A/N: I'm moving next week and starting a new job, and soon will be beginning another university degree. It's going to be busy, so my update schedule may change in coming weeks. I do have some backlog for all my fics though, so we'll likely be okay for now. I'm going to keep working to fill up my backlog even further though.

(although real talk I get super motivated to write more by reviews so if you could leave them for me I'd be really happy XD I love responding to them all, except for guest reviews since I can't respond, although I wish I could)

Also, I've officially finished writing ahead, and have completed V4. I know that a lot of you really loved the Arkos dance/kiss scenes in LoA, but if I'm being honest, I think my take on the end of V4 is better than those. I don't think I stopped smiling once while writing the Renora moments at the end of V4. They're the most romantic points in the whole show, and I am just living for it.

Let me know what you think!

What We Call Home

Nora didn't bring up Jaune's new accessories to Ren nor Ruby. Jaune could show them in his own time- knowing Ren, he'd see them soon and figure out the truth behind them on his own, and knowing Ruby, she might never even notice.

Jaune was thankful. When Ren and Ruby finally returned, and they all got ready to settle in for the night, Nora perkily explained that "No, nothing happened!" when Ruby asked why Jaune had turned in early. But Nora could see Jaune's face from where he lay on his side, and he peeked out of his blankets to smile gratefully at her, so she knew she had made the right choice in letting him heal on his own time.

So, that left them with nothing but the road ahead the next morning. The innkeeper and mayor of Midoyuri saw them off, waving and promising to always have an open door for the quartet. They bowed for one final time in respect, then turned back to the road, heading down the lantern-lined, cobbled path further north to their next destination: Shion Village, where there used to be an airship.

Nora breathed in deep, enjoying the fresh morning air. Taking long strides, she fell in easily with her teammates, between Ren and Ruby.

Jaune purposefully didn't tuck his hair behind his ears that morning, letting shaggy blond fall over the gauze, blocking it from view while he excitedly ran through his checklist. "Food!"

Nora cried, "Check!"

"Water?"

"Check!"

"How 'bout ammo?"

She grinned, feeling the canisters hanging from the bottom of her pack. "Locked and loaded! Thank you, Schnee Dust Company!"

"Got the map?"

"Uh…" That wasn't in her wheelhouse, which meant, "Ren's got it!"

The boy deadpanned on her right, "No, I don't. You have it."

"Wait… what?

Jaune groaned, "Guys, please tell me you're joking."

Nora chuckled nervously as she looked back over at Ren, but the boy was just shaking his head, unfazed.

Desperately, Jaune insisted, "Guys! Guys? Guys..."

She shrugged. "Nope."

"Oh my god, fine." The blond held out a hand, forcing everyone to stop so he could kneel and shift through his own pack.

After a few minutes of frantic searching, he did indeed find the map. After repacking it without the red sash and Pyrrha's armour, Jaune had accidentally placed it at the bottom of his bag. "Oops," he murmured sheepishly, handing the map over to Ruby and repacking his belongings before they dallied for too long.

Ruby was a little quiet that day, and the next, and the next. The journey to Shion was a fairly straightforward one, if a little long- it was clear that the sheer distance was what kept the citizens of Midoyuri from trying to venture out of their home. There weren't even any Grimm to break the monotonous walk. So, the distance made her quietude stand out a fair amount.

Nora murmured to Ren one evening around the campfire, "Should we ask?"

But even Ren wasn't sure. "Let's give her time," he finally replied. "She's been like this ever since we left Midoyuri."

"What happened there to cause it?" The words had barely left her mouth, though, when she was suddenly struck with understanding- Midoyuri was where Ruby had realized that they had brought Pyrrha's armour. The younger girl was likely just wrestling with this knowledge.

But before they could continue their quiet conjecture further, Ruby asked quietly, "Hey, Jaune?"

"Mhm? What's up?" the blond asked, raising his head from where he had hunched over his bowl of watery soup.

"What's that around your neck? Did you buy a necklace?"

Nora felt herself instinctively freeze, smiling awkwardly when Ren's eyes turned to her, confused at her reaction. Unsurprisingly, Jaune reacted similarly to the orange-haired girl, pausing for one panicked moment before letting out a heavy sigh, slumping over. With clumsy, weary fingers, he pulled the chain up out from where it had been largely hidden under the neck of his hoodie, showcasing the ring for Ruby and Ren.

It took Ruby a moment to understand what it was, but Ren caught it immediately. "That's… Miló."

"Yup," the blond admitted.

Ruby blinked blankly a few times, then shuddered, wrapping her cape around herself just a little tighter. "…Keep her safe for us, okay?" she whispered in a squeak.

Jaune's gaze lifted to land on his friend, expression melting into a nostalgic, tender smile. "Always," he promised, putting the ring away.

Ruby turned in soon after that, still lost in her own thoughts. Ren went ahead to scout tomorrow's trail, leaving Nora and Jaune alone in camp for a few minutes. Other than causing her concern over Ruby, Nora had actually enjoyed the quieter atmosphere of the previous few days. She had had another concern in mind, after all- whether or not to tell Jaune about Pyrrha's feelings. He had finally healed enough that he was moving forward, but there was something holding him back from completely looking to the future and improving. If the guilt she kept catching in his eyes was from knowing about Pyrrha's feelings, then Nora wouldn't rest until his concerns were assuaged.

After all, Nora wished, more than anything, that Pyrrha had been able to tell Jaune how she felt. At least that way, the redhead wouldn't have had any regrets before that final battle.

Seizing the opportunity to speak to Jaune alone, Nora slid next to him. "Jaune," she murmured sneakily, "I need to ask you something."

Instantly, the blond was a little confused, and more than a little wary. "…okay?"

She crossed her legs, fiddling with the laces in her boots, wondering how to say it. Oh gosh. I'm not good at this kind of thing. "Um… did… that night… at Beacon… did Pyrrha tell you…?" She raised her eyes, looking at him plaintively. "Did she… say anything to you about how she…"

Jaune's eyes widened, and he let out a shaky breath as the gears turned in his mind. "W-wait… Nora, did you...?" His lip wobbled a little, and in the firelight, she could see his eyes filling with tears. "Did you know? About how… about how she felt?"

Nora sidled next to him and leaned a head on his shoulder, feeling the blond begin to shudder and shake. Still, he deserved to know the truth fully. "Yup," she whispered. "She loved you since basically day 1, Jaune." That elicited a choked sob from him. "It's okay. She wouldn't want you to be sad about it- all she ever wanted was for you to be happy, y'know?"

"I just wish I knew before-!"

"I wanted to tell you," she explained. "But Pyrrha wanted to tell you on her own time."

She wrapped him in a one-armed hug when she felt him quake further, but soon, he managed to calm himself down, wiping at watery eyes wearily. "You're right," he affirmed. "I… She did it all to save me. I don't even know why I was surprised at the time- it's Pyrrha, after all."

"Yup!" Nora chirped, smiling wide at him. "And you should feel lucky and proud that she left her heart with you!"

"Make sure you do her proud, okay?" Ren suddenly commented, walking back into the clearing. "We'll be here, every step of the way."

"Always," Nora agreed.

Jaune gave them a weak grin, wiping the few stray tears remaining, calming his breath. "Okay. Thanks."

And with that, they all turned in for the night. Nora's heart felt a lot lighter than the past few days. And, the next morning, when Jaune removed the gauze and finally showed Ren and Ruby the earring, he seemed a lot more at peace than when Nora had seen it that first night. The other two simply smiled and hugged him, making him promise to keep it safe. And Nora just smiled, the only thought repeating in her mind being, We're getting better! We're gonna be okay.

Over time, Ruby grew lively once again. It was clear that the younger girl was battling doubts and fears and insecurities of her own, so Nora made it a point to be as affectionate with the girl as possible. Although they were Team JNRR (because they'd never be Team RNJR, nope) and Ruby was one of them, Nora knew that no one could replace Yang or Weiss or Blake.

After all, she was learning that no one could replace Pyrrha, too. Of the chocolate set Ren had bought her as a gift before leaving Vale, Ruby didn't like any of the ones Pyrrha did. Those chocolates just… sat there in the box, waiting for the redhead.

However, it was Jaune who began to grow wearier over time. Although it was clear a burden had been cleared from his heart after telling the group about the earring and ring, he was still fairly exhausted every morning when he awoke. The fatigue began to take a toll on him, soon creasing his eyes almost permanently. Nora wasn't sure why it was happening- he wasn't doing anything during that day that might be causing the tiredness- but she knew he would reach out if he needed her. And if he did, she'd help him, no matter what.

They found themselves wandering through the trail the third day after leaving Midoyuri. Ruby was on the point, holding out the map in front of her. The younger was humming and hawing, but making no real comments, so Nora paid it no mind. Nora followed her happily, giggling as she saw a small family of squirrels following them sneakily through the trees, content to just stick with her team.

"So the next town is..." Ruby finally offered, "uh-huh... uh-huh..." Lowering the map in exasperation, she groaned, "We're lost."

"We're not lost," Jaune chuckled. "The next town is Shion. We'll be there really soon. My family used to visit it all the time."

The younger said, "Oh yeah. Don't you have, like, four sisters?"

By Nora's side, Jaune rolled his eyes wearily. "Uh, seven," he replied, the mere memory of his sisters tiring him out. Ruby giggled, and Nora had to bite back her own chuckle. The blond had received more than a few care packages and calls over their time at Beacon from his sisters, and while Nora didn't know much about them, based on what he had always received, his sisters were hilarious.

She quipped, "Y'know, that actually explains a lot."

"Wait, what do you mean-" he instantly protested, and she grinned, ready to tease him. Oh, how she missed doing this kind of thing-

"So," Ruby cut in, "what did you guys do there?"

Taking the bait easily, Jaune's face lit up and he stepped forward to join the younger girl in front. Enthusiastically pointing at the map, he explained, "Oh, all sorts of stuff! Over here is a great hiking trail, and over here is where we went camping all the time. I got my own tent because I was special." His pride dwindled immediately, and he muttered, "Also, so my sisters would stop braiding my hair."

"Didn't like the look?" Ruby teased.

"Yeah, they just kept doing pigtails, but personally, I think I'm more of a "warrior's wolftail" kind of guy."

"…That's just a ponytail."

"I stand by what I said."

The banter made her giggle, but as she looked up to the road ahead, Nora felt her feet deaden, turning to lead, locking her in place on the road. Her hands lifted involuntarily up to her lips, and she shuddered, eyes widening. Her heart pounded in her chest faster and faster as she took in the sight before them. And, by her side, she could see Ren reacting in the same way.

It's happened again. Please, no.

Finally, she choked out, "Uh, guys?"

The two in front simultaneously paused, asking, "Huh?" "What?"

In front of their very eyes, the skies had shifted from bright blue to a dark, menacing murky grey. Two thick columns of smoke rose from the remains of a desolated village, the watchtower by the town's gate burnt and crumbling to the ground. What trees remained standing near the entrance were all charred, and lampposts littered the ground, corpse-like reminders of those who clearly had lived here until very recently.

Her eyes trailed across the street leading through the town, catching sight of a mangled body lying by the wayside. The blood hadn't even congealed yet, still red, one rare blip of colour in the greyed-out landscape. Bright red blood was everywhere, the more she looked. It was particularly brilliant upon a signpost near the first building of the ruined town, half of the word Shion dripping and splattered with it.

Ren! Suddenly realizing what must've happened, Nora shot over to him, but the boy's eyes were fixated on the ruins of the town. Her heart broke, and she reached out to him momentarily- but the other three quickly ran forward, and she had no choice but to follow.

Jaune and Ren sprinted ahead, while Ruby and Nora lingered behind. She didn't want to be here. The scent of burnt wood and flesh and blood, and the unpleasant, acrid scent of the Grimm, lingered too heavily here. She stepped forward carefully unlike the others, taking in body after body, thrown aside carelessly along the walkway.

Finally, she glanced up at Ren. The boy had stopped running, instead stomping forward purposefully. Even from behind, she could see the hunch in his shoulders, the tension in his stride. The boy tossed his pack to the ground and continued striding ahead, leaving them behind while she, Ruby and Jaune assembled in the middle of the road.

"There could be survivors!" Ruby cried, absolutely horrified by what she saw.

While she would never get used to the sight of ruin, Nora had at least long ago become quick to recover from it. They had seen too many villages burned to the ground, too many people slaughtered for nothing, since their childhood. But she also knew that Ren would never be immune to such destruction, and spending a year and a half away from Anima had likely only made him more sensitive to these sights.

It didn't mean that she didn't hate seeing it.

"Over here!" Ren called, urgency bleeding into his voice due to his desperation. Jaune glanced back at the two girls, nodded, and the three of them bolted after him.

They stopped a few metres away, watching as Ren knelt by a young man, barely older than they themselves, leaning haggardly against a crumbling, broken wall. His armour was worn, stained with dirt and burns and blood, with a fresh wound unstitched by Aura tearing through his abdomen, bleeding horribly.

Ren placed a comforting hand on the man's shoulder as Ruby breathed, "A Huntsman!"

Nora nodded. She recognized this face- his picture had been one of the few remaining faces up on the Huntsmen board in Midoyuri. Suddenly, her heart sank in her chest. This is the first living Huntsmen we've seen in Anima, and he's… almost gone. Wait- does that mean any of the others are here?

"What happened? Who killed all of these people?" Jaune asked, the horror in his voice evident.

Through a hacking, pained cough, the man gasped, "Bandits."

Instantly, Nora glowered. Of course it was bandits. Gods, how happy she'd be if she never had to deal with any of those ever again.

A line of blood began to trail down his chin, dribbling out of his mouth. "The whole tribe... Then, with all the panic..." But he began to cough repeatedly, harder and harder, and more blood began to seep out through his open wound.

Ren shook his head brokenly and turned to look back at them. Lowly, he finished for the Hunstman. "Grimm." Nora watched as a brief shot of pink Aura transferred from his fingertips into the Huntsman, soothing him of his anxieties, quelling his cough- then, he stood, walking past the dying man a few paces.

Nora turned away from the injured man for a moment with Jaune and Ruby. The younger girl said confidently "Alright, we can get him to the next village and try to find a doctor there!"

And just like that, Nora's heart sank. They don't get it.

Jaune was just as naïve. "Yeah, Ren and I can take turns carrying him."

She offered quietly, pleading them with her eyes, "I don't know if he'll make it."

But Jaune's gaze was steely when he turned to look at her. "He will. He has to."

Nodding along, Ruby added, "If we get going now, his chances will be better. I can run ahead and look for help!"

Ren's weary, monotone voice broke their discussion. "Guys..."

When they shifted back to Ren and the Huntsman, they found half-lidded, glassy, lifeless eyes staring limply at the ground. Nora raised a hand to cover her mouth, regret and frustration and weary acceptance rushing through her. They were too late.

After taking a moment to calm herself, she peered over to Jaune and Ruby's shattered, crestfallen expressions and asked, "Should we… bury him?"

But before they could respond, still reeling from the shock of losing the Huntsman, Ren strode past her with a vengeance. "We should go," he muttered lowly. "It's not safe here."

"Ren…" she called out to him. He didn't look back at her.

She clenched her fists, bit her lip, and followed him. Ruby and Jaune would need to handle themselves together in the wake of this. She couldn't leave Ren alone.

But as she walked behind him, the defeat in her heart only grew. He radiated bitterness and heartbreak. If only she could hold him! More than anything, she wanted to reach out to him, hold him close, tell him that I'm here, it's alright, I won't leave you…

But she couldn't do that to him. He wasn't ready for that- not now.

So, all she could do was come stand beside him when he suddenly halted, eyes fixated upon the ground. She followed his gaze wordlessly, sucking in a harsh breath when she saw what he was staring at.

A cloven hoof print stood out firmly in the soil, damp and muddy with spilt blood. The wide arch, split into two toes and a smaller, narrowly-separated heel, was more than familiar to them both- that image had haunted their nightmares for years and years.

Nora knew. Sometimes, even now, Ren still saw it in his dreams. He saw it far more than she ever did, after all.

The Nuckelavee, the giant, equestrian Grimm which had slaughtered and eaten everyone ten years earlier in Kuroyuri, was still alive. And judging by the size of the hoof print… it had grown even bigger.

She traded a silent glance with Ren. Unlike her, with her brow furrowed in boiling anger and bitterness, all she saw in his eyes was weariness, sadness.

He doesn't want to be here anymore.

So quietly that even she could scant hear her own words, Nora whispered, "We'll be in Mistral soon."

Ren didn't reply. Instead, he walked past the print and retrieved his pack from where he had tossed it away. Nora sighed heavily, then returned to Ruby and Jaune in the meantime. The younger was standing close to Jaune, a hand comfortingly on his shoulder while the blond blinked back tears of frustration away, eyes locked onto the dead Huntsman's corpse.

"There's no signs of an airship here," Ren said quietly when he returned to them. "We should go."

"Yeah," Ruby breathed, tugging Jaune's sleeve. "C'mon." Silently, the blond complied.

Biting her lip, Nora quickly looked over the dead Huntsman. He didn't have any affects that looked unique or easily identifiable. She hung back, allowing the others to walk ahead slightly before pulling out her Scroll. Then, before she could doubt herself, she snapped a picture of his face.

The next town they reached, she'd show his face to the innkeeper. A sick pit grew in the bottom of her stomach. Another name crossed off the list.

But with that sickening thought in mind, a shiver ran down Nora's spine. There had to be something going on in Anima, something that ran deeper than anything they knew. Why else were all of the Huntsmen being hunted down like this?

She didn't have time to ponder it further. The others were almost at the exit gates of Shion Village. She needed to catch up.

Casting one last tentative look at the Huntsman, then back at the Nuckelavee's footprint, she jogged up to meet her teammates. And for the first time since leaving Vale, she didn't know whether they had made the right choice by coming back.