Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Bright as Lightning. Enjoy the 2000-word chapter. I don't own RWBY, Monty Oum and a few others do.
Chro looked at Nora and Ren and shivered. Their torn and tattered clothes hadn't been bothered further by the elements; they have destroyed enough anyway. Still? He didn't let it stop him from moving forwards. The sooner he escaped with them meant more time to complain.
He was terrified, yes, but the monsters didn't seem to come closer. It was as if they were driven away by some sort of force field or something. He didn't question how it worked. He didn't care enough other than the fact the monsters didn't hurt him or Ren or Nora. They all needed to flee from the monsters and the sooner they got away the sooner they were able to relax. It was not something he wished to consider at the time, yet he had been willing to consider the idea at least on some level. It became a lot harder for him to stop moving at the second with the fear that crept up and down his body.
Still? He continued forwards with an interest in what had driven Ren and Nora.
"A-are we safe?" Chro questioned with a stutter beginning to creep back into his body.
"I think," Nora said as she finally let go of their hands. "Maybe. Ren? Are the monsters gone?" Nora questioned as she slumped against a tree.
The trio stared downwards from the hill they had climbed. The city behind them burned, the buildings were torn into rubble and scattered to the wind, smoke filling the air as they stared into the sky where it had begun to stink. The giant Grimm from before seemed to have vanished and left the ruins for its smaller kin to lay waste to what was left. There was nothing left of the city besides ruins and corpses that were soon to become food for the local carrion birds.
The three children had no idea what to do. There was no training, no lessons. How in the hell did one deal with the loss of their home, their loved ones, and anything else of value in one day? Especially when they were children dealing with this. Chro hugged his arms to his chest and brought his head down and into his arms. He had not one word to say about this horrid carnage that the Grimm cared nothing more for.
"It's all gone," Chro said while he hugged his arms to his chest and seemed to glance around at the smoke and ash. "All of it. I can't even see anything left." Chro said which was echoed by Nora and Ren.
"Where do we go now?" Nora questioned as she slumped to the ground. "Ren?" Nora asked as she tried her best to rub at her arms and legs as of now.
Chro looked at Ren who was just as scared as him. The monsters hadn't chased him despite them going after the others. He wanted to ask about this, but he'd also be well aware of what came next. This place was known for making thieves and criminals while others were simple prey for said criminals. It'd be bad if he was old enough to know more about why this happened and how to possibly prevent it. The fact of the matter is he simply was too young to care for it anyway.
Still? Ren seemed to be the one who was the most well-versed in what to do next. He stared at Nora who seemed as passive as he on what to say next.
"We should look for another town, find someone to try and talk to." Nora and Chro heard as they stared at each other.
It appeared as if they had been interested in what he had said. Chro didn't know the girl, nor did he know Ren… But he trusted them enough that he wished to speak his mind at the time.
Still? There was too much on his mind for him to speak for more than a few seconds, too many thoughts slamming into one another.
"Can I come with you guys?" Chro asked as he tapped his hands together with sheer anxiety lancing through his body. "I'm scared those monsters will come back and finish us off. They're probably going to hurt people who hadn't been hurt in the city." Chro stated before Nora looked at Chro with her head tilted as if she couldn't at all understand this.
'Why would he need to ask? We need help. Ren found me and helped me. Now I want to help him the same way. Is that weird? I feel weird around him and Ren.' Nora stated mentally before she gripped his hands.
"Yeah, we need all the help we can get, right ren? We could be a team and all stop those monsters… Like those Hunters." Nora stated which made Ren roll his eyes at his friend.
"Huntsmen and Huntresses, Nora," Ren said before he looked at Chro. "And I don't see why not. It isn't like we have anywhere else to go at the time. We can't go back to the town; it's probably been destroyed by the Grimm by now and there's no way they won't find us if we don't try to leave." Ren stated as he and Chro nodded.
Chro looked at Nora who seemed to be getting happier and happier with each passing second. He didn't entirely understand the insanity that was going on beyond her eyes. He probably didn't want to understand at the time. This place was nice and he had no real intention of ruining it at all despite the many thoughts going through his head.
"What happens next?" Chro asked as he poked his fingers together and glanced at her with a tilt of his head. "We're… A team?" Chro asked as Nora seemed to light up.
She seemed to tilt her head before she glances around with a hum as she smiled at the second. Chro said nothing, not trying to mess with her at the moment despite her infectious energy at the time seeming to mesh with everyone.
"Yeah, we can be a team!" Nora stated before she tilted her head to the side. "We should be a team. Got to stick together, right?" Nora questioned before she tapped her fingers together.
"Nora, we're not Huntresses," Ren stated before he sighed. "We're still going to need to go to a city and tell them what happened. Make sure it doesn't happen there either." Ren stated before he rubbed at his temples.
There was a lot more going on than either could fathom. The trio all shared and looked at the city once more before they started to leave. The second this changed? The better, all of them were aware of the fact that there was more going to be a rough road ahead of them.
"What happens when we get there then? I think we should have a leader if we're going to be a group." Chro stated before he tilted his head and seemed to continue tapping his hands on his knees.
There was so much on his mind. What was the best-case scenario? The best way to tell people what had happened here at the time, what would people say when they got done with this?
"Ren?" Ren heard to which he frowned.
He wasn't a leader. He didn't entirely fathom what to do next. Both Ren and Nora shared looks. Chro seemed to nod at her for a few seconds.
"Yeah, I think Ren will be a good leader… or did you guys want to vote about it?" Chro questioned before he seemed to tilt his head at her. "We have plenty of time before we get there. We don't need to talk about it now." Chro stated to which there was silence.
"We can decide that when we get closer to the city," Ren stated before Chro nodded. "Nora? I'd also not talk so much. We don't know if the Grimm can hear either of us talking or not." Ren stated before he realized how terrible that could be.
"Well, now you sound like a leader," Chro stated before he crossed his arms. "Sorry, just trying to be more positive. There's a lot more to think about. I don't want to think about the city and what happened back there. It's terrible, nobody should be going t-through that." Chro stated before he seemed to look down at the ground.
Chro was honestly prepared for what was to come. This was terrifying, but he had a group. They had a plan; they could deal with this.
There was going to be a pain when it came down to it. A lot more pain, a lot more fear at the second. This had become a lot harder to deal with when it came down to it.
The trio all stared at each other as they glanced around at one other. They knew the path ahead was not to be a nice one, nor was it to be a good one, but it'd be an interest was going to be hopeful at the end of the second. This promised to be a lot harder when it came down to it. The second this changed sooner? The sooner this ended.
Yet? For some reason? Chro felt as if he could… Somewhat trust this duo. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest and another had taken its place either way. It had probably been for the best that it was lifted as it cut at him, hurt a lot more than he had been hurt at this time. This was going to be painful; it was going to hurt when it came down to it.
Still? He couldn't exactly blame her when it came down to it, there was more to it, more than this what had become.
There was a lot more on her plate when this ended. He sighed as he clicked his fingers together and the trio started to march toward the city.
Chro rubbed at his arms before he tilted his head before he hummed to himself. He looked at both of them before he hummed as of the second. I was going to be interested in what to do next when it came down to it.
He had been a lot more conflicted as he hummed to himself. Chro didn't at all understand what the hell was going on. They had to leave before this turned nasty as of the time. It had been terrifying in what was to come next when it came down to it.
"We need to go," Ren stated before he hummed to himself. "Chro," Ren stated before he tapped on his snout as he slid down the hill.
They nodded to themselves as he questioned what to do next. The three children slid down the hill before he looked at Nora and Chro.
"We're going to need to leave sooner or later," Chro stated before he clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "I don't know what to do next," Chro stated before he hummed as the second.
It had been a lot more interested in the time. He stared back at the fires before he sighed to himself. There was nothing to go back to at the time.
He felt someone grab his hand before he tilted his head to himself. He cracked his fingers before he sighed to himself. It had been odder.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be a bit delayed as of the second. The next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show both Nora and Chro and Ren walking towards the city and setting up the future. The next chapter will be 900-6500 words as of the time. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!