nora wandered over to the typical Huntsmen board, heart sinking further as she saw the state of disarray it suffered. It was similar to the board outside of the port, although the innkeeper had had enough sense to clean up the slashed pages and crossed out names a bit.

Her pale blue eyes darted over the list, searching for the names which had been haunting the back of her mind. Kalian… Howl… Caelus… where are you guys? But they weren't there.

Instead, her eyes homed in on one name near the bottom of the list. Instantly, her heart grew cold, focusing on each letter and how the thick black marker which bisected the name horizontally marred what remained of the poster. Distantly, she heard Jaune call her, the boy tugging on her sleeve- but she refused to move, mind a million miles away, left behind in a small cell in a camp in the northeastern-most point of Anima, with sinister yellow eyes watching her every move.

God, she hated golden eyes. It wasn't just Cinder, was it?

Ren's voice cut through the haze. "Nora, what is it?"

She pointed at the name on the wall. His expression hardened. "Good riddance," he spat lowly, uncharacteristically bitter.

Jaune's eyes also followed her finger, landing upon the name in question. "Sotz? What kind of name is that?"

A sick sort of triumph bloomed in her gut as she heard him vocalize the name. "It doesn't matter, Jaune," she muttered. "He won't bother anyone anymore." Then, she sighed, pulling a smile back to her lips. "Well, do we have a room or what?"

The innkeeper, who had been watching them with curious eyes, nodded slowly. "But I'm afraid we don't have much to offer as of amenities, even next door. Our merchant hasn't been by lately. I wonder if something's happened…" Bringing his attention back to the Huntsmen board, the man added, "You lot Huntsmen? Want to add to the board? Gods knows we need more Huntsmen around, there's been such a shortage lately."

"Why's that?" Jaune asked. "There's usually a ton of Huntsmen around. Did everyone go to Vale to help?"

The man shrugged. "If only." He leaned his elbows on the counter, eyes falling down the list wearily. "For the last few months, every set of merchants or travellers nearby who comes to rest at this ol' stop comes by with IDs for some warriors or the other. I've spent the last six months taking name after name off the board. The world's goin' mad."

"But… how is that even possible?" the blond protested. "There's no way that could be happening to every Huntsman that goes out on a mission."

"And yet, here we are." He pointed a finger at each of them in turn, voice dropping low, causing the three teens to lean in. "They keep finding the bodies right off the roads, you see- in the best camping locations. If you kids are staying on the road, I'd advise you to stay out of the old camping grounds set up along the main way. Find places that are denser with trees for the nights. It'll be harder, but it would be a darn shame to find your IDs brought to this hut." He clicked his tongue, frustrated. "You all are too young to be left out there like that."

They were all silent for a moment, processing what they had just learned. It just… didn't seem real. They hadn't heard any news of this back when they were in Beacon- how could something like this have been happening for months?

Jaune broke the silence, murmuring, "I'm going to wait for Ruby outside. She should've come back by now." He shoved his hands into his pockets and wandered outside.

The innkeeper sighed and nodded towards Ren. "Let me know when y'all are turning in for the night, I'll give you the keys."

Nora turned her attention back to the board, her heart still heavy. It didn't feel real to see that name crossed out. Pointing to it, Nora asked the innkeeper, "When did this happen?"

Humming in thought, he replied, "Sotz? A few months ago. We found his Huntsman's ID and one of his knives. There were some other Huntsmen here at the time who could positively identify it, so I went ahead and struck his name."

On instinct, Nora reached an arm up to the back of her neck. Before her hand could even reach it, though, Ren's hand had already found its way there, gently massaging against the barely-visible scar at the bottom of her hairline right at the nape of her neck. The dark-haired boy asked the innkeeper quietly, his own eyes locked similarly to the notice on the board, "Who were the Huntsmen here at the time?"

"Don't remember. They looked pretty average- just passing through. They didn't stay for long."

Nora snorted. "Well, that certainly means that it wasn't the people we're looking for."

"You can't exactly miss those three," Ren murmured fondly.

Before they could continue, Jaune burst back into the inn's lobby. "Guys, come quick!"

Immediately, the duo complied, rushing out of the door. The blond pointed frantically at a rising pillar of smoke in the sky. It rose starkly even in the darkness of night, glowing grey and ominous in the light of the crumbling moon. "That's where we sent Ruby to, isn't it?"

Nora yanked her phone out of her pocket along with the other two, the three of them connecting a group call to Ruby as quickly as possible. The call rang and rang, and they nervously awaited her to pick up. It took a few tries, but finally, there was a click, and Ruby's photo icon glowed green on their screens.

"Ruby!" Jaune cried, relieved. "We saw smoke!"

Tightening the straps of his bag over his shoulders, Ren said, "Heading your way."

"Don't start without us!" Nora chirped, unhooking Magnhild from where it was hanging underneath her pack.

Ruby panted quietly on the other end of the call, and the three of them shared a nervous look. Finally, the younger girl said, "You better hurry." She hung up, the sounds of howling and screeching Grimm echoing through the line right before it cut off.

Jaune's face was pale. "We've gotta go- dump your stuff onto the side when we get there and help Ruby!"

"Got it!" Nora said, and Ren nodded confidently. It was go-time.