"It's not Ruby, Nora. It can't be. She's gone."
"That woman seemed certain that she ran into the person she saw on the broadcast."
"Maybe she's mistaken."
"She said she'd never seen anyone else with silver eyes like that. And neither have we, Ren."
"Nora, don't do this to yourself. It can't be Ruby. She's dead, remember?"
"We don't know that for sure, Ren!" Nora snaps, her hands balling into fists. "Just because you've assumed that doesn't mean it's the truth."
"But she and Jaune and the rest of team RWBY never made it out with the rest of us."
"That doesn't mean that they're dead, Ren!" Nora paces a quick circle around the room. "We have no idea how that pathway between Vacuo and Atlas really worked. Just because they didn't come out the door on the other side doesn't mean that they have to be dead. Maybe they're still trapped in there, trying to find a way out."
Frustrated, Ren pinches the bridge of his nose. "You can't really believe that, Nora."
"Yes, I can!" She retorts hotly. "Why not? It's possible. Especially after everything that we've seen in the past year. Everything we've learned. I refuse to believe that our friends are dead until we know for sure."
She sighs heavily, turning to face the window. "Just because you've decided to abandon all hope doesn't mean that we all have to."
Ren grits his teeth. They're not getting anywhere this way. This argument has played out the same way every time they've had it the past dozen or so times. "Okay, fine. Say that this woman actually did see Ruby, then. Why wouldn't Ruby come and try and find us by now? Why would she be hiding out with the other refugees?"
"I don't know," Nora admits. "But that's all the more reason to try and find her. She could be in trouble. She might need our help. Maybe she's hurt and she can't come and find us, or someone's after her and she's scared. She might have lost her memory or something like that and have—ambrosia, or whatever it's called."
"Amnesia," Ren corrects her. "And what if it's not Ruby?" He hears Nora sigh again.
"Even if it's not Ruby, it's still worth trying to track this girl down, Ren," Nora insists. "We all heard what Maria said, and we've all seen what Ruby can do. People with silver eyes are powerful." She turns back to face him. "Plus, you remember how Salem was trying to hunt down Ruby. If this girl doesn't know what's going on, she could be in danger."
"What if it's a trap, Nora?" After all, Salem and Cinder are still out there, not to mention the other people working on their side. And they still don't know what happened to Neo.
"We should still check it out, Ren. Sure, it's possible that it could be a trick, but we haven't heard anything about Salem is up to since we got here. We'll just have to be careful, that's all."
"Caution isn't exactly your strong suit, Nora."
Nora bites her lip, resisting the urge to snap back with "well what exactly is my strong suit, then?" That topic still too fresh of a wound to bring up now. "It's never too late to learn," she says instead. "Now, I'm going to go tell Oscar what happened. Are you in or not?"
"I'm in." She turns to go, but before she can make it out the door, Ren snags her wrist. "Nora, I'm sorry. I just—after everything that's happened, I just can't bring myself to get my hopes up. It'll hurt too much if I'm wrong, and we've lost enough people already. And I was trying to protect you, because I don't want to see you get hurt either, even though I know that you tend to see things differently. But in trying to do that, I've just come across as a massive jerk. I'm sorry."
For a moment, Nora just stares at him, her green eyes wide and her mouth hanging slightly open. Then she steps forward and pulls him into a tight hug. "Thank you, Ren," she murmurs, sounding close to tears. "I understand. It doesn't make it okay, but I get it." She steps back, brushing a hand under her eyes. "It means a lot to hear you say that." She pokes him in the chest. "Now, shape up, mister."
He chuckles slightly. If feels like he hasn't done that in a long time. "Will do." She goes to leave the room again, and this time he doesn't try to stop her. Instead, he follows her out.
She glances at him, puzzled. "I'm just going to tell Oscar what's going on, remember?"
"We'll tell him together," Ren tells her. "We're partners, right? We have each other's backs."
She beams at him, that wide, bright grin that he hasn't seem in what feels like weeks. "Let's go then," she declares, twining her fingers through his and tugging him along. "C'mon, slowpoke. Let's go find Oscar."