"Okaaay," Jaune drawled nervously. "So, who wants to go investigate the spooky cave first?"
Unsurprisingly, the only hand to be excitedly raised among the members of Team JNPR was Nora's.
"That's likely the best option anyway," Pyrrha murmured to her partner. "Place the highly explosive force out front instead of behind us."
"Pyrrha, you're a tactical genius," the blond joked quietly before raising his voice again. "Alright, Nora takes point, I'll be behind her, then Pyrrha. Ren, you'll bring up the rear. Remember, guys, this is just an information-gathering mission, not extermination."
"But if we see Grimm, we can absolutely exterminate them, right?" Nora asked eagerly, fondling Magnhild with a fervor that would put one of Blake's 'romance' books to shame.
And I had to go thinking about them, Pyrrha sighed internally. I'd been doing so well, too. Only two days away and already I'm homesick.
She closed her eyes briefly, sending a brief pulse of her aura along the bond that had been renewed the day before she and her team had left Beacon. She knew that the others were too far away for her to see, really, much less connect with, but still…
And then she felt it, ever so slightly, a warmth on her shoulder where the Mark was, like the sensation of a feather-light kiss. Likely Blake reacting to her and sending her reassurance.
I'm never truly apart from them now.
It was still so new to her, even after a little over a week of being Mated to her girlfriends. She hoped that she would never take this ability, this closeness for granted.
"Pyr? You okay?"
The redhead's eyes shot open and she gave Jaune a wide smile. "I'm fine. Ready to go in?"
Though his eyes still reflected concern, the team leader gave her a nod and started inside the cave after Nora.
Pyrrha took a deep breath to re-center herself and get back into the mindset of the mission. She snapped the glowstick attached to her belt to life and moved forward, noting Ren silently filing in behind her.
She hadn't told any of them about this new ability of hers, unsure as to how they might take it. In fact, she'd taken to wearing a short red cloak with her usual combat attire in order to conceal the fading purplish bruise on her shoulder so as to stave off any questions. She was fairly sure her team would be fine with it, but seeing as how not even Ruby's sister nor the brunette's partner knew, it would be unfair to let anyone else know before the other half of Team RWBY. Pyrrha could be patient, she understood the need to wait, especially seeing how protective Yang had been of Ruby in the past. How she'd managed to not demolish half of the island of Patch when she found out her baby sister was having sex was a miracle in itself. A miracle whose name she would attribute to a certain heiress, the platinum-haired girl being more of a calming influence over the blonde bruiser than anything else on Remnant.
Pyrrha gave herself another shake to push away the reminiscing. She needed to focus and keep alert, there had been reports of a certain type of Grimm rarely seen in these parts, and if they were beginning to infest this region then the Hunters would be called out in full before it got any worse.
"Anything?" she called out ahead softly.
Silhouetted by his glowstick, Jaune shook his head and glanced over his shoulder. "Not a thing yet."
The cave itself seemed to expand somewhat the further they progressed. The tall redhead was grateful that the roof was high up enough for her to stand upright, though she noted with some concern that it had now sloped upwards and out of the pool of light cast by her meager glowstick. Soon enough the walls curved away as well.
"We should stick by a side," Jaune whispered harshly. "In case there are branches."
"Gotcha!" Nora called back with unusual restraint on her normal boisterousness.
They got another half dozen paces before Ren tapped her on the shoulder. Pyrrha froze, reaching out with her spear to tap Jaune as well.
They all stood in place, the only sound to be heard their own breathing. Until, that is, a harsh chittering sounded from far above their heads.
"Well, shitbiscuits," Nora grunted. "That sound like Arachnids?"
"Disturbingly so, yes," Pyrrha murmured. "Jaune?"
"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here," he replied firmly. "I don't need to wait to see one before-" The blond's eyes suddenly grew wide. "Ren, move!"
His quick shout likely saved the raven-haired boy grievous injury as a dog-sized spider with glowing red eyes dropped right where he had stood. Pyrrha was quick to stab the Grimm, yanking her spear back out again and hurrying to keep up with the others.
"Move, move, move!" Jaune panted. "Nora, still with us?"
"You betcha, boss-man," the orange-haired girl chirped. "Just lemme know when I can go crazy with the big booms!"
"After we're out," their team leader ordered. "We don't need a cave-in on our heads!"
Pyrrha could just make out the cave entrance ahead when something hit her in the back, sending her sprawling. She twisted adroitly, biting back a curse as her shield sent one of the Arachnids flying. Before she could get up, however, another pair were on her. She got her spear up in time to impale one, but the other darted in and bit down hard on her leg.
She let out a shriek of agony as the venom burned into her, aggravated by the tearing motion of the Arachnid's mandibles. Before it could do further damage, it disintegrated under the head of an oversized hammer.
The redhead panted as she tried to stand, but suddenly the pain was no longer there. Unfortunately, she couldn't feel her leg either, and quickly collapsed when she tried to put pressure on it, both of her weapons clattering to the floor.
Dazedly, she felt herself being flung over the shoulders of someone much shorter than herself in a fireman's carry.
"Don't worry, Pyrrha, I gotcha," Nora called out, though her words sounded as if they were coming from underwater. "Jaune's got your stuff!"
The redhead could hear, dimly, the chattering sounds of Ren's weapons as he covered for them. And then she was out in the sunlight again, flopped onto her back. None of her limbs seemed to want to work, even her head just lolled uncontrollably atop her neck.
"Nora, bring that damn cave entrance down!" Jaune barked out. His face swam into her blurry vision, full of concern. She could tell he was speaking to her, loudly by the looks of it, but now she couldn't hear anything either. The edges of her vision were beginning to darken, she couldn't feel anything at all, except for a small recess of her mind that was panicking and screaming for help.
She couldn't even feel her Mark anymore, and that terrified her more than anything.
She was only conscious enough for one final thought.
I'm sorry, Ruby, Blake… I love you both...
o o o
When Pyrrha next opened her eyes, she had to squint at the harsh lighting. She could feel again, which wasn't necessarily a good thing as she, quite frankly, felt like utter shit.
"Easy now, Miss Nikos," a male voice called out. "You shouldn't be awake just yet, let me give you something…"
She felt a prick on her arm, and slowly began to drift away once more.
At least this time she didn't feel the need to panic. She was alive, apparently in a hospital, but still… Where were the others?
Groggily, she grasped at her aura even though it felt like trying to hold sand in a hurricane, just enough to send a trickle. Her eyes were closed, and without even turning her head she saw them, pulsing glows of purple and crimson, evidently just down the hallway. She tried to reach out to them in reassurance, but couldn't actually make the connection.
But then she felt them both. It must have been enough for them to feel her awake, as she was flooded with feelings from her girlfriends.
Relief. Fear. Worry. Love. Warmth. Safe.
She smiled softly as she allowed herself to finally lose consciousness, secure in the fact that she was, indeed, safe.
o o o
Pyrrha groggily peeled her eyes open. She wasn't sure where she was at first, until the familiar walls of Team RWBY's dorm room came into focus. The whole scene looked to be fuzzy, though, as if she was wearing goggles or something. Coherent thought seemed to be a struggle also, as she fought to remember what happened.
"Fluffy fox!" a quiet voice cheered from close by. Her head flopped to the side to spy Ruby's face peering at her worriedly. "How are you feeling?" the brunette asked, her voice subdued.
"I'm feeling… fine," she slurred. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "Why's it.. hard to… talk?"
"Oh, yeah, you got some really good drugs in the infirmary," Ruby smiled wanly. "Likely still in your system. Um, they had to put you under to get the toxins out, and fix your leg, apparently the venom was preventing your aura from healing and…" The brunette trailed off and her silver eyes got teary. "I'm sorry, I don't wanna stress you any… We were so worried about you…"
"It's okay… little rose," she smiled. Pyrrha tried to reach out to pat Ruby's cheek, but ended up planting her palm across her nose, which caused the brunette to actually giggle. "I'm here, everything's gonna… be okay…"
"Yeah, we're okay," Ruby sighed, snuggling into her shoulder. "Blakey's picking up some lunch for us, you hungry?"
"I dunno," the redhead replied in perplexion. "Am I?"
Ruby snickered softly, turning her head to plant a kiss on her cheek. "Don't worry about it. I think she's gonna get some soup."
"Soup is good."
"Pyrrha?"
"Hmm?"
"I love you," Ruby whispered, her voice once again laden with unshed tears.
"Love you too, little rose," Pyrrha mumbled. She closed her eyes, seemingly for just a second, but when she reopened them the room was far more crowded.
Ruby was still there, perched by her side but sitting up now and eating what looked to be a ham sandwich. Blake was there now as well, eating a tuna sandwich of her own and sitting next to her opposite of Ruby. And then over on the other bed, chatting quietly, were Yang, Weiss, and Jaune.
The redhead focused on her raven-haired girlfriend first, smiling softly. "Hey there, kitty cat."
Blake quickly swallowed her bite and tossed her sandwich to the side, turning so that her face was hovering just inches above hers. "Hello, love," she smiled, amber eyes just as haunted as Ruby's had been earlier. "Good to hear your voice."
She nodded slowly. "Felt you, too."
"Oh, in the hospital?" Blake grinned widely. "Yes, we felt it when you woke the first time…"
Pyrrha frowned slightly, her eyes flickering over to where Ruby was leaning over her as well. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what, fluffy fox?" Blake asked, brow furrowed.
"For worrying you two."
"Oh, sweetie…" Blake sighed as she leaned the rest of the way over, pressing a soft kiss against her lips. "Don't you apologize for that."
"'Kay."
She felt the bed shift, and glanced down over Blake's shoulder to see Jaune's smiling face. "Hey, partner," she murmured.
"Hey yourself," her team leader replied. "We figured you'd rather be in here than in our room to recover."
"Hmm, yeah," Pyrrha answered with a wide smile. "Much better in here. We have sex in here."
Five simultaneous barks of laughter made her wince at the noise, though Jaune's blush seemed to rival those of her girlfriends.
"Right, okay… on that note, I'm gonna split." Jaune rose, giving Pyrrha a nod. "I'll check back in with you tomorrow morning, okay?"
"Yep," Pyrrha replied happily. "Knock first, though."
"I will, don't worry," Jaune laughed, hurriedly letting himself out before he could become any more embarrassed.
She could hear both Weiss and Yang still snickering loudly, though Blake sat back now and regarded her fondly.
"What is up with you, fluffy fox?" the Faunus girl asked wryly. "You're usually not this open about our sex life."
"I think she's still got those drugs going through her," Ruby informed Blake. "Guess it makes her a little loopy."
"Oh this is great," Yang chortled. "Drugged-up Pyrrha could be even better than Drunk Pyrrha!"
"Should we be taping this?" Weiss asked humorously.
"You guys, don't make fun of her!" Ruby pouted. "She's had a rough time!"
"Yep, I've had a rough time," Pyrrha conceded. "But I'm home now."
"You are," Blake affirmed warmly, running her hand along the redhead's arm. She gave a happy little hum in response, smiling goofily up at her girlfriend.
"I like that," she giggled.
"Oh, you do, do you?" the Cat Faunus grinned.
"Mmhmm. Not as much as your tongue, though."
At that, Blake brought her hand up to cover her face as Yang and Weiss dissolved into further peals of laughter. "Oh my Oum, Pyrrha," Blake sighed.
"But I do!" Pyrrha insisted, unsure as to why her lover wouldn't understand. "Especially the swirly thing you do where-"
"OKAY THEN!" Blake shouted, her hand now firmly clasped around the redhead's mouth. She cleared her throat, shooting Ruby a glare. "Don't."
"Not saying a thing, kitty cat," the brunette giggled.
"Mmm." Blake leaned over so that her eyes were level with Pyrrha's. "Okay, so, sweetie? Can we not discuss my sex life please?"
"Why not?" Pyrrha asked innocently once the hand was removed.
"Because the rest of my team does not need to hear it."
"Oh." The redhead furrowed her brow in confusion. Sex with her women was one of the highlights of her life right now. Possibly the highlight.
"What about Ruby?" she asked. "I mean, with her fingers, and how-"
"ALRIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH ROOM'S CLOSED!"
Pyrrha watched bemusedly as several rose petals drifted down past her nose. She almost missed Ruby muscling both Yang and Weiss out the door, the pair still giggling merrily, while Blake was laughingly trying to shush her once more. The Cat Faunus was laughing so hard, however, both at Pyrrha's adamant insistence at discussing sex and the brunette's attempts to hustle the others out, that her hand couldn't find Pyrrha's mouth.
There was a loud slam, and Ruby sagged back against the door. "Okay," the brunette breathed. "I'm still not sure why Yang didn't combust when we told her about the Mating, but I really don't wanna get into that kinda stuff with her around, alright, fluffy fox?"
The redhead nodded slowly. "We're alone now, right?"
"Yes, we are," Blake giggled, her amber eyes still twinkling with mirth.
"Can we talk about sex, then?"
"Oh, Pyrrha," Ruby sighed affectionately as she crawled up the bed. Pyrrha noted that she was careful around her injured leg, which much to her surprise had a large bandage around it that she hadn't noticed yet.
The brunette snuggled up into her side, much as she was earlier, and Blake mirrored her on the side that was facing the rest of the room.
"How about we just get some rest, huh?" Ruby pleaded quietly.
"Rest would be nice," Blake agreed. "We haven't gotten much sleep over the last couple of days."
Pyrrha sighed softly. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," the brunette replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Just snuggle."
"I like snuggles."
"So do I, fluffy fox. Love you both."
"Love you both," Blake's soft voice came from the other side, followed by another kiss on the cheek.
"Yeah," the redhead sighed. "I love you guys. Like, a whole lot. Really, I do, a whole whole lot."
"Pyrrha?"
"Hmm?"
"Go to sleep, love."
"Okay, little rose. 'Night."
The redhead was hesitant to close her eyes again, but the quiet sounds of her girlfriends slumbering, including Ruby's soft snores and Blake's low rumbling purrs, quickly convinced her otherwise.
She was home now, and safe in the arms of her loves. Everything would be fine.
o o o
The measured taps of a cane sounded alongside practically noiseless steps as a grey-haired, bespectacled figured moved down the second-year dorm hallway. Ozpin paused, considering the familiar doorway of Team RWBY and the silence that emanated from therein.
"Hmm."
He closed his eyes briefly, seeking out the auras of those hunters-in-training who were currently close by. Immediately he observed a trio of amorphous colors just past the door, unmoving and seemingly in a restful state. What piqued his interest, aside from the commingled colors of the auras, was how the amethyst and crimson ones were bleeding into the gold, their aura, perhaps wholly unconsciously, lending themselves to heal the one in the middle.
"Fascinating," Ozpin murmured, taking a sip from his ever-present mug. Noiselessly turning on his heel, the headmaster strode the long way around towards the stairwell.
He paused at the almost-deserted common room, a faint hint of a smile cracking his usually neutral facade. After another quiet sip from his mug he headed inside and towards the blonde and platinum-haired girls who were unobtrusively making out in the far corner.
Ozpin cleared his throat gently, his gaze focused on the wall.
"AHHH!" Yang exclaimed with a strangled yell, managing at the last second to catch Weiss by her trim waist and not spill her out on the floor.
"P- Professor Ozpin!" the heiress stammered, hurriedly smoothing out her clothes and straightening her long hair, currently loose about her shoulder. "Er… D- Did you need something, sir?"
"I merely wished to inquire as to how Miss Nikos is doing," he answered smoothly, nodding at the pair and seemingly unfazed by the smaller girl still sitting in the blonde's lap. "I take it Miss Rose and Miss Belladonna are taking apt care of her?"
"Oh, yeah, you know it," Yang snickered, earning her a quick elbow to her ribs that she hardly felt.
"Yes, sir, they're resting in our room at the moment," Weiss replied politely.
"Yeah, 'resting'," the blonde chortled.
"Yang!" her girlfriend hissed, giving her another, harder elbow.
Ozpin nodded calmly. "I am very glad to hear of this. Do give them my regards." With a slight nod, he turned and made his way out of the room. As he left, the harsh whispers from behind easily carried to his sharp ears.
"I cannot believe you!"
"Oh, please, like there's anyone in this school who doesn't know by now how much they go at it…"
"That does not mean you need to say it in front of the headmaster!" Weiss muttered furiously.
Ozpin chuckled mildly to himself as he walked down the steps and out the front door. His faithful assistant met and joined alongside him as he continued towards his office.
"And how is Miss Nikos?" Glynda asked absentmindedly as she perused a report on her scroll, though her tone clearly carried her concern for the student.
"In very capable hands," Ozpin murmured with a small, cryptic smile.
A/N: Couple of months ago I ended up in the ER for a bad intestinal infection. They gave me a couple doses of morphine while I was there, and I was in heaven. Good shit, I'm telling you, but not as good as Dilaudid. Man that stuff is awesome. Anyways, that was my inspiration for this chapter. It's an inherently dangerous job they're training for. And hey, two chapters in a row with Jaune in it! Actually he's kinda in Friday's as well, huh… Odd how that worked out… IT'S JAUNE WEEK! Don't forget to pick up your buttons that say "I'm Tired Of Being A Damsel In Distress".
Sooo… Grimm spiders. Yeah. Gonna give myself nightmares one of these days…
Hugs for all my fabulous reviewers, thanks once again for your support! DeamonHunter, joltflier (thanks again for last chapter's inspiration!), Gorsouul, Jack Inqu, RedWing36, kaiju62, Boombox94, ExKage, Reaper Whisper, MakaS0ul, Marauderby, THB4, Nicodemus Cain, eltiochips, and DarthMaine. Love you all!
Stay shiny!