Chapter 9: A morning to remember.
REDUX: 5/8/2014
Ok, I've made the changes I wanted to make, everything is complete on this one now. Enjoy!
*This one no longer applies, go to the next one for it. :P
ORIGINAL:14/6/2014
Man I was really stumped by this chapter. I couldn't figure it out for the longest time, but hopefully this is good enough for you guys and gals to keep you satisfied.
I'd also like to mention, though it is my deepest regret as a writer, that this chapter is unfinished. I thought it better to give you fabulous people something instead of keeping you waiting, so I give this small offering of my work, as a token and a promise of a future, fuller, instalment for what I have in-store.
When I release the next chapter, I will have updated this chapter as well, so be sure to check again before reading the next, as it would pick up on something that you wouldn't have read yet, which is confusing.
But, if this is not good enough, be sure to read to the end, there's a surprise for you… And with that, I give you your partial chapter.*
The three Huntress-in-Training of Team RWBY struggled against the Faunus' near-death grip as she held them tightly.
"Ok Blake, we get it, you're happy! Please let us go while some of us still have spines that're intact!" Yang said, going red in the face and crossed-eyed from the strain of Blake's grip. She suddenly became a lot stronger, Yang realised, overnight. 'Must be a part of the Heat.' She huffed to herself trying to pry open Blake's arms to surprisingly no avail.
"Yeah, Blake, please, this is actually starting to hurt…" Ruby cried out and ended with a raspy coughing as her lungs found less space to expand and intake oxygen. 'When did she become so strong?' Ruby thought dismally as she began to see spots flicker in and out of vision.
"Blake. If you do not unhand me you will now the real suffering of the Faunus." Weiss uttered darkly at her excitable teammate. 'I do not like being touched.' Weiss thought with an unconscious eye twitch. The two sisters were appalled by her words, going limp in their struggle against the Ninja while Blake's body twitched in response. Her arms constricted harder on the three.
"Weiss, how could you say that? That's completely insensitive to the suffering of the poor Faunus-people!" Ruby demanded, now going red in the face from the deepening pressure on her ribs.
"You're insulting so many furries right now!" Yang exclaimed, with little thought, as the crushing feeling below her breasts crippled her already weakened lungs.
Weiss responded with nothing but a huff as she tried to keep her squashed shoulders from popping her head clean off her neck. The young heiress did not like to be touched, not since a nasty incident with a young servant and a mirror when she was younger, and would lock-up or 'freeze' whenever she was touched by another person without consent. Her muscles and joints would tighten and would begin to cramp if she wasn't unhanded or managed to break free. She was squeezing her primped fingers as hard as she could to stop herself from causing any undue harm – GBH looks bad on record – but her patience was wearing icily thin.
The other two would've been thankful if Weiss wasn't so cruel in her choice of words and was allowed relief from their vice-hold from Blake. Deep down Blake was hoping to hear the snap of Weiss' bones before thinking of letting go. She insulted her people, that was a capital offence in Blake's mind – or the mind of any Faunus-approving people; such as the Faunus themselves.
But Blake was beyond her most buried, primal urges. For now. She relinquished her grip, however hesitantly, with a grim grin.
Just when the three of them thought their heads were going to explode from the hug, Blake let them all go with a sardonic, deceptive smile. They thanked the Gods they worshipped as they gulped down the air like a fish out of water; filling their bodies with life and restoring their sensations from numbness. Yang and Ruby actually flopped on the deck when they were freed.
Weiss, meanwhile, glared at the one who nearly broke her neck,
"You're welcome." She said with a contemptuous squint. Weiss had not forgotten the reason for their resulting decompression, and neither had Blake, who turned her smile unto Weiss,
"As are you." Said Blake with a voice unlike her own. She realised this and noticed that her Heat voice had escaped in the middle of her angered thoughts. She was angry with Weiss for her Faunus remark and was formulating a clever and/or justifiably cruel comment to make herself when it just slipped out. She needed a way to ensure that the voice would remain contained without further interruption.
She sat back down on her bed and gazed at them from the dulled shadow of Yang's bed over her own. During the dip as she sat, she quickly reasoned with her Heat in a momentary look of pleading,
'Look, just wait until tomorrow, or at least until later today! Please!' she thought, while trying to construct some questions that she had about the Tea
Weiss saw her one-second look as if it was directed to her seated position – she looked to where Weiss had been dropped, and deduced that Blake only now realised what she had done to the other three.
'Her Heat is making her act up more than we realised – and more than she could guess – I'll have to be more careful with what I saw and do.' Weiss thought with a compromising sigh. She dusted herself off while Ruby pulled up Yang from the floor,
"Ok Blake," Weiss announced, dragging Blake from her internal debate, "we get you're having a hard-…um…pressing time right now, so we understand if you're feeling a little over-emotional."
Blake understood what Weiss was saying. She found it no easier than them to fully understand what it was she was going through. She needed to handle herself more carefully, lest she submit herself to an act that is revealing or, worse, harmful to those around her. She needed to be extra careful, to moderate her Heat so as to not let too much go, without totally supressing it. The last thing she needed was a sex-related public explosion. Especially if it was around Jaune.
With a mental check-list planned out, she excused herself for her previous actions,
"That's alright. And I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so… reactive or… spiteful. Sorry guys." Her intense gaze shined in the shadows, showing her apology more so than her words could.
"Ah, don't worry about it Blake-y. That's what friends are for," Yang proclaimed, her familiar smirk adorning her face as she crossed the space, leaned into Blake's bed and patted her on the head, "to take your problems and throw them back at you later." She closed her eyes in a pleasant, childish smile, "But we're always here to 'help', right, Weiss?" she added with a cheeky glance behind her to the now irritated heiress.
"Yes, because we're good friends. Aren't we Yang?" Weiss said with a scolding glare and a malevolent tone.
"Absolutely Weiss." Yang responded, with an equally benevolent tone and happy stare.
"Then be a good friend, and respect my personal space." Blake said with her casual demeanour, leaning away from Yang. She found it strange, her speaking normally. Any moment of talking before now was broken from the 'mould' of her lexicon, but now she began to sound 'normal' again. She'd have to remember stuff like this for when she tries to talk to Jaune – the very idea of it making her numbly nervous.
Yang blew a strand of hair from her face and exhaled additionally through the nose,
"Yeah, fine. Of all the things your Heat has changed, why couldn't it change your 'fun' metre?" she asked with a grumpy frown, standing back up.
Blake gave no response to that.
Ruby had yet to make any indication of existence after being hugged by Blake, which she found odd. She peered around Yang – who began talking with Weiss – and found her sitting dismally at her bed, a plump strawberry in her hand, chewing the fruit slowly. Blake would feel the guilt of this for the rest of her time in Team RWBY, she knew it. But she didn't have any other choice now. What's done is done, and what will be done will be done.
Still, guilt was something Blake strove to stop having when she made the choice to become a Huntress. She leaned her arm atop the night stand and spoke to Ruby, while the other two bickered about something Blake hadn't picked up on,
"Hey, Ruby."
She raised her eyes from her strawberry and looked to Blake. Blake could see the sadness, the confusion she felt and the disbelief she still retained about the entire thing. Blake knew she didn't understand, but, at least, she would have understood better if it weren't for Jaune being her Chosen One.
With sympathy shining in her golden gaze, Blake asked,
"Are you ok? With this situation, I mean."
She waited for Ruby to respond, examining her slowly. She showed no effort to answer Blake, but rather deflated a little at the question, her chewing halted to a forced swallow. She looked unwell, but due to something she couldn't understand. She had no idea whether or not she was ok with her good friend engaging in intercourse as she was planning. With her other good friend. She truly had no clue as to how she should be feeling.
It was like a kitten eating a full-grown lion in one bite, she just doesn't know how to deal with what she's been shown. She felt angry, but was unjustified, she supposed; she felt sad, but for what exactly she had no clue, she felt nervousness, but she didn't know what for, she felt frightened but had nothing to be frightened by, she felt hurt by Blake and, rather loosely, Jaune, but could not account for, in exact detail, why. Nothing made sense to her anymore.
With this melting pot of feelings leading her voice, she said,
"No, not really. I just… need some time to… understand what is happening."
Blake smiled. She was happy with that. Happier with that than what else she could have said. At least she was honest about her tumultuous times, rather than just shortcutting for convenience for Blake or the others. Blake could relate to that, she remembered when she was first told about the Heat of Fauna, it was so fresh in her mind it was like it was yesterday. Although it is not the exact same, she still knew how it must feel being told this.
Blake continued, "That's alright, I found it hard to grasp myself. You take as much time as you need. I'm grateful for what you and the others have done for me, so the least I could do is wait for you to adjust."
Ruby smiled softly, so much so she probably mistook it for a reflexive twitch rather than a smile. Yang and Weiss had moved away by now in their mutually tense dialogue, and paid no mind to the Red and Black of RWBY. Unobstructed, Blake progressed,
"I understand if you have some conflicting emotions right now. It must be very odd." At this Blake paused, allowing Ruby to interject without contention, but to which the pause was left vacant, save for a thoughtful nod from the younger of the two. She continued,
"I get that you feel strange about this, but let me just say, of the experiences I'm going to encounter, you and the other two are welcome to talk to me about you're problems with what I'm doing, as you are willing to do for me." Blake confided to her young teammate. At this Ruby smiled genuinely. She was happy to have a grievance vacuum of sorts with her friend.
'Though saying what I'm thinking is probably not going to be a very good idea.' Ruby thought as her smile lessened. 'Something tells me telling her what I'm going to be telling her is not going to make her very happy to listen, because I can't even tell what I'm telling her. I can hardly tell her what I'm telling myself now. Oh, this is too hard to think about.' Ruby said, rubbing her eyes and looking to her side, her strawberry all but forgotten in her hand; the juices now streaked across her face and eyes.
With a contemplative look back to Blake, Ruby said, "Thanks, B. That means a lot." As her smile vanished, and the sting to her eyes became more apparent.
"Alright." Blake said, looking at Ruby with concerned, if incredulously amused, eyes. Ruby then stood up and approached the kitchenette sink to clean her face. With what she needed to be said, said, Blake cast her gaze from her connected knees to her partner and fellow teammate.
'Now that I think about it, I'll have to talk to the other two as well, see how they're doing.' Blake thought, in passing, noting a future plan for her day. Which brought up another point, what will she do with the rest of her day, now that the major obstacle was overcome? Ideas flooded her head that were a bit too unsavoury for the moment, but there were some more sensible ones on offer as well. Pyrrha's voice in the distance surely would be of some interest to Blake, if only to lead her to Jaune. Perhaps she could salvage some time with Jaune after all.
'But I digress…' Blake concluded. She was about to open another conversation with the Team when Weiss suddenly announced,
"Now that you've had some time to compose yourself from that strangl- I mean embrace, would you mind taking your shower now? Your Heat makes your… scent especially… noteworthy."
Blake blushed indignantly at the comment. 'That was unexpected.' She thought with a slightly embarrassed feeling. It was uncalled for – if she was trying to dismantle her, for whatever reason – but was otherwise completely unheeded.
'Was it though?' she counter-thought herself with a slow sniff of the air. She could smell the various scents of an all-female dorm; clean, aromatic, practical, sweet and sensual, with undertones of general everyday filth and hints of things from outside of Team RWBY. In the swirl she found herself as she is now; and she smelled pleasant, healthy, if admittedly strong. A little unclean but otherwise fine. Maybe even a little stimulating.
She thought she was fine, but to reaffirm her friends she lifted her arm and sniffed. She was assaulted by her smell in full strength, but still found nothing wrong. She just became more aroused. With a halting clamp of her thighs together she turned to her friends and asked,
"Is it really that bad?"
They all nodded in incremental levels of vigour from most – Yang – to least – Ruby. To her it was arousing and pleasant, but to them it smelled like she slept in food-soiled blankets and wore them instead of socks. It was a heady aroma, a gunky, dirtier smell than usual, with a sort of seedy and spicy twinge to it and the common smell of her sweat following in the traces of the full strong body. It was very unpleasant, offending their nostrils with every deep inhale.
"Ok, fine. I will." She said conclusively, passing by the three girls with an impassive step. She shut the door behind her with a resolute click. The sound of the shower's spray was soon heard, as Blake turned on the cold water.
Outside the bathroom, the three members of Team RWBY released the breath they didn't know they were holding in a collective sigh of relief.
After the airing of their short-term memory of the smell, Yang was the first to speak,
"Gee, I know I'm her partner and all, and she's like a sister at this point, but that girl reeks!" she said, waving the bad air away for added emphasis. "She's like a meatball that's been left in a wet towel for a month. Pew."
"Awfully kind of you to say about the hormonally-addled wreck that has become Blake, Yang." Weiss said in the most passive aggressive tone she could manage. Although she could agree, to an extent, it was still harsh.
"Yeah, well, you didn't get a face full of it now did you?" Yang retorted light-heartedly, though she was right in saying she got a literal face full of it.
"Oh, I'm sorry, by this point, I thought you knew you were full of it." Weiss said in much the same tone as before.
"Ohohoho, yeah right." Yang sarcastically laughed off Weiss' remark with ease, turning to look at Blake's bed, and planning how best to dispose of it and reconstitute the old linen that used to adorn it. It was just then that the fiery blonde took note of her baby-sister's absence from the discussion of smelliness, and turned to see what held her tongue.
Ruby remained quiet, all signs showing emotional downpour in her forecast; there was a cloud that hung over her head and a general down-ness to her that Yang realised oh too well. 'Uh-oh. This isn't good.'
With a stride across to her baby-sister, and a gentle place of her hand on her shoulder, she asked, in the softest voice she reserves only for Ruby,
"There a problem, Ruby?"
A little while ago, Jaune was having an interesting time.
He reclined on a bench with Pyrrha whilst Ren and Nora were 'refreshing' themselves – Ren was meditating in a specially crafted spot in the Beacon Communal Garden beside a set of plants he was raising, while Nora was swinging lazily from the branch of a young tree, pretending to be 'a meditating sloth' – the entire atmosphere light and calm.
This was one of the best things Jaune had ever decided as a leader – to give him and his Team a place to cool off for when the Exams finished. He and Ren had been working together to make their allotted plot of soil as peaceful as possible. Most other groups crammed in as much vegetation as they could manage; some attempted to raise crops and flowers but found little success, but a majority of the growers of Beacon had grown a supple garden space for themselves. Ren and Jaune didn't want what the others were making, though.
They sought variety and calmness; a place great for peaceful interaction between teammates and friends. They had hoped to create a thriving garden all to themselves that could encompass a vacant space of Beacon so as to make a place where all students can relax. It was to be one of the few places in the school where people of high energy and low cognitive reprieve might find a common ground with those who find silence and flowers comforting. Although they weren't allowed this, they made the best of what they had.
It was open and free of tall, obstructing vegetation that would obscure or irritate, plus it was still open to others who wanted to sit with their friends, teammates, partners, lovers, whatever; whenever they wanted some peace and quiet. And it also stretched beyond what the Garden Master had allowed – although she could hardly be mad, she loved the garden and anybody who took pride in tending one of their own.
That was the amazing thing about their garden. It made people feel at peace – even the gloomiest of seniors have found solace in the patch the boys have tended. And at one point Cardin and his lady-friend came and sat for a while (the first instance that most had seen of them without both arguing or making-out) and he even took his team once, to chill them out. It was thanks to Ren and Jaune that most First Years had passed their Exams – one trip to their slice of heaven and you'd be stress-free and self-confident enough to do well.
The increase of smiles and passing grades and the decrease in depression and anger was a definite boost to student morale and teacher satisfaction. It was through this tremendous feat of Practical Aura Manipulation that Ren and Jaune passed that Exam with flying colours, and were granted permission to expand to a secret nook within the Forever Fall Forest – which the two boys may or may not have already used as a testing ground for flower beds – for the students to enjoy during their free time.
It was lucky they secured their seats when they did – after the Exams people had boasted how the garden helped them relax and more and more people were hoping to see if the tales were actually true. It was early; earlier than most would permit for their first day after Exams, so they were fortunate only a few sought the coveted position.
But that didn't matter. The group wouldn't be there much longer. They just wanted to have a quick sit where they could eat breakfast and then go spend the rest of the day doing what they wanted. The Teachers were unusually permissive with them after the Exams, and now they get all this free time, what a wonder! While people were planning grand escapes from the school and ludicrous expeditions with the time that was afforded to them, Jaune knew that it was most likely a test in itself – The Final Exam, as he put it – of the importance of free time, and how it shouldn't be wasted or extended for selfish use. Still, with that in mind, Jaune hoped for a long, peaceful, joyous several weeks of school-free fun with friends.
'Man am I a dope…' Jaune thought, cracking a smile. While this was all well and good, that wasn't what Jaune found so interesting.
What was interesting was where his thoughts had drifted to a number of times; his encounter with Blake last night, and then the encounter again earlier that morning.
'She certainly seemed to be worked up over… something…' Jaune thought with a distant gaze. He saw the dishevelled manner of her clothes and hair, and her spot at the base of her dorm room door; huddled, shaking herself, with small sobs escaping her that Jaune only heard from close-up. Every utterance and action was stiff and restrained, more than once Blake having choked on the emotion she held back from him. There were only a few times where she ever acted comfortable and moved with some of her practised fluidity-
'But on top of that, she was acting really… strange…' he thought upon reflection with a curt agreeing expression. He saw the subtle accents of a change to Blake that she had yet to disclose – or perhaps he had yet to uncover – he noticed the way her whole body twitched; the way her eyes darted and her unusual, erratic attentiveness to him, the ever-so-slight lift in her posture and breasts whenever he looked directly at her, her very interesting smell, a lot of stuff about her last night made him worry, if not a little concernedly-curious.
'I hope everything is alright with her, and that she can fix whatever 'emotional conflict' she was talking about.'He supposed with the usual medley of Jaune reactions – a frown, a shrug, a hand rubbing against his neck, a sheepish grin and a look to the sky. Jaune was concerned for her, but would have to wait for when they could both talk properly about it. Speaking of which…
The fact that the two talked at all was bizarre. Especially considering how they talked. Part way between awkward reluctance and full-blown bro-talk. An unusual valley of conversation etiquette he hasn't experienced since he had a crush on a girl when he was younger – although that scenario was completely different. But still, the way they talked, so intimate it made him uncomfortable to think about, and at the same time so devoid of sufficient contact with another that his mind reeled at how he managed to get through it. Not that talking to Blake is a drag. It's just that it was… hard for him to handle. Even before last night. And it showed,
'Gods, when she sat in my lap, I thought I was going to whimper.' He found the entire event odd, and could not wrap his head around it, no matter how hard he tried to. 'Why is she so confusing?' he dismally appended. 'Why are girls confusing?' he added dryly, remembering a time he once asked his dad the same question, and getting a none-too-pleasing answer, judging by how his mum reacted. He wiped his mind of that obscenity and regarded Blake once more, trying his best to understand from what he remembered.
He wondered with full attention why Blake was acting so weird. In the months that he's known her, she's never acted out in any- in a lot ofways, at least not as much as Nora or Ruby or something. By her standards she was a nutty cluster of emotion last night – and by most standards she still acted weird – so far from the calm, centred, quietly passionate girl he knew her to be. The few body language things he could pick up stood out freshest in his memory;
She purred. That was a stand-out moment. He knew she was a feline-Faunus and all, but what made her do it? It was so… unexpected. He had no idea how to feel or react to it at all. And he'll admit, it did feel nice, the purr resonating from within her and vibrating her body against his. But he wasn't a guy to think on things like that for very long. No matter how strange and pleasing it felt. It was fair too odd to consider. HE decided to move on.
She twitched whenever he moved. That was strange. She made noises when he would… interact with her, in anyway – like eye-contact, or skin contact, or being near her, stuff like that – which was weird… and a little hurtful. Aside from that she also looked like she was caught doing something she shouldn't – like a kid with a cookie jar, or a cat with a lamp – which was difficult to process.
'She seemed, kind of… off-put, by me.' He deduced. He continued his research, to see if he could make any more sense of what he remembered.
She cried – that was tough, man. Jaune almost didn't make it through that part. 'I'm no good when somebody starts crying.' Jaune thought with a pout. Alternate to that she laughed… or rather they laughed, which was nice. She had a nice laugh. Soft and airy, but sturdy and fast. The memory of it made him smile. She hugged him… he had no idea what to make of that. She was upset and looked for a hug, she gave one, she received one; that was the extent of what Jaune could make of the situation last night. He continued along to what stood out next.
She fervently stated that they were friends. No idea why she'd think that, but she was a little off-her-rocker last night, so he might let that go. Although he hadn't really seen it, he knew the clash of emotions – shown and not shown – were tumultuous for that entire segment of conversation. When that was supposed to be resolved, she wanted to get to know him – which is good, he wanted that too, and he was glad they had a chance to. 'It would be nice…' Jaune concluded with a smile, reserving those feelings for tomorrow, where it was best expressed. He then remembered an important expression of her's; she kissed him…
A blush rose to Jaune's cheeks. He glided his fingers over his lips at the most soft thing he'd ever felt in his life. Chaste and swift, a confirmation of their 'date' but not something too 'intimate'. She knew how to handle him, and boy wasn't it nice while it lasted, 'A Panther's Kiss.' He smiled as if to a phantom, lost in a new daydream, which he shook himself of as soon as it clouded his mind. 'It wasn't really a kiss, more like a conciliatory peck, or a caring… well, ok, it was basically a kiss, but still, come on…' Jaune reasoned to an imaginary, accusing entity. And with that, he fully finished with the thought and moved onto what else he ruminated about.
After the conversation, Jaune went to bed and dreamed a peculiar dream; about suddenly coming across Blake in the hall again. Only this time it was in a more… dramatic atmosphere.
The halls were pitch-black, all warmth was gone from the world, everybody was lost – that was what he kept saying 'lost', like, it was important or something, lost to the world. Lost to him?... he didn't know. But on his sprint through the hall, he found her again, her golden eyes illuminated alone in the blackness, where they fell half-lidded with sadness and leapt towards him and then vanished, whereupon he felt two slim, strong arms wrap around his shoulder and bring light back to the world. The embrace was so illuminating, and it highlighted Blake so much more than he had ever seen her before. Everything about her, he could see everything, it was almost like she was naked to his gaze. Then he woke up. Dissolving the light he once cast on her, and any revelations he had, or could have, made.
He glanced around when he awoke. Ren and Nora were already up; Ren promising to get breakfast for the group, and Nora bouncing around for her pancakes as usual, and Pyrrha was silently resting in bed waiting for Jaune to wake up. She offered him the shower first. Trying to recall the details of his dreams was a wasted endeavour, as with each moment another detail sailed away. He tried not to let it keep him – and everybody else – waiting and he went about beginning the morning routine. He took his shower, dried himself off, and went about getting his teeth scrubbed when Pyrrha suddenly barged in asking if she could take a quick shower.
She said something about Nora saying something about her needing it, but Jaune missed some details because he was just trying not to picture Pyrrha in the shower – the room was hot enough as it was without adding her to the mix, he thought – and he politely agreed. After Pyrrha made her make-shift divide for her privacy, Nora called out for Jaune, and Jaune went to speak with Blake.
'Funny how I was just thinking about her…' Jaune said inwardly as he stepped forward to talk to her. He then remembered more of her increasing strangeness as they spoke.
She was a little more dishevelled then the night before, but she seemed more calm, more relaxed about herself, which was good, Jaune was glad to see her having resolved her problems at least partially. He saw the minute, sporadic twitches and stuff whenever she'd sniff under her breath, or peek subtly into the room, which was an improvement from the practically break-neck reactions of the last night. He remembered noticing Blake glare darkly at the bathroom door after he'd explained himself about the shower. That was weird. 'No need to get mad at a door…or possibly whoever was in it…'
With an incredulous shake of his head he swept away those thoughts,
'Ahh, I probably don't need to worry. Ruby and Yang and Weiss will have it covered, talk it over with her, and she'll be fine, fresh as a daisy like always!' Jaune aspired with a childish smile, having full faith in RWY to help their stricken B of RWBY, 'I have complete faith in them.' Jaune added, almost feeling ironic or invalid when he said that. Still, he hoped to talk – at length – with her.
While he was sad to hear that Blake had to reschedule, he didn't mind all that much. He was used to it. He liked long, personal conversations. Those take time, she needed time, he understood, but he would not forget. He's like a moth to a flame with that. The bond you form through them, without having to have gone on an intense, life-threating journey, and still being as close as close can be – between friends or getting frisky – was something Jaune enjoyed and prided himself on.
'It's the closest thing to a 'girl talk' as I can get.' He reminisced upon the words of his mum when he was younger with a faint smile, and sad eyes. He sighed the word 'Mom' out into the air without noticing, lost in thought and feeling as he was.
Pyrrha – having watched Jaune for the fair bit of time he was silently contemplating, with keen interest – chose now to interject into his 'meditation'.
"Jaune, do you have a problem?" she asked with the light voice of concern she often used with him. Jaune snapped back to reality – literally, his head snapped back in a crude jerk – and peered around to find her,
"Sorry, I was just lost in thought, don't mind me." He explained with his characteristically sheepish grin.
Pyrrha knew nothing was wrong – especially anytime he gave her that smile that made her feel like the sun shined for her – but asked out of curiosity, "What about?"
Jaune was about to answer her truthfully, but thought against that. He hadn't fully explained what had happened before Ren got back with the food, and suggested breakfast in the garden. He knew it wasn't a topic that was easily explainable, and he didn't know what, if anything, he could divulge. He and Blake hadn't really considered other people into their respective plans with one another.
He calmly, swiftly sought an excuse for his absent-mindedness and found it in the very garden bed he sat beside. 'Ah, compliments to the students.' Jaune smiled with his idea. He answered,
"About how Ren and I can improve the garden so more people can come and go when they want to have a rest by some flowers." He covered up, effortlessly.
"Oh Jaune, you're so thoughtful." Pyrrha said with a heart-warming smile and a contented expression.
She leaned her head onto his shoulder, the smile growing as she inhaled the sweet fragrance of the air, of both her partner and the garden.
Jaune chuckled into his hand, 'Yeah… thoughtful…' Jaune soliloquised, pondering Pyrrha for a moment before continuing his thoughts once more.
Ruby, turned to look at her sister's hand. Yes, Ruby almost definitely had a problem. But what it was she could not confess. She didn't know how.
There were no words she knew that could describe what it was she was feeling, or what exactly her problem was – for she had never experienced it before, and knew not how to deal with it. She had no idea of what would be in-store for her very-near-future.
Ruby felt the warmth of her sister, and the concerned look she gave her, her lilac eyes seeming more greyed by her emotions. That one look almost broke Ruby of her very frail hold of her turbine-swirled mind. She momentarily forgot her own troubles and spoke in a tone close to how she felt for Blake before her confession,
"Don't worry Yang, there's no problem. I'll be ok… See, I'm fine." She said, straightening her posture, slapping a weak convincing smile on her face and standing with some of her reconstituted – if forced – enthusiasm. This only made Yang sadder, and Weiss concernedly tilted her head at the exertion.
"Really, Ruby? Is there really nothing you want to tell us about?" Weiss asked, her smooth voice carried a cooling breeze to Ruby's brain, which immediately slowed the thunderstorm and calmed her somewhat. She couldn't lie, 'But then again, I can't really tell them the truth… I don't really know it myself.' She thought.
"Yes… yes of course there is, I just… don't understand it. Ok?" Ruby uttered. She wanted to reassure them, but couldn't find a way of explaining her plight, so she did the best she could do. The other two understood that.
"It's ok. It's a… strange period of time right now." Yang affirmed. "We get it. Well, actually, we don't get it, but-"
"What she means is," Weiss interjected, "none of us can fully comprehend the situation. It's alright for you to feel the same way."
Ruby took little comfort in this. While it helped knowing she wasn't the only one lost on the plot, she still couldn't comprehend the storm in her head.
"It's ok Ruby, just take some time. You've had a hard time for the last few wee- well, months really. We all have. You're just coming off of a major Exam period, and you haven't had as much sleep as you would have liked, so there's a good chance this moment just came at the wrong time." Yang attempted to convince Ruby.
"Is there ever a right time for this kind of news?" she thought aloud. Ruby usually cherished these motherly moments from Yang, but couldn't find the strength to be as touched as she usually would be. It did lighten the load a little, though. If Yang was good at anything, it was lightening the atmosphere.
"Just take some time." Yang repeated. Ruby closed her eyes and breathed a finalistic breath, giving herself the resolution to rid herself of her gloom – at least partially – with it. There were better times and places for concerns like these. Yang smiled when she saw Ruby release some of her emotional weight, and turned to Weiss to reaffirm the situation.
In a funny bounce-back effect, Ruby suddenly spoke up,
"About what you said about Blake…" Ruby piped up, catching Yang's attention as she was stepping away.
"Yeah?" she answered.
"That's not very nice. It's true, but it's not very nice." Ruby said, saying the last sentence under her breath. This caused a round of laughter amongst the girls, all of them feeling the little bit lighter because of it.
And in almost the most horrible amount of timing, of all time, before any other act could be committed, Blake opened the bathroom door, fully clothed. She broke the laughter with a question,
"Is this really what I looked like when I woke up this morning?"
The three snap-turned and looked at Blake, her frame silhouetted lightly from the light of the bathroom. Her hair was a mess, her make-up – what little there was – was smudged into non-existence and her clothes were dishevelled and crinkled far beyond the norm.
The three nodded to their Faunus friend,
"Yeah."
"Yep."
"Yes."
They each spoke at the same time, with the same tone, after a momentary glance at her overall appearance, than her face. Blake sighed dejectedly,
"Great, I made arrangements with Jaune looking like a tired tramp." She said, closing the door with a sulking expression. A beat of silence followed her sudden intrusion before the sudden resounding laughter of her teammates. It was odd that she said that, that's why they found it funny. Yang had been a significant influence on what she says lately – as well as a new book she began reading, where a 'tired tramp' was a friend of the main character.
Even Blake found it a little funny.
Returning to the current situation, Blake still had the shower to contend with, which she realised was the purpose for her looking for Jaune in the first place.
'I wonder what he's doing right now?' Her Heat Voice wondered aloud what she was sub-subconsciously thinking.
Back beside the Garden, Jaune and Pyrrha sat together in comfortable contemplation. Ren had completed his meditation, and was taking his time unleashing his stress with a bit of remedial tai chi. Nora was playfully copying him with longer, exaggerated movements with some hops, rolls and flips added for some 'PIZZAZE' as Nora often called it. She did, however, stay quiet for the duration of the exercise. She was respectful enough of Ren to know when to be absolutely quiet.
They would only be there a little longer, then they would be heading their separate ways to spend their first free day however they liked.
Ren desired nothing more than to unwind in the Garden, but knew that nobody else would want to interrupt him during his alone time, and did not want to take the opportunity of basking in the Garden away from them. So instead, he would be taking his meditative ventures elsewhere – to the nearby forest, to be exact. 'I could do with some exercise after the last few weeks.' He mused, noting the significant decrease in physical and Aura training since Exams began a few weeks ago. 'Nora certainly knows how to fill-in time better spent doing otherwise.' He mused again, with a smile.
Nora intended to take some time to relax a little. Nobody would have believed it, but the high-stress-levels of Exams actually managed to drain some of her insurmountable energy, and she felt like she needed to slow down a little, recharge a bit. But only just a bit, because she wanted to jump-start into a project she, Jaune and Ruby had been working on for the two Teams, before moving onto the full Beacon student body. Unlike most of her inane projects – nobody's quite forgotten the 'Undertake the Mooning' comment of her's (she never did say she wasn't going to do whatever it was she was planning) – this one was actually kind in nature. She could hardly wait to begin, she was bristling with joy. 'This… is going to be… so… GREAT!' She beamed with delight.
Jaune was hoping to do some unwinding himself. He was thinking of tending to the Garden – all the attention it's been getting from other students is matched only by his and Ren's lack of attention during the last few weeks – but that wouldn't take all that long. He was hoping to get ready for next semester, and finish planning some projects he was working on, but Pyrrha insisted he should relax. 'You've worked harder than ever, Jaune. You deserve a rest.' So instead, he decided on finding the nicest, shadiest spot in Beacon and taking a well-deserved nap. He hasn't done that since he was a 'Little One' – as his parents loved to call him – and was greatly looking forward to it. Aside from that, he really had no idea.
Pyrrha, on the other hand, was finding it hard to find something to do. She was used to relentless training and study, but now found herself in a predicament where she didn't have to do either one, and was in fact urged not to. She has done little else with her life than work, so the idea of doing so now was foreign to her. But the idea that she could literally work herself to death made her in great need of a good stress-reliever.
She could do some small stuff with her 'spare' spare time – that would be easy – but with the magnitude of small things she could do when her spare time was so enormous? It was more stressful thinking of something low-stress to do than to do anything at all. She felt like working was easier. But that was before this morning, because this morning she found a very good outlet for her no-work day-off.
All of them had arranged to meet their partners later on in the day to spend time chilling in the shade, playing games, enjoying the free-time they have, etc., but that wasn't until past midday. She was greatly looking forward to when she would be meeting her partner and friend again so that the Team could continue their day of light-hearted fun. But it was only the early morning, still. No later than 8:30, all of them having been awake for a little over an hour and a half. It was amazing they weren't all unconscious in bed.
Especially after that particularly pleasing daydream Pyrrha had when she awoke that morning: Pyrrha had done something she had often heard about, but never truly experienced for herself before now. She had had a lustful dream about Jaune while she waited for him to awake.
She hadn't had very many moments in her life where she let a fantasy consume her attention, but if she hadn't done that than she wouldn't have created the strong relationship she has with Jaune now. And, deep down, she thought that if she followed this fantasy, it might just become a reality someday. Soon.
It was in this dreamscape she cursed Ren's common-sense of placing boys and girls together on opposite sides of the room. She knew she wasn't the only one upset with the choice – Nora was exceptionally vocal about her indignation. Although it made no difference; all it took was a single glance at his sleeping visage and she was swept into an intimate, steamy scenario with her partner.
While she assumed this was a subconscious act of relief for her body, it actually had a stronger foundation than that. In truth, this fantasy of her's was built on a deep desire for the boy she received as a her leader.Her first true love.
It hadn't been long, it wasn't complete, but it was good. It felt good. Inside and out. She and Jaune were laying together in a field, far from any tournament or onlooker, nothing but the two of them to just… talk. That's what they loved to do. Talk. Chat. Banter. It was sweet. It was chaste. It was just right. In Pyrrha's opinion, talking made her happy, he was her first true best friend, and everything was wonderful. Soon this talking turned flirtatious, as Jaune's discussions with girls often do, and they began to banter back and forth. The banter soon turned to playful touching and quickly descended into much, much more.
She had just managed to remove his pants when Nora rudely interrupted her. Ren had promised to bring breakfast for them all, and Nora was ecstatic as always to be hand-delivered pancakes from Ren, loudly bouncing around the room in wait. This woke up Jaune and then the morning moved forward as it usually does – which allowed her to slip back into her imagination for a bit, now adding glistening, wet bodies to the mix at the sound of the shower running.
That was until Nora was fumbling around in the boys' closet – Jaune's favourite hoodie in-hand, no less – and sniffed the air hard. The sound caught Pyrrha's attention as Nora then began moving like a puppy in search for a scent, right over Pyrrha. With a big, finalistic inhale, Nora scrunched up her face and delicately told her she needed a shower,
"Gee, Pyrrha, do you think you could spray before and after you train? Seriously, some teammates use their noses for more than being picked, and don't need the reminder of how sweaty you and Jaune get."
Pyrrha was thoroughly divorced from her fantasy – much like Blake would be, not long after this – and nodded to the advice from her teammate. She then nonchalantly scurried over to the bathroom and convinced her way into having a shower with Jaune.
Though not with Jaune. That would be silly. Just with him in the room. Behind a sheet of sliding glass and a moistening towel. The distance was so palpable for the young Huntress-in-Training she could practically feel him.
But in reality, she was just feeling herself.
Now she considered herself to be a gentlewoman, not as ladylike as Weiss – when she felt like being well-behaved – but quite well-mannered. More so than most other girls she knows, and definitely most guys. So it wasn't as if she just had her shower with Jaune in the room just to have the thrill of being close to him in a compromising position, and the thought or possibility of being seen, or joined by him; and the pleasure she could have by herself in the shower with him unawares to her infatuation for him. At least not fully.
But then again, she was a human being. A teenaged human being. And teenaged human beings have teenage human needs and desires. So it isn't all that bad to consider that she would… blow off some steam.
She made sure she had cleaned herself thoroughly before she proceeded to give herself pleasure. She had heard Nora's words after all. But still, this was a first for her, in many cases. She had never even considered this type of activity before. She never had a proper reason to. Not until Jaune…
It began – as these loves often do – from first sight. She spotted him in the Auditorium of Beacon and felt… an attraction to him. Not a physical or sexual one, perse, but an attraction of merit, more than anything. He was kind, and humble, and sincere and thoughtful. His intelligence was dwarfed only by his eagerness to help another. Though he looked meek and ill-prepared for the life of a Huntsman, she knew better than most. She saw potential in him, right from the start. Beneath his exterior faults and short-comings, deep inside, into his soul. She didn't know how, or why, but she just knew that this boy was special. In a big way. And she was typically right with these kinds of things – though her experience with somebody as fresh to combat as Jaune was little to none. However she was determined to see this opportunity for herself, and took it upon herself to see where it could lead, and what this person could become.
And from that point it had all been a journey of her moulding the boy into a warrior of Remnant – a true Huntsman; virtuous, brave and strong. The meeting in the releasing of his formation of a rise to assistance as his rigorous studying and training regimen. All of it was a device for her to see what exactly Jaune was capable of.
She had become his entrusted guardian. As well as his confidant, mentor, partner and friend. The bond they shared was greatly valued between them both. It was a first for the two, and neither wished for a second to arrive. But this was for different reasons:
Jaune enjoyed her caring, patient atmosphere. She was willing to support what others preferred to abandon, and he'd excelled far beyond what he thought himself capable. He has all that he is now thanks to her. And he reminds her of this nearly every single day.
Pyrrha admired his spirit and saw a light in an otherwise dark abyss. He was a shining beacon for others to follow, and he would be capable of great things for the world. And she reminds him of this nearly every single after a while she realised, the more time she spent with him – in private, bonding; or in public, working – the more she felt an attraction greater than that of his merits.
She enjoyed the softness of his voice. His simple, boyish brightness of his golden charisma and will of his undying loyalty to friends, his intense desire to help others in need.The charming smile that graced his features.She saw more than his white soul, but she saw his full form, and she found him beautiful. More so than plain words can say. Not just externally, but all-round. He was a magnificent being. Almost like an angel, in her eyes.
So to say Pyrrha had a crush on Jaune would be a fairly decent understatement. Pyrrha was enamoured with the bumbling blonde boy of Team JNPR. She had developed a love for him stronger than any sensation she had felt before, it was raw and relentless and evocative and… so many other things she could not begin to describe. And she was completely happy with that.
There were times when Pyrrha wouldn't even deny it. Before she used to proclaim her innocent wish to support him to improve as a Huntsman, but quickly descended several levels of innocence in her proclamation.
When asked, plain as can be, by one of the members of Team RWBY or JNPR – without being too loud or having Jaune within earshot – if she had feelings for the young Arc lad, she would respond, in relatively likewise fashion each time,
"Yes. I do. It's true. He's the One."
Quoting Jaune'sfavourite song was 'cute' to those who knew it to be, but the fact that she felt strongly enough to admit it – being the reserved, humble individual that she was – and that she hasn't done anything about it, was actually very bizarre. Pyrrha was a strong woman. She couldpractically get whatever she wanted by virtue of her strength, her intelligence, or her beauty. And what she wanted, plain as day, was a boy named Arc. And she wasn't doing anything to be with him.
To the outside world it was blurry. In her mind, it was clear. She felt she didn't need to. She felt like their relationship was already in a position of intimacy and trust that actually saying the words, 'I love you' was not really needed. Being in a relationship with him doesn't equate to being in a state of knowing. It's being in a state of feeling. And she could feel it. And she could always trust her feelings on matters such as this. So there was really no need for a confession or unnecessary gestures of romance. No need for complicated expressions of love, or a compulsion to express love. Just a day with him was enough.
Which was awfully convenient since she had no proper idea of how to go about that anyway. Sure she had read some books – a few under the suggestion of Blake and Weiss, wouldn't you know? – and heard stories of love and passion, and seen some films, and heard some ambient love songs about what you could do with another you love, but none of that left a reasonable imprint. She didn't feel the compulsion to express what countless others had before. The one thing she had grasped about love is that it was special. It was unique. She didn't need a sonnet or a dance or a magnitude of knowledge, she just needed to feel special, to feel the love. And every day was special with him. One way or another.
However, some days with him would feel a little more 'special' than most.
Excursions into the nearby environments, Grimm-Hunts, nightly training sessions, shopping ventures into the Town, classes, lunch-breaks, study sessions, late-night chats, early-morning talks, spare-time activities, dozens of days felt extra special with Jaune. But today, in particular, felt very special. A different breed of special.
Today felt like a day where love could blossom for the young Huntress-in-training. Today felt like a day for confessions to be made and desires to be expressed.
Today felt like a good day to express truthfully how she feels. And see if he could, perhaps, feel the same way, in due time.
But first, she wanted to complete her pleasure, then she could spend the rest of her morning alone planning on how to tell Jaune how she felt.
'One mystery at a time.' Pyrrha commented as she readied herself for the 'action'.
Sometime after, Blake was in a similar scenario…
REDUX: 5/8/2014
FINALLY! All done. Only took me, like, another two months. Real sorry about that, by the way. I know it isn't much of a consolation, but I'm devoting as much time as I can to writing, and will be updating as often as I can. The next seven weeks are going to be especially painful, so don't expect much from me in that time. But like I always say. No promises.
Just thought I should mention – since I didn't before, which was rude – that 'Under the Elder Tree' by Razyangel14 was a bit of a reference point for the garden; that, and RTAA #201; where a squirrel ate Gus' pecan tree he was growing. They both sort of implanted a seed of an idea – hehe, no I couldn't help myself – and then it just sprouted from there. Just letting you guys and gals know.
On top of that, I'd like to give a warm thanks and a shout-out to Coldman9 for giving lots of stimulating conversation for this story. I dedicate this nowcomplete chapter to you, my friend.
What's more, I moved the teases for the future onto the next chapter. So be sure to check them out on the next one :P
Thank you all.
ORIGINAL: 14/6/2014
Wow. Almost two entire months. Jesus. I need to step up my game, don't I?
I'd like to say that you guys have been awesome for being so patient with me as I write this. Without you wonderful people this story wouldn't be nearly half as good as it otherwise would have been. The responses and suggestions you guys give is fantastic, and I look forward to finishing a chapter so I can hear what you guys have to say, or what you might like to offer as an idea.
It really helps me crack my writing pepper when I hear what you guys think. Constructive criticism is a cornerstone of this website that we all frequent and enjoy, and so it helps the authors with writing as much as it does with you guys and gals in voicing your thoughts, so please, feel free to voice your thoughts. To speak your mind is to speak great truth, I always say.
*And, on top of that because I don't like to leave anybody out of feeling special, I'm going to be leaving a sneak peek (or more) to all you wonderful people for being so supportive :). (TADA, surprise!) Although that kind of defeats the point of being 'special' you should all feel special for being who you are – and for liking this cheeky writing of mine. I was initially going to leave it for next chapter, but here you go, as compensation :P
Thank you all.