Blake woke slowly when she heard a sound that didn't quite add up. It sounded like footsteps but it was 4 am. No one should have been walking around the halls.
Getting out of bed she walked to the door. Her heart raced when she placed her ear to the door and she heard the footsteps draw closer. They seemed to stop outside her door for a moment and she grew concerned. She leaned back from the door and grab the pencil from the nearest desk. It wasn't the pistol hidden under her bed but it was better than nothing and she didn't have time to reach the pistol anyway. Crouched next to the door she waited. When the footsteps continued on down the hall she returned the pencil to the desk where she got it from.
She knew that she should have gone back to bed. But well … her curiosity got the better of her. Not that she would ever tell Yang that. Is she did the brawling blonde would never let her forget about it.
Easing the door open she looked out and saw a large figure rounding the corner heading away from her. It was moving in the direction of the Beacon gardens. It was known that several students went to the gardens at night to clear their heads. That explained what was happening. Someone was taking a walk. But once more her curiosity got the better of her. And she followed him anyway.
Making her way to the garden she found a confusing sight. Jaune was sitting in the garden and he seemed to be crying. Blake's heart stopped when she saw what was laying on the stone bench next to him.
He had a gun. And a loaded magazine next to him. She could see the rounds in the magazine and they weren't like anything Blake had seen before. And upon further examination, she saw that there was only one bullet.
Now Blake's heart was racing. She was about to step forward and try to stop him when a heavy hand laid itself across her shoulder. Acting fast she turned in silence to strike. When she saw the owner of the hand she was at first shocked. She wouldn't have thought that Cardin Winchester would have been able to sneak up on her but he had.
With a finger over his mouth, he signaled her to be quiet. Leaning in close he whispered. " he may not know we are here, and it would be best if you left. I will take care of him but you aren't what he needs right now."
Understanding what he meant Blake turned and did her best to leave while making as little sound as possible. Returning to her room she did her best to return to sleep but she couldn't. She was afraid of what she may hear.
After Blake left for her room Cardin turned back to watch Jaune. He knew about the kind of bullet that Jaune had in his magazine. They were designed to pierce aura and they were expensive. The fact that the magazine only had one round told Cardin that he needed to be careful.
It wasn't too long ago that he sat where Jaune was sitting now. Yatsuhashi was there to help him and now he would be there to help Jaune.
He made his approach obvious and loud. Going out of his way to step on a few of the fallen sticks. Having reached Jaune he took a seat next to him.
The blonde boy had a blank stare. He was staring out at nothing and yet everything. And his hand was inching closer to the weapon. This was somewhat of a shock until Cardin realized that Jaune wasn't fully aware of who was here and he may not have been aware that he was here.
Next Jaune grabbed the magazine in his opposite hand. Not wanting to see where this was going Cardin quickly reached over and with one hand took the round out of the magazine and with the other field stripped the gun.
After the swift movement and the slight elbow that Cardin rammed into Jaune's side, the small man seemed to come back to his senses. He jumped slightly at the suddenly appearing Cardin but settled soon after. Then he turned his head to the now stripped pistol and empty magazine.
"I don't care who you what going to shoot, nothing is dying because you were seeing ghosts." as he spoke Cardin handed the upper half of Jaune's pistol back to him. But he kept the bullet.
"She's gone … both of them I mean … Pyrrha and Suzanna, they're ..." as Jaune tried to continue his throat seemed to seize up choking any more words from leaving his mouth. His eyes began to water and his whole body started to shake with the torment of his past and now his present.
Cardin turned the sobbing teen to face him and wrapped his brother in arms in a hug. It was a simple act but it was what was needed. They sat there for a time. Men who believed themselves unworthy of being cared for, both knowing the other had seen more of death than anyone twice their age. And boys who were forced to be men to young.
But it was the life they had chosen and it was the life that they would now lead. "Your team is going to worry about you. Go back to your chair and go to sleep. Team RWBY will need you now more than ever."
Tossing Jaune the bullet Cardin rose and headed to the exit.
"Cardin, how did you do that … the gun thing I mean?" Jaune looked at him with a level of comic shock as he realized how swiftly his friend striped his gun.
With a wide grin on his face Cardin said "Jaune, I am dating and am now going back to bed with one of the schools armorers, Velvet loves when I do stuff like that and as a result I can do that hanging upside down while I am reading out loud." with that he left Jaune there with his thoughts.
Rising to his own feet Jaune headed to the training room. He knew that Cardin thought he should sleep but he needed to work some stuff out. And Beacon had a training robot that was calling to him.
for the next few months I may start posting a little slower. I am sorry.