Jaune and Pyrrha were thankful for the alone time. They leaned against each other and watched as the rest of their team and team RWBY slowly dropped off to sleep. Whispering so not to wake them.
Their conversation was easy. Jaune had long since dropped his strong man act with her. After all he put her through with his servitude to Cardin, he knew she deserved nothing but his true self.
So he had been giving it to her. They talked together about who they were, and what they hope for. Jaune was now telling her about his seven sisters and the "tortures" that they put him through. Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh at all of them and Jaune had to admit that he didn't mind. He loved them and even though it was never manly, all the teasing was out of love.
Pyrrha smiled at Jaune and said, "you know, Jaune. You're a really sweet. Most men I know would never admit to enjoying their sisters, or even mentioning the word love when it comes to family."
"Well, I think by now it's obvious that I'm not the 'manliest' man. No point in pretending otherwise any more," Jaune responded, pretending to be defeated.
"You know ... " Pyrrha said after a moment of thought. "I think it makes you a better man though. A real man is someone who is honest and steadfast. They stand up for those they believe in and care for, even if the obstacles are bigger than them. You do that very well."
"Well, Pyrrha, That is awfully nice of you to say. But let's not pretend I'm anything more than I am," Jaune laughed.
"Then Jaune, you are nothing more than a good man, and that is enough," said Pyrrha kindly.
She felt Jaune relax against her. They sat like that for a moment. And softly she heard Jaune whisper, "thank you, Pyrrha."
She smiled and reached back and rested her hand on his.
"You guys make me sick!"
Jaune and Pyrrha both jumped out of their skin! They were on their feet in an instant, weapons and shields in hand. Hearts pounding as they looked around to see where the voice came from.
"You guys are pathetic," came the voice again, on the edge of camp. They looked and saw Cardin had woken up. He was the one that had scared them. Pyrrha and Jaune relaxed and slowly walked over.
"Ah, it's just you Cardin. For a minute I thought someone with more bite might have spoken up." Jaune said.
"Hey, screw you. If I wasn't tied up, you'd all be in a world of pain." Cardin said spitefully.
"Cardin, my friend, you forget yourself on two accounts. You've forgotten all I've done for you in this very forest. And, more importantly I might add, you've forgotten that Pyrrha can beat your whole team by herself. I think we all know your threats are just barks," Jaune said.
"I forget nothing. I expect that from Pyrrha, she is pretty much a goddess, but big talk from you just pisses me off," Cardin spat.
Jaune turned to Pyrrha, "did you hear him? Well, I never thought I'd agree with him, but you really are goddess like."
Pyrrha blushes a little bit. Cardin spoke up again. "What I don't understand is how she could develop any kind of respect enough for such a weak man like you, Jaunny-boy."
Pyrrha's blush disappeared as she step forward, squaring her frame and appearing to grow larger from her display of might. "The strength of a man is measured in many ways, Cardin Winchester. You merely focus on one, and in it, not even you stack up." Her eyes had fires in them.
Jaune rarely saw her like this, filled with passion and fury. He was happy and honored that she would express such passion in his defense. But even righteous fury could be dangerous out in these woods. If her and Cardin both felt anger, it might be enough for Grimm to sense it.
"Our friend forgets himself again, Pyrrha. I think we've blessed him with our presence long enough. What do you think?" Jaune said.
With an almost haughty expression, one Jaune had never seen before, she turned away from Cardin and started walking back with Jaune. "You're right, he isn't worth our time anymore."
"Hey!" Cardin yelled. "You can't just walk away from me!"
They kept going, ignoring him. Once out of ear shot, Jaune whispered, "thanks for standing up for me, Pyrrha. Cardin looked scared when your eyes flames up, though I don't think I deserved your ..."
Pyrrha interrupted him before he went any further, "men can be so foolish sometimes. Your eyes are so narrow on one aspect of strength and you judge each other harshly against it. You judge your self hardest of all, Jaune. I defended you because you have demonstrated strength in many ways, and you have blessed me and your team with those strengths."
Jaune was silent ... just staring at Pyrrha with his mouth open.
"Oh ..." Pyrrha said quietly. "I'm sorry, I might have been too bold."
Jaune, ever the one who responds poorly to things, recovered enough to reply, "no, no. I was just pitying you. Some how I managed to fool you into thinking so highly of me."
Pyrrha punched him in his arm for that and laughed. Together they walked back to where they had been sitting before.
Before they could sit down though, they froze again, hands on their weapons. On the night air came the howl of a beowolf.
It was followed by a series of beowolf howls, each progressively closer in a partial circle around the base. It was a whole pack.
"That doesn't bode well," Pyrrha whispered.
"Let's give it some time, maybe they'll pass us by. We'll just keep quiet and have happy thoughts," Jaune whispered back.
But as the last howl died, yelling came from where they had just walked away from. They turned to see Cardin struggling against his ropes.
"That idiot!" Jaune yelled, turning back and running at Cardin. "Shut up, shut up!" Jaune yelled at him. But Cardin kept shouting, accusing them of tying them up to feed them to the Beowulfs.
Jaune didn't waste any time talking to him. Without even stopping, Jaune lifted his foot and slammed it into the side of his head, knocking him out.
He came to a stop and waited silently, looking at Pyrrha. Both of them listening to see if the Beowulfs would do anything.
They heard them howl again, as a pack, but their distance hadn't changed.
Jaune walked back over to Pyrrha. "All we can do is wait. Do you think we should wake the others up though, just to be safe?" Jaune asked.
"I think you guys should let them sleep," came a voice behind them. Again Jaune nearly jumped out of his skin, but Pyrrha recognized the voice and turned and smiled.
"I'm glad you're up Ruby," she said. Ruby was standing confidently behind them, Crescent Rose testing on her shoulder.
"Hey Pyrrha, Hey Jaune" Ruby smiled.
"Hey, Ruby. Would you mind putting the 'scare the pee out of Jaune mission' on hold, please?" Jaune said in a mockingly bitter tone.
"Sorry about that!" Ruby smiled. "I don't really wanna know how much Pumpkin Pete's stuff you own."
Pyrrha laughed. "Alright alright, thanks guys, but shouldn't we be quiet? You heard the Beowulfs! They're not that far."
"Well," Ruby said. "Negative thoughts draw them in, maybe positive thoughts will help drive them away! Either way, they already heard Cardin, so no harm in trying right?"
"You seem strangely unworried right now," Jaune said, looking skeptically at Ruby.
"Yeeeaaahh. Well, part of me hopes they come, I would like a good fight. I've been a little underwhelmed with the exercise so far," Ruby admitted.
"You're a little freak you, you know that," Jaune said.
Pyrrha slapped his arm, "be nice!" But Ruby laughed a little, "eh, yeah, I know."
The Beowulfs howls were heard again, further away this time though. They were moving away.
"Well, either my plan worked, or I just got unlucky," Ruby said. "Either way, I'll head back to bed. Wake me up first if anything fun happens."
"Ok, Ruby," Jaune sighed.
"Oh, and Jaune. That was an epic kick. I hope Cardin feels that when he wakes up." Ruby called over her shoulder.
Jaune waved her off and turned back to Pyrrha who said, "she really is unique. There is something about her that is hard to describe."
"I'll say it again, she's a little freak." Jaune said.
Pyrrha turned and gave him a threatening look. Jaune put his hands up, "yeah, I know," he laughed. "That wasn't very nice."
"What I mean is that when she showed up, all of our fear went away, and we were able to relax and even laugh with a pack of Beowulfs not far off," Pyrrha said, with a little bit of wonder. "Not to mention that the Beowulfs backed off. I don't know if it was the positive feelings or just luck, but she makes a big difference."
"You two might have been laughing, but I was attacked," Jaune said, in mock anger.
"I'm sure you'll recover just fine," Pyrrha responded snarkily.
They walked over and sat down again. For the rest of their watch they talked and laughed. When it was time to change watches, Ruby and Weiss took over for them.
The rest of the night passed uneventfully, and each watch passed easily to the next group till morning came.
