Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Bright as Lightning. Enjoy the 3600-word chapter. I do not own RWBY, Monty Oum and a few others do.
Chro was cold, more than cold as the rain soaked the trio to the bone. Their clothes, slick with rain and clinging with mud which was still smattered to their clothes made them even more miserable.
It felt more like nature was kicking them further and further down a road that did not at all twist through time. It all meshed into a fine powder and was something he had little to nothing to deal with for now, something he could not and would not allow to be the end of the day.
He sighed before slowly starting to try and figure out what to try and deal with when it all came crashing down upon them more and more as time passed.
Such things only bothered him more and more, knowing that whatever was to come? It did not work out the way it should have.
Yet? Chro was still as hopeful as he could be. There was just too much left upon which he needed to deal with for now.
"Ren?" Chro asked as he tried to rub his hands together to get some warmth. "What are we doing here?" Ren asked to which there was no real answer.
Ren did not know if they were in trouble or not, not at all when it came down to it. These sorts of problems honestly in any shape or fashion.
He did not want to like it as he knew that they both looked up to him, however. He could not tell the truth, they were children trying to survive something that should never have happened, never even been dealt with and yet they had no better options, nothing, not him? Not their future, nothing.
They had to run, flee, try to survive somewhere they could not be picked off and hunted down… Or they would die, perhaps not instantly.
But death, all the same, would come because of their choices, ones which they did not choose but could only continue to bother them more and more as they all knew what would happen.
Perhaps it was better, perhaps it was fate telling them to back off and accept that such a thing was beyond all reason, did not much matter to them knowing what was coming and what would be dealt with but he knew more and more it would come.
Their fate was sealed a long time ago apparently and it seemed karma hated them enough for it to come after them directly, hopefully without incident now.
No, he could not let it end that way, and he would not, not now. not ever, they had a path and it ended only one way now. It was something that could and would bug the man but not at this moment, not where one should have been but where they were all the same.
He did not know and he did not wish to know, only hoping that it could and would end within a timely manner for now and for good at the end of the day.
He looked over towards Nora and Ren, hoping and praying against all odds that both would be able to relax… It would not end well, not at all. The idea of it meant something that could be dealt with, an idea to have built and balanced upon… The idea it could be dealt with better seemed to make Nora want to smile.
She did in her way, pausing only to glance at Ren, such a thing would be utterly unstoppable, utterly dealt with in droves and waves.
Perhaps it was better yet done in a way that was done for now and could be utterly thrown to the side. They had to move, they had to move or else it would have been for naught.
"You, ok?" Nora asked before she looked over at Chro who simply shrugged, pausing to think for but a second about what was going on.
The idea hurt, it hurt a LOT more than was possible, and doing something about it. She looked FAR more interested than he and far more unwilling to do something to fix it.
She paused as he nodded and then looked to the ground, unable to fathom how it could be argued being dealt with in such a manner was a horrid sin against such a thing.
She paused for a moment as he sighed, looking downwards at the ground, utterly thrown off by it for now.
"We need to head to another part of the forest before more Grimm show up, Chro? You need to pause and make sure things are not going to go insane." Ren stated before Chro simply rolled his eyes, pausing to think for a moment.
Ren could believe he saw fear within the eyes of his friend and guessed that he was panicking, trying to work out a plan, a goal, an idea that would not fall apart. It made sense for now and it would continue to make sense if not taken apart.
However? The idea would be VERY hard to swallow knowing what was coming and it would mean something or something else to them. He was scared, as were they all and it was better to cut the fear down than allow it to reign over them all for the time being.
It would not mean something, not yet… Not with it all falling apart for now and would continue to do so in droves and waves at the end of the day.
It could be dealt with for now and it could be dealt with SOON if anything, it was all going to mean something, and hope for now. It would collapse back into the pot for it.
Perhaps he could have loved for now and then he could keep growing and growing through the thick and mud, eventually making him stop for now and for good sooner or later.
He was too interested in it now. He had a lot more ideas now, he paused to try and deal with such an issue for now, there were a LOT of issues which he had managed to sigh for now.
He was too tired for now… Even then? He could not have allowed it to end.
"Hmm." Chro paused to look over at his friend. "We need to get going, we need to keep finding a… A place to go." Chro stated as he sighed.
He could not relax; he could not have seen it go. He had more and more ideas for now and Chro looked at Nora as she hummed, relaxing for a moment.
He had not the heart to try and say something. He had been too tired. He had been unable to try and deal with such an ideal. There was something else he could not do some damage with which he could not end.
Nora squeezed his hand, making him pause as he thought of what was going on… Even then? He could not pause to stop… Because he had been scared.
Ren paused, thinking for only. He wished only to let it all end now. He cracked his fingers and then looked to Nora, trying to think for the moment about what would come next.
Even then? They had to fight.
The group paused, their boots which had been damaged from constant wear and tear. They looked at one another, glancing to see what their next move was, they had not the ability to fight, not yet and he was too thrown for a loop.
"Any ideas?" Ren asked to which they paused, shrugging to one another.
"No," Chro said, frowning to which he could not seem to sigh. "I do not know what we got to do, Ren… You?" Chro asked to which Ren frowned.
He did not know. He was not a leader, he was a kid, one who had been in over his head being a leader. He was not a soldier, huntsman, a mercenary, he was a kid. He was a child who handled such a thing, there was very little he could do.
He was going to puke as Chro seemed to look to the side… He had been unable to try and deal with something like this.
"Nora?" Ren asked to look over at Nora.
She looked at him, her eyes wide as she looked at her friend, too interested in his next move. He had been able to deal with something with it for now.
He had a lot more on his mind either way as he looked to Chro who had been too disturbed for now, too thrown off for now, and too unwilling to deal with such an idea for now.
She had been too unwilling to deal with it all in a manner that he could grasp to get it done and over with. He had a LOT odder again and again for and for good reason.
He had been too interested in what he came down to it for now… He had been too interested in what he was doing next before Chro seemed to be dealt with for now as he looked to try and deal with it.
He had not been able to try and deal with it for now as he paused to try and deal with something for now.
Chro sighed before he looked to the side, too interested in what he would deal with for now as he clicked his fingers once more.
Nora seemed to be dealing with chaos on how she would deal with such a thing before he seemed to try and deal with it for now as she paused to try and deal with it for now.
She had been dealt with it as such come down to it. She was terrified and it was growing more and more chaotic to the degree it could have been dealt with for now.
He had no desire to be apart from the others, none lest he acted before he managed to grow more as he sighed once more.
He had been too interested. He had seemed to be dealt with for now as he clicked his fingers before he seemed to keep thinking of it in his own emotions.
She had been too interested in what was going on. She was unable to deal with such a thing until the end of what was going on before he relaxed.
Chro leaned on the tree. He wanted to scream, to relax. He had been too unable to deal with it for now as he seemed to relax once more.
He had been too interested in the next motion of it for now…
He had been too eager to deal with such a thing, knowing what it would bring at the end of the day. He was too obviously amused for now as he clicked his fingers.
All parts of him were relaxed as he knew such a thing would only surely.
He had been unable to crack his fingers as he had been too interested in the next move, he was going onwards with something, something that he could not have allowed with each passing second, he knew what would become of it. He knew the next move was going forward.
Even then? He would fall apart eventually as it all came crashing down on him, it would be felt in every single little motion. He had known exactly what had been dealt with as he paused to let it all ride once again.
He had been perhaps relaxed and perhaps came to a motion they could not for now, it was all too much, something he would not see end lest he would all come crashing down to the ground.
That and that alone would be far more than he could have dealt with at the end of the day. He was going to keep having to keep thinking of it.
He had nothing left; he had been able to think of it at the end of the day… He would not be able to think, to understand it for now, knowing what was growing for now.
Chro was silent, knowing what was growing to deal with it for now. He had not been able to deal with it for good reason. He was not going to be able to think of it as it came to it.
He would not be able to know what was growing next as he paused to let it all come down.
He would not be able to deal with it for now… Chro was silent as Nora looked at him, seeming to deal with it, there was something else on her mind.
All of it was growing more and more interesting to the end, he could try and deal with it for now as he paused to let it all flow down to the ground, knowing what would be dealt with for now as he sighed, all of it was harder and harder to deal with either way.
He could not be able to think of it and act according for now and for good reason at the end of the day, he had been so damn eager to escape.
Nora for her part was silent, knowing what was going on, she had zero desire to try and figure it all out as he passed out… He would not be able to try and figure out what was growing.
She glanced at him, knowing what was growing on his mind before she looked downwards at the ground, knowing what would be able to relax.
She sighed, knowing that their future was something she could not try and figure out as she paused before he seemed to relax, knowing what was growing on it.
Nora hummed, cracking her fingers as she looked to the side, knowing what was perhaps what would come next before she paused, knowing what would become of it to the end.
Ren looked at them, knowing what would become of it all. She paced herself and he paced himself knowing now, that there was more to this.
All such peace was going on… All of it came in a certain way… There would be more to this either way, he would be relaxed, knowing what the next move was, he would relax and he would be reversed.
She would not be able to relax and neither would any of us. There was more to this, a lot of things either way would hurt and it was clear either way. Someone would fall into the pit one damn way or another.
That pit was the only real way he had to figure it out for now as it came down to it. He was too silent, knowing what was growing on the edge of his mind for now.
It was clear Chro was too silent and too easily dealing with more and more he could not deal with yet.
Nora whimpered as she clawed at her boots which were too broken to cover her feet. She could feel blisters forming on calloused parts of her soles as she looked at Chro who was suffering in his way.
Ren sighed as he realized they would not last 10 minutes in the wilderness without decent clothes. None of them could walk and if the Grimm found them? They could not fight either…
That put them at a disadvantage. It was something that did not need to be said and done… Not now at least, not while they were as they are now.
No, it was clear the only way they would win was to try and figure out what was going through. They needed shelter for now… And as he could see somewhere where that way.
"We head towards that city… Then we do what we got to do." Ren stated.
"Then what?" Chro asked, his eyebrow raised as if the entire thing perplexed him.
There were a lot of things, a lot which needed to be done with and needed to be over. They needed food, shelter, and the ability to eventually train… Not easy to find in Mistral but not impossible.
He could not allow it to be decided here and now… No, not while they still held problems to deal with… There was something else at play, something else that not even Ren could deal with… Not that he felt like it now.
He knew they both looked at him and saw him as he was probably cut at their souls. He was supposed to be the leader? Yet here he was, beaten down, torn to ribbons. It would not do to see him like this as things were in that manner.
He held it to be too easily done with it… Too thrown off by everything… If he had thrown it any harder to the wolves? There might be nothing left of it, nothing at which he held any real advantage over for now.
It was clear, very clear which held no real work in their souls now. Both were clearly at the end of a very long and painful story…. One piece of it needed to be saved, one part of it would grow… It would cut deeper; it was harder and harder to relax upon.
All of it? All of it simply reminded him that he held no such desire to see it end, to see it go off like this… Sorts of things like this were too chaotic for even her to bear. It and all the other things seemed to be worse and worse, knowing it would not end now, not before it broke into pieces.
She could not let it end… She did not wish to let it all end now if there was to be anything to break it apart now and for good reason.
He sighed, knowing how tired he was and knowing well he was not capable of doing something after this. He had done nothing but exhausted his previous options, done nothing but exhausted what he had left.
They walked but huddled close to each other, the ground nipping at their heels and tearing at each rent in their clothing. It was far from satisfying to them and far from annoying.
Chro was silent, he knew that Ren was trying his best, and trying to push him to do better was far more than it needed to be. He was trying to do what he could for the group and what was good was not easy, what was needed was… Hard.
The problem with trying to obey those sorts of orders was simple. They had to survive and surviving was not easy, it meant doing things they might not be proud of but were needed to survive.
The problem was simple, they wanted something that needed to be earned.
Still? What was simple was they also had to survive and these ideals could come when they had jobs, they were children trying to live in a world where everything wanted them dead. A small bite of pragmatic behavior was not to be hated.
Such was life, such was better than this and it was clear they had to deal with something that could not be decided on when it was all said and done.
they picked through the trees, fearful but wishing to try and understand what was happening next. It had to be decided sooner or later.
Chro sighed and then looked to the side, looking at Nora who smiled at him before he finally hummed and then looked to the side, knowing what was growing down the line.
He had been too invested in wanting to survive, far more interested than even Ren worried about what might happen if he let his fear get the better of him.
He did not know what was going on. Chro did not know what to say or what he was going to do when Ren was there in the town.
They had no money, nothing besides the clothes on their back and everyone on Mistral was a bunch of thieves and pirates barring a few towns.
There was something there, a portion of fear that even he knew about. Ren knew something about where they were going, more than he or Nora but there was simply no reason to doubt him now.
There was a lot more to do and to see, a lot more than there perhaps was required to be and would be doing. Ren could not just expect something that needed to be done. He was not to be done when it came down to it as he paused to let it come crashing through the roof.
They had so much more to see and do, so much to try and figure out.
He had so much to try and figure it out. The more they would run headlong into the wind? The more they realized they had ZERO idea of where to go, ZERO idea for now what to do.
Such was life, life was going to have been harder and harder to figure out when it comes down to it as of now. It would be harder and harder to try and figure it out.
Being a leader was not hard, being able to make the hard choices in life was something else to deal with for now as he clicked his fingers.
Chro looked at Nora as he walked, he knew more and more they had work to deal with, now. Now it would be harder and harder to understand.
Now and for good?
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out next chapter will be longer and will be 900-6500 words as well as show more of both Nora and Chro bonding. Until the 2-10 month wait or so. Lighting Wolf out!