A/N: T-5- and we're getting back on track with canon. I feel like so much happens in the chapter, although it isn't crazy-long or anything. Maybe it's just me barely being able to believe that we're finally drawing into the end of the fic.

That being said, I've actually already finished the rest of the fic. Get ready to read the final few chapters over the next few days!

Let me know what you think of this chapter!

What We Call Home

Well. This wasn't in the plan.

Nora, Ren and Jaune found themselves sitting in an interrogation room in the Atlesian Military's headquarters off the pier of Argus. While a week ago, the thought of getting into the base would've been nothing but a pure victory for the trio, now the entire situation boded ill for them. After all, how in the world would they be able to convince Atlas that they weren't at fault for the destruction of the Argus Limited and the train yard?

"We're just students," Jaune repeated for the nth time. Nora almost laughed; the blond looked like he was about to cry. "We were just ex- exploring the city, and then it all blew up."

"Oh really?" their tiny interrogator repeated once again.

Nora sighed, leaning her cheek onto one propped-up hand as she sank back into her uncomfortable chair. She was absolutely exhausted; they had been sitting in this interrogation room for hours, and now that the commander of the base was finally here, this is what they received?

The elderly woman standing in front of them- all bluster in a slightly-oversized white Atlesian uniform, proudly displaying her rank and arrogance on her sleeve- seemed to be all bark and no bite. She was the tiniest little commander they had ever seen. Even Nora thought she was small, of all people!

They had thought they had escaped the location of the battle stealthily enough. However, the moment they had boarded a tram on the way back to Saphron and Terra's home, sirens had gone off and soldiers were upon them. Jaune had openly wept, his eyes still a little bit puffy despite it all. That display of weakness had done nothing to stop the soldiers from announcing that their IDs had been scanned and picked up near the train yard, and that they needed to come in for questioning.

Nora wanted to bust out. They hadn't had their weapons taken away, even when the commander of the base had entered. If they really wanted to, they could get out- they totally could-

But we need a ship, Nora mourned internally, silently mouthing at Jaune to just stop talking. The less they spoke, the less chances they had that someone would tie them into the cause of the explosion at the train yard.

"But how-" Caroline Cordovin cried, smacking her hand on the table hard enough that it shook the lamp seated upon it, the singular light illuminating the tiny interrogation chamber flickering for a moment, "-did a trio of students oh so conveniently end up in the exact spot of a terrible terrorist attack?!"

Ren sighed. He attempted, "Ma'am, we-"

"Do not 'ma'am' me, ingrate," she roared, pointing an accusatory finger at the young man. "I know of your ilk. You have come to ruin my spectacular Argus!"

"More like we've come to leave your 'spectacular Argus'," Nora muttered before she could stop herself.

Unfortunately, the elderly woman heard her perfectly, walking over to Nora's side of the table and sneering. "You want to leave? Why, is something not to your liking?" She leaned in even closer, rage lighting up her dark brown eyes like nothing else. "Or is it because your dark deeds are already done?!"

Nora wanted to scream. "We didn't do it," she replied immediately. "It wasn't our fault!"

It was Oliver and Caelus who set up the charges. Plausible deniability saves the day. The deadpan look in Ren's eyes told her he wasn't buying her story, however.

Neither was Cordovin. The tiny commander cried, "Oh, I bet you weren't! Just like how I bet the Argus Limited will actually be able to carry passengers between our noble city and those heathens in Mistral- which is, it won't be!" She glared at the trio seated glumly in front of her. "Do you have any idea how much damage to infrastructure you have caused-"

"We didn't plant any bombs, we didn't blow anything up, and we were just trying to escape the explosion when it happened," Ren said quietly. "We're very sorry that this has happened in your city, but we genuinely did not do anything of the sort. In fact, we're actually looking for transport out of the city."

That phrase made Cordovin stop short. "Oh, well too bad the Argus Limited isn't going to be able to-"

"We want to go to Mantle!" Nora cried.

Everyone in the room paused, looking over to her. If the one-way mirrored windows lining the north wall of the interrogation room had been just regular glass, she probably could have seen the guards on the other side do a double-take as well.

"You… want to go… to Solitas," Cordovin repeated slowly, one thin, over-plucked brow arched high in disbelief.

Jaune let out a long, trembling sigh. "Yeah…"

Caroline Cordovin blinked at the trio, then reared her head back, letting out a long, resounding guffaw. "You think that you might be able to find a vessel here? In my base?"

Ren offered wearily, "I mean, not right now-"

"Not ever!" the woman screamed.

Before she could continue, however, a voice on the intercom cut in, announcing, "Commander! We managed to salvage all the footage we could, but it seems like these three were indeed not involved."

Nora had to fight back the leering, proud grin that threatened to creep up with all her might. Thanks, Howl. Adopting an air of frustration, she cried, "See?! We didn't blow anything up! Can we go now?"

The tiny woman could have been looking at ants underneath her shoe, wrinkled face drawn tight in anger as she regarded them all bitterly. "Fine," she hissed, tossing her grey hair out of her eyes. "My men shall escort you out. But I'd better not hear anything about you children wanting to use my ships ever again! I should never see you back here!"

"You'll let us go to Mantle eventually!" Nora said. "Just you wait!"

"Leave, and stay out!"

And so, just like that, Nora, Ren and Jaune were promptly booted from the large Atlesian base. The giant iron-wrought gates closed behind the trio with a loud clang, the two guards posted behind the bars glaring at them from underneath large, ostentatious uniform hats.

Jaune slumped over, grimacing. It was nearly dawn with the light streaming over the horizon, painting the calm seas a breathtaking lilac. "Guys, I need to go home," Jaune moaned, shuffling down the long road leading back to the mainland. "I need to sleep."

"What, you didn't like our adventure?" Nora laughed, hooking her arm through his. Turning back to look at Ren, she beamed wearily, holding her hand open for him to take. "C'mon, Ren."

The other boy had been so focused on looking at the base- no doubt mourning their lost chance of getting a vessel to use to get to Mantle. It did sting to realize that they truly had no way to secure a ship before their allies arrived in Argus. Oh well, Nora thought, yawning as exhaustion began to take over her body as well, it's not like we had much of a chance anyways. Why would the Atlesian Military listen to a bunch of students?

Either way, there was no way to get anything else done until Ruby and Qrow and the others arrived. The three of them had already exhausted all avenues available to them. Let's just hope Qrow has some old contacts he can use to get a ship, she thought idly. Qrow seemed to be well-connected enough.

As she pondered this, Ren finally began following them, reaching out and grabbing her hand. With that, the trio stumbled their way back home, slipping into the Cotta-Arc household as quietly as they could. It was lucky that their clumsy footsteps, knocking into walls and doors and against corners constantly, was not heard by the homeowners. Thankfully, no one emerged from any of the rooms to scold them for crawling back into the house around dawn, and the trio was able to get ready for bed with relative ease.

Jaune almost woke his sister up when he asked, "Ren, why aren't you coming with me- oh!"

Nora turned, regarding Jaune's bright pink cheeks in confusion. His expression's cause quickly became clear as she realized that Ren was not standing by their room, instead waiting with Nora to enter hers.

Beet-red now, his flush visible even in the lightless hallway, Jaune whispered hotly, "Oh my gods um- go- go have fun? Um okay I'm-" before hurdling into his bedroom and closing the door behind him with zero grace.

Nora felt her own cheeks heat up, pulling at Ren's sleeve. "Ren, what-?"

But Ren wordlessly entered her bedroom, slipping into her bed before she could say anything.

Nora watched him from the doorway, shifting uneasily on the balls of her feet. Despite her fatigue, her senses were now on high alert. What was Ren doing here?

Before she could ponder it too long, Ren murmured, "Nora."

"Yes Ren?" she whispered.

"Come here."

Swallowing thickly, she closed the door behind her, heart pounding in her ears. What was going on? Why was Ren staying with her? Where was this going-

But the moment she slipped into the bed too, and Ren lay on his side, cradling her against his chest, she understood. She knew what was happening. They hadn't had any time to actually unpack what had happened less than twelve hours before.

Sotz and Nick and everyone… they were gone. Nora and Ren were free.

And just like with the end of the Nuckelavee, that realization somehow managed to lift a burden she hadn't even known she had been carrying off her shoulders, leaving her light enough to drift away.

Instantly, her eyes welled up with confused, bitter tears, and she pressed her face into his collar. It was a strange sensation; they hadn't lay in the same bed since they were children.

Perhaps that was why it was necessary now.

"He's gone, Nora." His voice was barely a whisper.

She paused, letting those words sink in slowly. "I know," she replied just as softly.

"It almost feels too quick," Ren murmured. She felt a shudder run through his body. "It doesn't feel as if it's real."

"'Too quick' was finding his picture on the Huntsmen's boards," she laughed wryly. "I'm surprised we believed it. As if a Grimm would be able to take him down."

Ren snorted wryly, fingers running through her hair. "But we spent a whole year pretending it was all fine."

"That's because we had better things to focus on."

"Team JNPR."

"Pyrrha."

"Yeah."

They were silent for a long moment, simply trying to calm down their breathing- trying to keep their tears at bay. It was a conflicted, complicated emotion in Nora's chest; disbelief and frustration and fear and relief all tangled up in a knot sitting heavily in her gut, making her simultaneously want to fly and want to vomit.

It had been easy to ignore their past when they were at Beacon. The moment Beacon fell and they had been put back onto Anima, however, everything that they had suppressed for so long had come creeping back to them; the Nuckelavee, Kuroyuri, and the bandit camps. Sotz and Nick and Varin and… and everything.

"We… we've really gone through a lot, huh?"

"Yeah," Ren breathed.

Nora sidled her body even closer to him, relishing in the warmth and security his touch brought her. Even after all these years, Ren was the one true constant in her life. Ren had stayed the same. And now that their demons were all gone, all that was left was Ren.

"…do you think I'll still have nightmares?" she whispered.

And Ren's forehead pressed against hers, the warmth and trust in that simple gesture finally causing the tears in her eyes to overflow. "I'm still here," he said.

Nora fell asleep like that; tangled in Ren's arm, her weary tears of relief drying on her cheeks. And when she awoke, Ren was blushing as he looked down at her in his arms, too embarrassed to meet her gaze but clearly too worried about waking her up to move away.

With the boldness that only being half-asleep could bring, she kissed him on the lips, making his ears shine so brightly they could have been alarm lights. "Morning, Ren," she breathed, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

Still, he smiled, the tenderness and affection in his eyes enough to make her melt. "Morning."

It was the start of a new day.

They went their separate ways in a daze, getting ready and filing down the stairs in their own time. It was already past noon- they had slept for far longer than anticipated.

Jaune could barely meet their gaze, face burning red the moment they walked into the living room. Ren immediately pushed aside any inappropriate questions that the blond may have had by muttering, "We went to bed right away. You did too, right?"

"O-of course!" Jaune squealed, burying his face in his hands in pure agony.

Saphron paused, looking between Nora, Ren and Jaune in confusion. Understanding quickly blossomed in her gaze, and she threw her head back, letting out the most entertained cackle possible. "Jaune, what in the world are you imagining?!" she cried, grabbing Jaune in a playful headlock despite his protests. "The walls in this house are pretty thin, so it's not like they're lying. What would you know-"

Jaune looked like he was going to combust on the spot. Ren was no different. Nora, on the other hand, was enjoying cackling with Saphron as she fixed herself up some cocoa.

When Jaune was finally able to recover from his pure embarrassment, he waved Ren and Nora over. "The Argus Limited's explosion is all over the news," he explained under his breath. "I said that we were checking out the stores downtown and got lost, and the military found us walking around- that's why we were late."

With that cover story established, Nora murmured, "Do you think it's safe to visit everyone at the base?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Jaune asked.

Ren supplied, "In case we're still being watched by the military." Turning to Nora, he said, "I doubt they think of us as threats, however. I have a feeling that if they did think we were responsible, they wouldn't have let us go so easily."

Nora pouted, crossing her arms angrily. "That lady was the worst! She was such a buzzkill."

Jaune sighed, looking already fatigued. "Guys," he moaned, "let's just be glad we didn't get arrested."

Saphron perked up from the kitchen. "Did you just say 'arrested'?" she asked skeptically, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

Jaune's face grew ashen. Nora grinned, jumping to her feet and drawing her attention. "We're going to go visit our friends!" she announced to Saphron. "We'll message if we're staying out again!"

Saphron sighed, leaning against the stovetop. "Please be careful," she implored. "I know that you're all basically Huntsmen now, but I worry."

Nora beamed at her, then nodded towards Ren and Jaune. "We will!" To Jaune she said, "I want to make sure everyone's okay."

Jaune waved them off, barely able to cover his giant yawn. Sleepy tears pricked his blue eyes as he mumbled, "I'm going back to sleep." Pointing at them meaningfully, he said, "Let me know if anything comes up, okay?"

Ren nodded, clapping Jaune firmly on the shoulder. "We will. Go to bed."

With that, they went their separate ways; Nora and Ren making their way back to the Embers base and Jaune going back to his bedroom.

To Nora's utter dismay, the derelict apartment building looked nothing like it had only two days before. No longer were there maps and scrolls spread across the long table. All munitions and boxes of Dust were nowhere to be seen, leaving the rooms they had once occupied empty, hollow. Even the tattered, ragtag furniture the crew had managed to acquire around their 'briefing' area were all pushed back into different corners of the building, effectively destroying any trace that people had been there.

"Where did everything go?!" Nora cried, running up to Howl.

The man was standing by the window, eyes glazed over in thought whilst his Semblance glowed green in front of his eyes. After a few seconds, the glow receded, and Howl glanced over at Nora and Ren. "You two are alright," he breathed. She and Ren both nodded and unison. Howl smiled gently, walking towards them. With clumsy hands, he reached up and patted both of them on the head. "Good. You did well."

"Are the kids here?" Kalian's voice boomed. From the empty doorframe of an adjacent room, Kalian strode into their room and grinned, walking up to them proudly. He held out a hand for Ren to shake, clasping the younger man on the forearm firmly. Then, to Nora, he tried to do the same thing.

Nora didn't take his hand; she simply launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and giggling. He staggered for a moment under her weight, but Kalian was quick to squeeze back, giving her a warm hug with all his muscle and build and strength. "Okay, you brat," he scolded lightly, "let me go."

She giggled, letting him set her down. His face was flushed, but his smile was proud, burning red eyes soft as he ruffled her hair. "You all kicked some ass yesterday."

Caelus entered the room from the entrance, immediately dropping the box he had been carrying in favour of running over and launching himself at Nora in the same kind of hug she had given Kalian. The latter merely groaned at the sight, shaking his head. "And you wonder where the kid learned this shit from," Kalian muttered. He wasn't unhappy, though.

With Nora in his arms, Caelus murmured, "Ya sleep okay, Lil' Valkyrie?"

She laughed, shaking her head. "The Atlesian Military kept us in questioning till the morning, but I guess we did." She tugged on one of his braids. "How did you not get caught? And why didn't you tell us you were planning on blowing up the train?!"

He winked boisterously. "Do you really think dat I would be caught by small fry like Atlas? You're playin' with me, Nora!" he cried, his smile never fading just as Howl and Kalian said at the same time, "Plausible deniability," and "What you don't know can't hurt you with those assholes from Atlas involved."

Soon, Oliver and Carob had entered along with a few of their followers, a contented, hopeful smile on all of their faces. Nora waved cheerily to them both while Ren asked, "You're all packed up. Where are you going next?"

"We'll be setting out on foot through the mountain pass," Howl murmured, quickly opening up his Scroll to show them a vague route. "We have contacts who are asking for help in a different mission."

"Besides," Kalian said, "we still need to find all of their contacts and make sure that whatever Sotz and Nick were doing is crushed completely."

"Without their big bad leaders, they'll be runnin' around like headless chicken for now, though, so we've got some time!" Caelus cheered.

Nora smiled, opening her mouth to speak- and she froze. Surprise, followed by uneasy horror, slowly crept into her heart. What was she just about to say?

I can't wait to get started.

We're going to destroy them once and for all.

Nothing can stop us!

…Take us with you.

A part of her wanted to go with them.

She froze, taking a moment to reflect on that sensation. How could she want to leave Jaune and Ruby and everyone behind? I don't, she realized immediately, the very thought of saying goodbye to her friends and teammates enough to strike agony in her heart. I just don't want to say goodbye to everyone here, too. Not again.

She had missed them so much already; once they parted ways, when would she see them again?

Ren seemed to sense her quiet discomfort, placing a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Do you know how we'll be able to contact you?" he asked.

Howl shook his head, a small, rueful smile on his lips. "You know we cannot guarantee anything," he said smoothly. "The main connection between here and Mistral is destroyed for now, so on foot, it shall be quite a while before we reach anywhere with a proper communications tower."

"And with the CCTS down," Kalian added, "there's not much point in trying, anyways." He frowned, glancing over them both worriedly. "Why?"

Nora tried, "I-I…"

It warmed her heart how easily Caelus grinned, pressing a warm brown cheek against hers. She wrinkled her nose, feeling his whiskers against her skin as he said, "You kids are workin' on something right now, ya? There's no point in worrying 'bout us while you've got your own journey to complete! Besides," and he straightened up, stretching his arms towards the crumbled ceiling, "you've both kinda got it figured out, right? Don't need us no more."

"But…" Nora trailed off awkwardly.

Kalian smiled, uncharacteristically tender. "You've got some shit you're trying to do, right? With trying to get to Atlas and all that. If you ever need backup, let us know."

"We're comrades," Carob called, glancing up in amusement from the small box of rounds he was organizing.

"Pfft, comrades," Caelus mocked. "We're family."

Nora's lip wobbled before she could stop it.

The bubbly man continued, "But you've got your own little family to care for now, so you've gotta hold that head up high, ya?"

Nora took a moment to glance around at the faces filling the room. Family. Always.

As always, at the sentimental moment, Howl's expression twisted into one of confusion. "Why are you upset? I do not comprehend."

Kalian rolled his eyes and groaned, waving off Howl's words. "Look, kids. Take the day off. Go sleep or something, but you should relax today- whatever you are all working on can wait, right?"

"We sort of have to wait," Nora admitted sheepishly. "We're waiting for our friends still."

"While you wait," Howl said, having moved on from his previous point, "I highly suggest you check out the more suburban areas of the city. There's something here that you need to see."

"Something in town?" Ren asked, confused. Howl nodded, but he was clearly not going to give them more details, so Nora and Ren traded a glance and shrugged. Looking around town wouldn't be an issue while they waited, although Nora wasn't exactly sure where else they could go- after all, their hunt for airships and the slew of errands they had run had taken them around almost the entirety of the city already.

Oliver walked up to them, smiling gleefully. The teenager looked exhausted still, but that didn't stop Nora from hugging him fiercely. "Look at you and your little sharpshooting skills!" she squealed. "You crushed it!"

Oliver beamed proudly. "Dad always said I'd do great," he said quietly.

Nora grinned, fixing his paperboy hat on his head properly and squishing his cheeks. "You did amazingly," she cooed before finally releasing him.

Carob finally stood, stretching out a kink in his back before announcing, "You kids should head out for now- we don't want anyone tracking you. But," he added, a wry smile on his face, "make sure you're back here by tonight."

Ren and Nora traded a confused look. "What's… what's happening tonight?" she asked.

Caelus grinned, his smile mischievous and knowing. "It's a secret," he sang. "Oh, and bring your lil' friend, too!"

Jaune? "Okay, but…"

"No buts!" Oliver said sternly, surprising Nora. "You have to be here tonight, okay?"

"…Got it," Ren said.

And with that deal being done, Ren and Nora found themselves booted from the building, with nothing more than a reminder to come back in a few hours and a knowing wink sent their way.

"They… they do know it takes over an hour to get back home, right?" Nora asked as they began to trudge back to the trams.

Ren sighed, shaking his head ruefully. "We're going to have to go home, eat something, then bring Jaune back nearly right away," he murmured, glum.

Nora shrugged, bumping her shoulder against his. "Let's enjoy time with them while we can?" she offered.

His eyes softened. "Yeah."

With that, they made their way back to the Cotta-Arc house. Jaune was barely awake by the time they came to rouse him, but he agreed to join them with little fuss. Caelus sent a message halfway through the afternoon saying that they'd be eating dinner together, too, so after telling Saphron that they'd be coming back late again- along with promising to stay out of trouble- they got back onto the tram and began the trek back to the Embers' base.

By the time they reached the abandoned apartment building once more, the sun had begun to set. There were no lights inside the building visible from the outside. Nora froze, panic gripping her heart for a moment as they stood in front of the fire escape stairwell. "Wait, Ren," she breathed, "did they leave already?"

Ren frowned, pulling out his Scroll. "They… they wouldn't have," he replied, but the hesitation in his voice was clear. Showing her the screen, he said tightly, "Their signal is still strong."

"Guys, what's going on?" Jaune murmured, glancing between the two worriedly.

Nora shook her head. "I don't know." Her head reached back, falling onto Magnhild's handle.

They had little choice but to check it out.

So, after delegating roles silently, Jaune kicked open the door, Ren brandished StormFlower and crouched low, and Nora pointed her grenade launcher into the dark building.

No one was there.

"Ren, can you sense anyone?" she breathed.

Ren paused, feeling around with his Aura. After a moment, he nodded. "Upstairs," he mouthed.

They shared a look to the third floor. There were no lights on. What was happening?

Silently, they crept up the stairs, bracing themselves around the derelict door hanging on barely by the hinges at the top. 3, 2, 1- and Jaune kicked open the door again, Ren was ready to slash, Nora ready to fire.

"Happy birthday!" a chorus of male voices sang.

Nora had approximately .2 seconds to take in the scene in front of her: in the darkness, Oliver was standing in the center of the room, a lit-up cake in his hands and a wide grin on his face; Kalian was leaning against the back wall with Howl, waving awkwardly at the duo at the door; Howl himself was fussing with a small wrapped box in his hands; Carob was raising a glass of liquor in a toast.

Before anyone could blink, Caelus vaulted out the door and grabbed Nora and Ren in a tight hug, knocking them back so far they nearly broke the landing's railing from the impact.

Jaune watched the whole thing, utterly stupefied. "It's… your birthday?" he asked, baffled.

Nora squeaked, "Ren's birthday is in January!"

"What?!" Jaune frowned, pouting at the duo. "Why didn't we celebrate it in January then?"

"Because-" Ren coughed, clawing his way out of Caelus' excited hold, "it doesn't matter!"

Whaddya mean in doesn't matter? Nora pouted silently. I bought you cupcakes for it! It had killed Nora to not make it a big celebration back when they were at Beacon, but Ren had insisted on not having a big party.

A part of her wilted at the thought. We were supposed to have more years to celebrate with everyone at school. That hadn't gone according to plan.

Without a word of greeting, Caelus eagerly scooped them both up and brought them inside the building. "It doesn't matter my butt," he replied cheerfully, dropping the two unceremoniously onto the floor. "We didn't get to celebrate with you when you were at Beacon, so now, we're celebrating."

Jaune followed them into the dark room in a daze, still completely unsure as to how to take in the odd situation. Ren was also completely frazzled, standing up in a flustered huff and brushing himself off. Oliver didn't seem to notice how bewildered the trio was, however, happily bringing up the quaint little cake to Nora and Ren. "You two have to blow out the candles! C'mon, make a wish!"

Nora could only laugh as Kalian unabashedly pulled out his Scroll, recording the entire affair. Carob was already drinking his glass, while Howl was waiting patiently in the back, clearly holding a gift for the two of them. What did we do to deserve them? she thought, in pure awe of the ridiculousness of it all.

A part of her mind murmured, See, Pyrrha? Our weirdness came from somewhere.

She knew Pyrrha would've been beaming through it all.

So, she grabbed Ren's hand and squeezed. "Make a wish with me?" she said.

After a moment, Ren sighed, resigned. Still, the good-natured grin on his face was true. "Okay."

And on the count of three, the two of them blew out the candles, and Nora made the same wish she had made every year since meeting Ren; with a slight adjustment, of course. I hope I get to stay with Ren this year- with everyone.

Jaune clapped along with everyone, but as Carob pulled out a knife to begin cutting the cake, Jaune leaned in to Nora and whispered, "Okay, but why are we celebrating it today?" He frowned, adding, "Wait, Nora, if Ren's is in January, when's yours?"

She shrugged, accepting the piece that Oliver gave her with a soft smile. "I don't know my own," she admitted, "so we used to always just throw a little party for Ren and me together!"

Jaune's eyes welled up with sympathy. "I mean, we could probably figure it out if you wanted-"

Nora shook her head, squeezing Ren's hand again while she scarfed up the cake without a fork, much to Ren's chagrin. "Why bother when I was born, silly?" Looking up at the dark-haired boy, she murmured, "My life didn't really start till I met Ren, after all."

Immediately, Oliver made fake gagging noises while Carob wolf-whistled. Kalian's Scroll dropped to the ground, eyes flashing bloody murder. While the fuming redhead silently pulled Ren away from Nora and dragged him to one of the dark adjacent rooms, Caelus following only a breath after, Howl simply stepped forward, clearly unaware of what was going on. He opened up the wrapped box he had been oh-so-patiently waiting to hand off and held it out for her.

Nora laughed at the group's antics, elbowing Jaune when even he groaned in second-hand embarrassment from her unabashed affection towards Ren. Then, she picked up the awaiting box.

Inside were two armbands, along with a thin necklace. "The bands are for you," he said quietly. "They conduct and can store electricity, delivering shocks at timed intervals if the store is released. They should be useful." He smiled a tender, lopsided grin. "Forgive the decorative work. We had to get it quickly commissioned.

Nora quietly picked up the two bands, examining each in turn. One was emblazoned with her own personal emblem, the same one that she had gotten printed on the back of her jacket. The other had a tiny wing cresting off the side. "A Valkyrie has wings," he said simply.

She beamed, crushing the man in a surprise hug. "Thanks, Howl," she whispered into his shoulder. Slipping the armbands on, she giggled- they wouldn't fit with her current outfit, since her jacket's sleeves were too long.

She glanced over her shoulder at Jaune. "We should pick up some new clothes in Mantle, huh?" she said fondly.

He laughed. Sometime during the exchange, Oliver had handed him a slice of cake too, and the two boys were eating and watching Nora's reaction with warm smiles. "We probably should," he agreed.

Nora released Howl and glanced into the box after tucking the bands away. "The necklace is for Ren?"

Howl nodded, so she contented herself to taking a seat and eating more cake with Oliver and Howl. Carob eventually brought in a pile of takeout for the group to enjoy, the smell finally drawing out Kalian, Caelus and Ren from the side room. Ren looked ashen and shaken, much to Carob's amusement. However, when Howl handed him his gift, the smile which melted across his face was something that Nora would treasure always.

The food was delicious, and the banter, bright. Nora would treasure all of this, always and forever. After all, the monster of her childhood was gone, the people Nora loved were here, and Ren's fingers laced through hers perfectly when they finally made the trip home.

"For an impromptu party, that was pretty impressive," Jaune grinned sleepily as they boarded the tram late that night.

Ren hummed in agreement, leaning back against a window. Nora smiled. "Yeah," she breathed, heart filled to the brim with contentment. "It was."