Ren was uncomfortable in Oniyuri. It was a ghost town, in more ways than one. Dead, long since abandoned, something about it just slipped under his skin, worming its way in. They had passed empty towns before, here and there, but never did it feel as off as it did now.

Maybe it was because Oniyuri was more personal to him. His father had believed in the founding goals of the town, to establish a city that might hopefully become a kingdom in its own right someday.

It didn't last, of course. It never even started, not really. It had been attacked before it had been finished, leaving no survivors. He still remembered when his father first learned of what happened. His father had tried to keep it from him, but even then he was quiet, and knew how to listen in on the conversations of adults..

Kuroyuri was never meant to be a permanent settlement, just something to serve as a home, until Oniyuri could be finished. Once it was clear any plans of a new kingdom would be abandoned, Kuroyuri had slowly blossomed into a sizable town itself. He remembered thinking nothing could be larger than his hometown, and his mother quietly laughing to herself whenever she heard him voice that particular opinion.

He had never left Kuroyuri. And he never had a reason to, not until the creature that destroyed his fathers hopes came for his home as well. Even then, in the aftermath, when he and Nora had been forced to leave their home, they stayed well away from Oniyuri. Ren remembered what had happened there, and he wanted no part of it, certainly not with his new friend in tow.

He wished he had done the same this time around as well.

"Uh, Ren? Buddy? Are you doing okay?" Ren frowned at Jaune's voice. He hadn't noticed his friend waiting for him, while Ruby and Nora continued on slowly.

He knew where this was going. "I'm well, Jaune. We should keep moving, there's nothing for us here and Haven's still some time away."

Jaune nodded absently. "Yeah, sure, but It's just that since we got here…you've been kinda…off."

"I do not like it here." He said bluntly. He wasn't in the mood for this. He would have to be as direct as possible, apparently. "And I think we should leave, now."

Jaune scratched the back of his head. "Look, about what you mentioned earlier, I know this is personal for you-"

"Did Nora ask you to speak with me?" He had given a cursory description of Oniyuri's history when they realized where they were, but Jaune wouldn't normally approach him like this on his own.

"Yes, actually, she did point out that you were uncomfortable." Jaune crossed his arms. "And I'm glad she did. We're your teammates, Ren, it's our job to look out for you. Ruby too. We have your back, and we'll listen, if you want to talk."

Then why aren't you listening to me? Ren took a deep breath. Losing one's temper never helped anyone. "Thank you, Jaune. I appreciate it, I do, but there isn't anything to talk about, not now. I just…don't want to be here longer than we have to."

"Well, I'm with you there," Jaune agreed, gladly changing the subject. I suppose he realized there wasn't anything he could do at the moment, Ren mused. "This place gives me the creeps."

Ren opened his mouth to suggest they leave again, when he heard something that gave him pause. A set of footsteps on the stone road, moving towards fast. He drew Stormflower, shouting. "Weapons! Someone's coming!"

Jaune drew Crocea Mors, and behind him he heard Ruby and Nora running to back them up. "What is it?" Ruby asked.

"Someone's running towards us," He reiterated. "I'm not sure if they're a threat, but I'd rather be prepared than be caught off guard." Jaune hummed in agreement.

Nora frowned, lowering her hammer, "I can't hear anything."

Ren strained his ears. She's right. The footsteps have stopped. Jaune spoke up. "Whoever it was, they've gone quiet now. Maybe they were hoping to catch us by surprise-"

A hail of bullets drew a line in the road right at their feet. Ren leapt back on instinct, searching the roof tops. He thought he saw a flicker of brown for a moment. But it could just be my mind playing tricks on me. He wasn't blind to his faults. He had been distracted ever since they arrived at Oniyuri.

He stepped away slowly, scanning the rooftops. He bumped into someone else's back and held his place. "Is everyone okay?" Ruby asked

A round of affirmatives, and Jaune offered a suggestion. "Let's move with our backs together. We'd have to go slow, but whoever this is, is fast, so moving quickly wouldn't help anyways. At least we'd have eyes in all directions at once."

"Clever," A voice drawled slowly, and Ren heard a grunt as their pursuer leapt down from a rooftop to his right, coming into view. He was skinny, hair braided into a long ponytail, and dressed in a long brown traveling coat. He also had a pair of bladed weapons mounted to his wrists.

"Not that it would matter, of course." The stranger continued, brushing his shoulder off. "I have come too far, to be deterred by children. I would have just picked you off one by one, until there were no more backs for you to press up against."

"Who are you?" Ruby demanded, leveling the barrel of Crescent Rose at his head. "What do you want with us?"

The man, Tyrian, pouted. "So feisty, so determined to fight for her friends! A pity. I would have enjoyed fighting with all of you, picking you apart, piece by piece." He straightened himself, smoothing his coat. "As it were, I have no time to waste with unnecessary foreplay, not after my failure. Any delay in my mission is a sin, so I shall answer your questions, and deliver my offer only once. My name Is Tyrian Callows, and what I want, Ruby Rose," Ren frowned. How does he know her name? "Is you." Tyrian held a finger out, pointing towards Ruby.

Immediately, Ren and his teammates stepped forward, fingers clenching around their weapons. "Not happening," Jaune growled. "Not without going through us, first." Nora shouted her agreement, and he nodded along. I am not losing anyone else. Not another teammate, not another friend.

Tyrian rolled his eyes. "Don't tempt me, not when it is already so tiresome practicing restraint. But regardless, I was not speaking to any of you," His eyes focused on Ruby with a grin that sent a shiver down Ren's spine. "I was speaking to you, Miss Rose. My offer is a simple one. My duty is as such: to bring you before my mistress, alive. Surrender yourself to me willingly, and your friends shall be spared; they mean nothing to me, so long as they do not interfere. Refuse, and I shall kill each one of them, before dragging you to her majesty myself."

Ruby opened her mouth, but Ren surprised himself by speaking first. "Her decision doesn't matter, not in this. We won't just let you take her away."

Tyrian flexed his shoulders, shrugging off his coat. A scorpion stinger rose from behind his back, and a wicked grin spread across his face, ear to ear. "Truly?" He asked, showing barely restrained delight. "That is your answer, then? You refuse my gracious offer?"

Ruby took a moment to look at each of them, making sure this was what they wanted, before cocking back Crescent Rose. "Wasn't much of an offer, weirdo. No deal."

The newly revealed faunus closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. When he opened them again, his grin had shrunk into a smirk. There was no more restraint in his voice when he spoke again. "Well then. If you insist."

Not a second passed, and Tyrian launched himself at them. Ren opened fire, at the same time as Ruby, but their pursuer was unperturbed, the rounds bouncing off his Aura. He tried to ready himself to slice at Tyrian, but the faunus was faster, slamming his tail into Ren's chest, throwing him away from the battle.

He was flung back into a wall, hard, and fell to the ground, his body lighting up in pain. Ren groaned, holding a hand to his head as he rose to a knee. This is bad. He had us on the backfoot in the first few seconds, and we outnumber him four to one. We're outclassed. We need to catch him off guard.

His eyes widened as he focused back on the battle. Ruby was up against a wall, bleeding from somewhere on her head, while Jaune flew back from Tyrian, his Aura shattering. How? Jaune has a large Aura, he couldn't possibly have already…Ren's thought trailed off, as a horrifying realization dawned on him. My Aura is broken as well. From a single strike. He shook his head. That can't be possible. It must be some sort of semblance. I think his aura flickered when he struck me. Perhaps it could be that.

Ren tried rising to his feet, but a jolt of pain ran up his leg. He screamed in pain, falling back to the ground. My Aura was broken when his tail struck me, I must have broken my leg in the impact.

He looked back to Tyrian. Nora was the only one left standing, swinging her hammer with a yell again and again, only for her every blow to be swept aside almost lazily by their assailant. He tried to take aim at Tyrian to help her, but he moved too fast, and Ren didn't want to risk hitting Nora.

Tyrian ducked under one of her swings delivering a knee to her gut. Nora gasped as the air left her lungs, dropping her hammer. Another savage kick sent her flying away from him, Magnhild still lying on the ground.

"This is your own doing," Tyrian began, slowly walking towards her. Run, Nora, he wanted to scream. Run as far as you can. But the words wouldn't reach his lips. "You have no one but yourselves to blame. I gave you a chance to avoid your fates, to keep your lives. You simply had to surrender the Rose girl to me. Surely you didn't think you would be able to stop me from taking her, did you? All you did was cost me a few minutes. Something which you shall suffer for."

Nora stumbled to her feet, holding clenched fists in front of her and panting hard. Her nose was bleeding, probably broken. "If you thought any of us were going to go along with your crappy little offer, you have no idea who it is you picked a fight with. And yeah, maybe we can't stop you from taking her. Maybe you'll kill us all right now. But we were never going to let you take Ruby, not without a fight. I am not going to let another teammate be ripped away from us. I am not going to let another friend die, not when this time, I actually have chance to do something about it, small as that chance is." She spat blood onto the ground. "So drag your sorry ass over here so I can beat it into the dirt."

Tyrian frowned. "Such a shame. So much spirit, so much will, so much strength. You would have been an interesting one, had we met a few years later, with actual ability and experience under your belt. As it were, you represent a threat to my mistress. However unlikely it may be, you may at some point inconvenience my queen's plans somewhere along the line. And that, I cannot permit. I have already erred once, and I shall not do so again. Now, I fear, I must unfortunately end you quickly."

"Bring it," Nora growled.

Tyrian grinned. Ren thought he heard something in the distance, but Tyrian spoke again, dragging his attention. "With pleasure," He crooned, and lunged for her throat

"NORA!" Ren screamed, and fired off a couple desperate shots. They missed, and Tyrian struck.

A spray of blood, the crumbing of rubble, and the meeting of steel on Aura came together as Nora fell to the ground. Her hand jumped to her throat, still bleeding. But not like it should. Not like it would be if it were fatal. Ren forced his eyes away from his oldest friend, bleeding on the ground, and looked at the man standing above her. His eyes widened. Two men.

Standing between Nora and Tyrian was a tall, lanky man, with red eyes and a cape that matched. In his hand was a massive scythe. Ruby's uncle, Ren thought. He recognized the man from Beacon, he had arrived during the Vytal festival. He must have arrived just as Tyrian struck her throat, pushing him away with his scythe.

Frantically, he looked between Nora and Tyrian. Their would be murderer had been pushed away a few feet from Qrow, and was scowling. Nora was still bloody, her hand was still held to her throat, but she was alive, eyes widened in fear, laying on the ground behind Qrow.

"Greenie," Qrow barked. "Is your friend okay?"

It took Ren a moment to realize he was talking to him. "She's-She's alive." He was shaking. "Her throat's bleeding. Or it was, I'm not sure."

Qrow nodded, not taking his eyes off Tyrian. "Get over to her, if you can. Make sure she doesn't take pressure off of it, just in case. And make sure to stay away from the two of us, when we start fighting. You two are the only ones conscious, and neither of you are in any shape to be moving around, much less fight. Even if you were, I'd tell you the same thing."

"Must we fight?" Tyrian interrupted. "I merely wish to retrieve what I came here for, and return to my mistress. I'd hate to delay."

"What's this guy's deal?" Qrow asked him.

"He's after Ruby." Ren answered. "I don't know why, but he has some way of piercing your Aura."

"Good catch, kid," Qrow thanked him. "You did good holding him off till I got here."

"We lasted seconds," Ren muttered bitterly.

"You lasted long enough for me to get here, which is exactly how long you needed to." Qrow corrected him. "Hard parts over, kid. I'll take it from here. You just watch your friend."

The Huntsman shifted his grip on the scythe, scowling at Tyrian. "As for you, whoever the hell you are, the two of us have some problems."

"Oh do we now?" Tyrian drawled. "Whatever for?"

"You attacked my niece, asshole," Qrow growled. "Then you tried killing her friends, and cut that girl's throat. I'd say we have a couple problems. "

Tyrian frowned. "Ruby Rose is your niece, then?" His eyes lit up in recognition. "Qrow Branwen! Of course you would be the one protecting these children." He sighed. "Oh dear. I'm afraid I must have her. My Mistress insists, and I will not let her go." He grinned "It appears this fight is not yet over. You want your niece, Mr. Branwen? Stop me, then."

Qrow smiled. "Well, if you insist."

The two launched themselves at each other, and Ren lost track of the battle. They moved too fast, flitting around the town square, occasionally sending sparks flying, or stray bullets flying off into the distance.

I can't help Qrow, Ren thought, crawling over towards Nora. But I can at least help her. "Nora," He sighed in relief as he reached her. "Are you alright?"

She looked just as terrified as before. He tore off a piece of fabric from his tunic. I hope this will hold. "Nora, you need to move your hand. I'll wrap this around your throat as soon as you do, and try to tie it as tight as I can without choking you."

She nodded shakily, and took her hand away. Immediately, blood came out from the wound, but it wasn't pouring very fast, and the cut didn't look fatal. At least, I hope not. He quickly wrapped the fabric around her neck, tying it in the back.

"Is that better? Can you breathe?" He tried asking her calmly, but fear crept into his voice. What if he messed it up, what if he tied it too tightly?

Thankfully, Nora nodded. Ren let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in. A hand fell on his shoulder, and he turned quickly, grabbing Stormflower. "It's just me!" Jaune yelled. "Easy! I just woke up, made my way over here. What happened after I went down? Are you two okay? Where's Ruby?"

"It hasn't been long since you lost consciousness." Ren told him. His heart was still racing. "My leg is broken, I think. I'm not sure. Tyrian attacked Nora, cut her throat and nearly killed her, but Qrow caught up just in time." He nodded towards the two figures, dueling on the rooftops now. "That's Ruby's uncle."

Jaune frowned. "Why would he be here?"

Ren shook his head. "I have no idea. But Nora would be dead by now, along with the rest of us, and Ruby would be taken brother's know where if it weren't for him."

Jaune opened his mouth to reply, but just then, Qrow and Tyrian crashed into the ground, Aura's flickering. Qrow smoothly rolled out of the fall, gripping his scythe, ready to strike. Tyrian stood in the cloud of dust made from their impact, a look of pure rage clear on his face.

"This is going nowhere," He hissed. "Neither of us are making any headway, and I cannot fail!"

Qrow spat on the ground. "What, you wanna whine cause this fight ain't going the way you thought it would? What happened to "Stop me then?", hmm? What, you almost kill a few kids, and all of a sudden you're surprised when a real Huntsman puts up a fight? You're in so much of a hurry?" He snarled. "Well, strap in, asshole. I can go all day."

Tyrian growled in frustration. "...Lost my chance," He muttered, barely loud enough to hear. "Can't risk failing her, not now." He seemed worried, for a moment, until he stopped pacing, and stood up straight.

"I'm afraid I must cut our battle short. There's too much that can go wrong now, victory is no longer assured. If a little delay is necessary in order to allow for my mission's success, then so be it. Enjoy your brief reprieve."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Qrow scoffed. "Told you already, you tried killing my niece and her friends. And if your "mistress" is who I think it is, there's definitely no way in hell I'm just letting you walk away."

"Oh Mr. Branwen," Tyrian sneered. "You don't have a choice." He raised his arm, taking aim at the still unconscious form of Ruby.

"Nice try, but you won't touch a hair on her head," Qrow smirked. "You need her alive. That was the whole point of this fight in the first place, wasn't it?"

"That's quite correct," Tyrian nodded. "I cannot let Miss Rose die." He raised his arm, shifting his aim just above Ruby, where some of the roof of the building she was leaning on was damaged from the fight. "But then, neither can you." He finished, and fired.

"Bastard!" Qrow swore, immediately rushing off towards Ruby. In a flash, his scythe had shifted into a massive sword, which he drove into the wall above Ruby, covering both of their heads from the debris.

"Ruby!" Jaune yelled, running over to help. Qrow stood up, shrugging the rubble off the blade of his sword, and embedding it into the ground. He stooped down to pick up Ruby. "Where'd he go?"

Jaune opened his mouth to answer, but Qrow didn't wait to hear him. "Never mind, I see him. Here, take Ruby." He gently placed the young girl in Jaune's arms, and grabbed Crescent Rose from the debris on the ground. He shifted it into it's sniper configuration, taking careful aim at something in the distance. Ruby's weapon looked strange in his hands, but he seemed comfortable with it. Once he was satisfied with his aim, he fired off into the distance, and collapsed the sniper into a more compact form.

"He's still alive," Qrow started. "But at least now we won't have to worry about him tailing us. Both of our Aura's were already low, and I know Ruby likes higher caliber rounds. That punched through the last of his Aura, and gave him a nasty wound in his leg. He'll probably make for Haven as fast as he can, heal up, and try to get us there."

"Then…are we not going to Haven?" Ren asked, confused. The immediate danger had passed, and he was starting to calm down. Which meant he was starting to question what exactly was going on. Like why that man wanted Ruby, or what her Uncle was doing here.

"Oh no, we are." Qrow confirmed. "Don't really have a choice. Too much relies on us getting there. Not least of all, your friend. Nora, right? She needs someone to see to her throat, the sooner the better. Someone who actually knows what they're doing."

Ren frowned. He stood up, slowly putting pressure on his leg. It hurt, but his Aura had come back, at least enough to begin healing his leg. Nora, however, still had a hand to her throat, even with the fabric tied around her neck. She seemed worried.

"Why wouldn't her Aura heal the wound?" Jaune asked.

"Aura can't just magically fix up every scratch you take, kid. I got here just in time, so it wasn't fatal, but he got her pretty good. That can change if she gets an infection, or if it heals badly, or if a million other things go wrong. Thing is, I don't know what could go wrong, exactly. I'm not a doctor. I can clean her wound, and wrap it back up, but that's gonna have to be enough till we reach Haven."

"Oh, and speaking of cleaning that wound," He fished out a flask from his pocket, tossing it to Nora. One hand left her throat instinctively as she caught it between her two hands, surprised. "Sometime later tonight, you're gonna have to take off that bit of cloth, wash out all the dried blood, and pour a bit of alcohol on the wound. It'll burn like a bitch, but trust me, it's better than infection."

Nora nodded slowly, still a little out of it. She opened her mouth, and her eyes widened. She began breathing heavily, trying to speak, tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Hey, hey, easy there, don't try to stress-oh hell, greenie, get over here!" Qrow waved a hand over in Ren's direction, and he rushed to his side. "What-what's wrong? Is she okay?"

"You need to get her to relax, if she keeps trying to speak, she'll end up hurting herself."

Ren placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to keep her steady. "Nora, please, you have to calm down! You might reopen your wound! The danger's over, now, everything's going to be okay." At least, he hoped that was the case. He still wasn't sure what was going on. Right now, he just needed to focus on making sure Nora was safe.

Her breathing began to slow down, and her eyes began to focus on his. He sighed in relief. Please, just let us reach Haven.

"Jaune?" Ruby groaned, stirring in his arms. "What's going on?"

He jumped in surprise, almost dropping her, before catching himself, gently lowering her, supporting her as she stood. "Ruby! You're awake!"

She rubbed her eyes, stumbling. "What…what happened to that weird guy?"

"Your Uncle chased him off," Ren answered. Ruby was awake. Everyone was okay. They would get Nora to help in time. Everything was going to be fine.

Her eyes widened, snapping her out of her drowsiness. "Uncle Qrow? How-why is he here?"

"Cause someone had to save your butts," The huntsman cut in. "Seriously, I let you out of my sight for five minutes and someone tries to kidnap you." He clicked his tongue. "That's got to be some kind of record."

"UNCLE QROW!" Ruby flew towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck and nearly pushing him over. "You're here!"

"I am," Her uncle agreed, carefully prying her arms off of him, and placing her back onto the ground.

Ruby frowned. "How are you here?"

"And how did you know Nora's name?" Jaune cut in. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you were here. But that Tyrian guy mentioned that you were following us, protecting us."

"I was," He admitted. "For a couple of reasons, not least of which being what would happen in case someone went after Ruby like they did today." He handed Ruby Crescent Rose. "You all want answers, and that's fine. I get it. But now is not the time."

"Then when is the time?" Jaune argued. "How long are we supposed to just trust you while leaving us in the dark? How long did Pyrrha trust you, without really knowing what she was getting into?"

"Don't talk about things you don't know anything about, kid," Qrow warned. "I get you're angry, but we told that girl everything we could. We warned her what she was getting into, and what she was risking."

"You made her feel like she was the only one who could have done it!"

Qrow shrugged. "I wasn't going to lie to the kid. We didn't just pick her from a lottery, y'know. I'm sorry for what happened to her, but that was a bad day. A lot of people were lost."

Jaune opened his mouth to argue, but Ren interrupted. "Then when will you tell us? I understand what you're saying, but Jaune has a point. We can't just keep going forward blind. We need to know what's happening."

Qrow paused in thought for a moment. "Tonight," He decided. "We need to cover as much ground as we can while there's still some daylight left. Once we get Nora's wound cleaned, I'll fill you all in. You deserve to know what's out there, after all. You're a part of it now."

Ren nodded. Jaune grimaced, but did the same. He still doesn't trust Qrow, Ren thought. Even after saving Nora. He supposed it made sense. Qrow was one of the people who knew…whatever it was that was going on. Jaune only knew what Pyrrha told him, and what he had seen the night of the fall, down in Beacon's vault.

Ruby seemed to only just now realize Nora was injured. "OH MY GOSH! NORA! Are you okay?" She rushed over to her friend, frantically fussing over her. Nora, for her part, was valiantly trying to beat her away. Qrow chuckled.

"Let's get moving." He yanked his sword out of the ground, collapsing it and placing it behind his back. "Our little tag along might be gone, but the Grimm are still a threat, and now that I'm traveling with all of you, I won't be able to clear them out before they reach us. Shouldn't be too much of a problem, but it will slow us down."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and began walking down the path. Ruby trailed after him, and Nora followed not far behind. Jaune groaned, running his hand through his hair, before finally going after them as well.

"I still don't like this," He told Ren. "Pyrrha-"

"He agreed to tell us tonight," Ren cut him off. That line of thinking wouldn't do any good. "He's Ruby's uncle, he's obviously been helping us, and he saved Nora. I agree, I don't like being left in the dark, but we can at least give him the benefit of the doubt, for now."

Jaune's shoulders sagged. "I'm just…scared. Nora almost died today. We all did. And she still might, If we don't make it to Haven, before something happens. Her wound could get infected, or it could open up again, or, or-"

"I know," Ren said quietly, placing an arm on his shoulder. "I almost lost her too. She's my oldest friend, Jaune. After Pyrrha, I don't know if I could lose another. But right now, the best thing we can do is follow Ruby's uncle, and trust him to get us to Haven as fast as possible."

Jaune took a deep breath, and nodded again, much more confidently than before. "Right. You're right, I know. Thanks, Ren."

"It's what teammates are for." He told him, smiling.

Jaune picked up his pace, catching up to check on Nora and Ruby. Ren wasn't much better off than he was, to be honest. They should never have come to Oniyuri. He thought as much as soon as they had entered, and he couldn't agree with the sentiment more now that they were leaving.

All they had to do now was reach Haven. Everything else could wait until then. Tyrian, Cinder, everything.

They just had to make it there.

Nora sat huddled around the campfire, still reeling from the revelations the conversation with Qrow had brought. Jaune had already stormed off, hopefully to calm down somewhere, while Ruby and Ren remained, likely as shocked as her.

They had known…well, they had obviously known there was something abnormal going on. Between whatever power Pyrrha had been given and Ruby's eyes, they thought they had prepared themselves for whatever the truth could be.

But…Gods? Actual Magic? Some ancient, evil lady who controlled the Grimm? It was way too much for one evening. It was too much to believe, period. Which, of course, meant it was probably true. After all, wasn't that pretty much how their lives had been, ever since Beacon?

It's probably true, she thought glumly. And I'm sure we'll all realize that in the morning. Tonight, though, she didn't think anyone would believe Qrow. For his part, he didn't bother arguing with them, trying to convince them. He likely knew they'd come around eventually. Of course he does. He's had to have done this before.

Thoughts of Qrow brought her hand to her neck, gently feeling the fabric wrapped around her wound before she even realized what she was doing. I wonder if I'll get to see Haven. They'd come so far. It seemed unfair that she might die right before the finish line.

Quit thinking like that, she chastised herself. Qrow said himself, a lot could go wrong, but the wound itself wasn't fatal. We just need to hope it doesn't get infected, or something else happens. Worrying about it wouldn't help.

Qrow had saved her, at the last possible moment. She felt Tyrian's blade bite into her skin, felt her own blood running down her chest. When she fell to the ground she thought for sure she was dead. She had to have been.

But her hand had grasped her neck, and when her eyes opened up again, she saw Ruby's uncle standing over her. She hadn't recognized him until he started speaking, but even then she felt a weight leave her shoulders. She could rest. Someone else had taken over, and she wasn't the only thing standing between her and her friends anymore.

She hadn't even thanked him yet. She couldn't thank him yet. I can't even swallow without bursting into pain. She hadn't risked drinking anything yet, but she knew she would have to eventually.

"I'm going to go look for Jaune," Ruby announced suddenly, standing up. "I just wanna make sure he's okay."

"Neither of you go too far," Qrow warned her. He was leaning on a tree, back towards them, staring out into the woods. "It's late, and he's not exactly in a good mood right now. Be mindful of Grimm."

"Sure thing, Uncle Qrow," Ruby called out, before zipping off the way Jaune had left a few minutes before her.

He sighed. "Right then. Now's as good a time as any." He pushed himself off the tree, walking back towards the fire, and sitting down next to her. He looked at her expectantly.

She held out her hands and shrugged. Did he want something? "My flask, kid," Oh! She had completely forgotten. "Gotta get that wound cleaned."

She fished it out of her pocket where she had stuffed it, and handed it over to him. "I'll just take this bit of cloth off real quick. It might hurt a smidge from sticking to your skin, what with all the dried blood and what have you. Ready?" She nodded, and he began unwrapping the scrap of Ren's tunic from around her neck. She winced as it was pulled from her skin. That wasn't too bad.

"Here, greenie, hold this for a second," Qrow held it out and Ren took it from his hands.

"Should she have her wound exposed?" He asked.

"Can't really be avoided, unfortunately," Qrow answered. "We have to clean her wound. Besides, it's mostly closed by now. We just have to be careful, is all. Although…"

He held his hands to her neck, gently inspecting the cut. He nodded to himself, seemingly satisfied, and tore off a piece of his already ragged cape.

"Gimme the old one," He told Ren.

Her friend did as he was asked. "Why did you tear off a new piece?"

Qrow shrugged. "Old one's practically ruined. Ideally, we'd have sterilized gauze or whatever it is you're supposed to use, but none of this is really ideal, in case you haven't noticed. My cape isn't exactly sterile, but it's cleaner than the one caked in dried blood, that's for sure.

Ren nodded in agreement, and Qrow uncapped the flask. "Now listen closely," He said to her. "This is going to sting like a bitch. Actually, that's an understatement. It's gonna feel like the skin on your neck is melting off, and someone's branding you at the same time. It's gonna suck. But if we don't do this, chances are good it'll get infected. Which is even worse if you can believe it."

Don't worry, I believe you, Nora thought. "This is the important part. I'm gonna pour a bit of alcohol onto the old wrap, and press it to your throat. I'm gonna have to hold it there for a little bit. Not too long, mind you, but long enough. You're gonna have to try and stop yourself from thrashing around, and especially screaming. Cry, if you have too. I've done it a few times, trust me. Once I take it away, I'll wrap the new one around, and tie it nice and tight. Are you good to go?"

Nora paused, before holding her hands behind her back, using her right hand to grab her other wrist tightly. She nodded. Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Not bad thinking, I suppose. If you can hold yourself, that is. Alright, get ready."

He dipped the flask, pouring some of its contents into the old wrapping, and pressed it to her neck. Instantly, she wanted to scream, to howl in pain. Not that she could. It was everything Qrow had warned, and then some. She felt her head swim, and her eyes go blurry from the pain.

When she came to, Qrow was cradling her head with both hands. The cloth was gone, and so was the pain. She was also looking up at him, which meant she must be lying on the ground. She pushed herself up, one hand going to her neck. Sure enough, A fresh wrapping had been applied, tightly secured around her neck.

"You didn't exactly pass out," Qrow answered her unasked question. "Just kinda blanked out for a minute. I only just got that tied around your neck."

She gave him a thumbs up, to try and tell him she was okay. He nodded back to her. Ren spoke up from beside her. "I'm glad you're alright. I was worried your wound had reopened, and you had fainted from the blood loss."

"And I told you if that had happened, you would have seen the blood," Qrow groaned.

Ren looked uncomfortable. "Erm, well, yes, I was worried." He walked over to his bedroll, yawning. "Qrow? Is there any reason you need me to stay awake? Nora?"

She shook her head, and Qrow followed suit. "You should get some shuteye, kid. You've all had a long day. I've kept watch for longer than this before, I'll be fine." Ren nodded, lying down to rest once he had been reassured.

"You should too, pinkie," Qrow told her, heading back to the tree he had been leaning on before. "You of all people should."

Nora furrowed her brow as he turned his back. She walked up to him tugging on the back of his cape. Even if I can't speak, I can at least thank him. He turned around, frowning. "Something wrong?"

Hmm. This might be a little harder than I thought. She shook her head, pointing at her throat. "What? Did I tie it too tightly? Too loose?" He reached for the wrapping, but she slapped his hands away.

This time, she pointed first to him, then her throat. Then, she held out her hands in front of her, miming her protecting herself. Thankfully, he seemed to get the message, his eyes widening. "Oh! Are you trying to thank me for saving you earlier?"

Smiling, she nodded. It was the first time since she was cut she got someone to understand her outside of a yes or no question. It felt good. Qrow shook his head. "Don't mention it. Besides, I didn't really save you did I?" He gestured towards her throat, and tried turning back around.

Nora stomped her foot, and grabbed his shoulder before he could. He seemed surprised, and she crossed her arms glaring at him. "What? Kid, you shouldn't be thanking me." She stomped her foot once more, and he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Look, I didn't wanna spring this on you, but you're gonna realize this sooner or later. You do understand you're never going to be able to speak again, right?" Her eyes widened in surprise, as he continued. "That's on me. I was watching you. I knew there was a chance someone would come after you, I was counting on it, and I got delayed taking too long clearing out some Grimm. Even a second sooner, and you'd have been fine. You got nothing to thank me for, kid."

He seemed almost dejected as he spoke, and Nora's nostrils flared in anger once he finished. She snapped her fingers in front of his face, drawing his attention. She pointed to her throat, then closed her fist, showing her voice was gone. But afterwards, she pointed to herself, and then to Ren. I might not be able to speak, but I'm still alive. I'm still with my friends.

And that meant something to her. She was beyond grateful, beyond happy, that she was still here. So what if she couldn't speak anymore? She was still alive, wasn't she? And it was thanks to him, so he could suck it up and accept her appreciation instead of acting like a jerk!

Thankfully, he actually managed to understand what she was trying to convey again. "Alright, I get it," He surrendered, holding his hands up. "You're welcome. Now really, you should get some sleep. You'll need it for the morning, believe me."

She beamed, and went off to do just that, but not before wrapping her arms around Qrow's waist, and lifting the surprised Huntsman into the air for a hug.

I'll never speak again, She thought, reflecting on the revelation as she curled into bed. But that doesn't matter.

Because as bad as today was, when she woke up in the morning, she would still be here. And so would her friends.

I love this chapter so much. Definitely one of my favorites that I've written. Not number one, probably, but up there. Also, this is the first chapter to not have any pov for Mercury or Emerald! There's gonna be a few more of those to come, fair warning. I already have several written, and I'm just above a third of the way through writing the fic.

I wasn't kidding when I mentioned I'd be showing some of the consequences of M&EM leaving. Tyrian being chastised earlier for permitting M&EM to escape results in him fucking around way less, going for the route of taking out RNJR as fast as possible. And as soon as he realizes his fight with Qrow is evenly matched, he decides it's better to wait for a better opportunity, than risk failure.

Fun fact, I wrote most of this in a day. The entire Nora pov wasn't even going to be included, but I couldn't get to sleep, so I got back up at like 11pm and cranked it out, and it wound up being my favorite part of the chapter.

Please leave a comment or a review, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter!

As always, I crosspost on Ao3!

Next Chapter: Tuesday, April 16th