Nora woke up sweating, shooting up in her bed and frantically looking around. She couldn't remember what she was dreaming of, but it had left a dark, nasty impression in her chest. She looked around trying to figure out where she was.
Almost immediately, her eyes fell on the two figures, asleep in their chairs beside her bed, snoring contently. As soon as she spotted them, the racing in her heart slowed, and she let out a sigh of relief. It's alright. I'm safe.
She shook her head, smiling. Those dorks. Of course Jaune and Ren would manage to fall asleep in their chairs while they were waiting for her to wake up. She looked around the room again, this time more carefully.
I'm…in some kind of hospital room? Nora frowned. Why was she in a hospital? Where even were they? She tried to think of the last thing she could remember, but her mind was still foggy from waking up, and it gave her a headache to try and remember. Well, at least I always have my two dorks to gimme a hand.
Nora opened her mouth, to wake them up. Hey, she tried to shout, but no noise came out of her mouth, and she felt a painful strain on her throat. Her eyes shot wide open in fear, and her hands raced to her throat, and she felt bandages wrapped around her neck.
Help! She tried to speak. Wake up! Her next attempts were as futile as her first, and her throat was itching now. Nora leaned over, reaching a hand out towards Ren, who was the closest, but she fell out of her bed, landing on the cold tile floor.
The fall jolted her out of her drowsiness, and her head erupted in a terrible headache, as her most recent memories came back to her. She remembered Oniyuri, and how Tyrian had nearly killed all of them. How he had…he had cut her throat open. She remembered Ruby's Uncle showing up to save them, and how he had helped her clean her wound, rewrapping it. She remembered everything he had told them that night, about gods and magic.
The next few days, though, were hazy. She remembered them vaguely, spotty memories of trekking through the woods trying to reach Haven as quickly as they could. But nothing after that. We must have made it, though, she thought. We had to have. Otherwise, how could we be in a hospital?
She must have been laying there for a few minutes at least, because the cold of the floor had stopped bothering her. Slowly, Nora tried to rise, using both hands to grab her bed and lift herself up.
Panting from the effort, she managed to get herself back onto her bed, sitting upright with her feet on the floor. Somehow, Jaune and Ren had managed to sleep through her fall. That alone almost made her smile. I could still wake them up, she mused. In a few minutes, she'd probably have enough strength to stand on her own, and shake one of them awake. Nah, she decided. If they managed to sleep through me face planting on the floor, they're definitely way too tired.
Nora frowned. Now that the excitement and confusion of waking up was over with, she had a moment to herself, to think. Specifically, to think of the last few days. I'm never going to speak again, she thought calmly. Strangely, she didn't feel very upset. She had technically known that, ever since Qrow had told her. But now, she was starting to realize what that meant. She would never laugh the way that she used to, she'd never be able to crack a joke that managed to get even Ren to start laughing. And I'll never be able to tell him I love him. Not with my own words, anyway.
She sat there in thought, for a few minutes longer, absorbing the silence. It didn't matter, not really. She'd get through it. I'm Nora Valkyrie! The best huntress in training ever! She'd learn sign language or something, she would figure it out. And I'll get the biggest bouquet of flowers for Ren, so there's no way he doesn't understand what I mean!
The words inside her head were hollow, but they did at least manage to make her feel a little better. That would have to do for now. Jaune and Ren could sleep a little longer, but she needed to know what had happened, preferably as soon as possible.
Nora pushed herself off of the bed slowly. She nearly fell, catching herself on the wall. Okay, baby steps then. She moved slowly, leaning on the wall for support, but she managed to get out of her room.
The hallway where her room was placed seemed strangely empty. Doesn't change anything. I just have to go a bit farther, is all. If Jaune and Ren were both here, the others couldn't be far behind. There had to be someone who could help her.
She was moving faster now, some of her strength returning to her. Her hand grazed the side of the wall, more as a precaution now, in case she fell, than actually supporting her. See, she told herself. You'll be back to your old self in no time!
Her throat flared in pain, almost like her body was trying to spite her. She shook her head, trying to focus on something more pleasant. Ren and Jaune are gonna be so confused when they wake up! Nora smiled. Excited, too. And Ren will probably make me a bunch of pancakes as a get well present!
Nora turned a corner, and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest as she smashed into something, almost falling to the ground. She was caught, however, and pulled back up before she could hit the ground.
"Nora?" A voice said softly in disbelief. "What-what are you doing up? Oh my gosh, you should be in bed!"
Her eyes focused, and she saw Ruby, wide eyed, looking up at her in worry. Nora opened her mouth before she could stop to think about it. An ugly rasp escaped her lips, and her throat burned in pain. Argh! This is so stupid! How the hell was she supposed to get answers from Ruby? Play charades?
"W-wait a sec, take it easy! The doctors said you definitely shouldn't try speaking!" Ruby stressed. She dug around her pockets for a second, before pulling out a scroll. "Here, use this. Uncle Qrow has the one the doctors were going to give to you, so just borrow mine for now."
Nora took the scroll, a thousand questions running through her mind at a mile a minute. She could ask about what happened, after they reached Haven. Did they speak with the headmaster yet? Was anyone else hurt? Will I really never be able to speak again? She knew what Qrow told her, and she knew that yes, he was probably right. But he had said himself he wasn't a professional, and maybe…
She couldn't bring herself to ask any of those questions. She wasn't sure she wanted to ask any of those questions just yet. It was too much, too soon. She was feeling overwhelmed. Nora took a deep breath, trying to focus her mind on a relatively simple question.
Her fingers moved across the scroll, and she held the screen towards Ruby for her to see. How long have Jaune and Ren been asleep?
Ruby frowned. "They're asleep? It can't have been for very long, then. They were wide awake half an hour ago." She paused, placing a hand under her chin. "I guess it kinda makes sense, though. They've been in your room pretty much constantly, ever since the doctors cleared you for visitors."
Nora's lip curled. Well, at least I know not waking them up was a good call. Those dummies. They should have waited until she woke up, there wasn't any sense worrying themselves waiting by her side day and night! She saw where they were coming from, though. And if she was being honest with herself, she would probably have done the same thing if something had happened to one of them, instead. Okay, she definitely would have done the same thing.
Okay. She's had a few minutes to wake up, and get some of her strength back. She found Ruby, someone who could tell her what she needed to know, and she asked a quick question to give her time to gather her thoughts. It was time to bite the bullet.
What happened? She typed, showing Ruby the screen.
Ruby inhaled. "What…exactly do you remember?"
I remember Oniyuri. Tyrian. Your Uncle showing up. And what happened that night. Her fingers paused. I remember what he told us that night. About gods, and magic, and Salem and all that junk. After that, it's kinda hazy.
"Okay…well that's good!" Ruby beamed, before immediately turning pale. "Uh, that you remembered so much, I mean. The doctors said you may or may not have a hard time remembering the last few days, so it's good that you do! But, uh, yeah, you're pretty spot on."
Ruby rubbed her wrists, looking away. "After, uh, what you remember last, you didn't miss a whole lot. You were conscious for a couple more days, but the wound on your throat must have reopened, or maybe cleaning it just wasn't enough. It got infected, and you fell unconscious. Uncle Qrow carried you."
Her voice lowered. "We all got really worried, and we tried to hurry up, but we found a split in the road. There was an easier path, that led right to Haven, and another that, uhm…that led to Kuroyuri." Nora's eyes widened. They didn't go there, did they? Ren wouldn't have let them, he would have said something.
"Ren was against going there, at first," Ruby continued, seemingly reading her thoughts. "But you were in a pretty rough shape, and I thought there might be something that could help you in Kuroyuri, even if it was abandoned, there might have been medical supplies. Ren came around, Jaune agreed, and Qrow went along with it."
Nora had already furiously typed out a question, panic setting in. What happened at Kuroyuri?
Ruby winced. "There weren't any medical supplies…but the Nuckelavee did find us."
She froze, a hundred scenarios pouring through her mind. For years, she had nightmares after what had happened at Kuroyuri, that awful scream haunting her dreams. They had faded with time, but they had never truly left her. If her friends had fought it…
Wait. Ruby's fine, I saw Jaune and Ren when I woke up, and she mentioned Qrow had the scroll that she was supposed to be using. Everyone was accounted for, and Ruby didn't mention running into any travelers, so that would mean…
"We managed to kill it," Ruby confirmed. "Uncle Qrow wore it down for a while, so I could find a safe place to put you down. Jaune watched over you, Uncle Qrow and I pinned it in place with our scythes, and Ren finished it off."
It was…over, then? It was finally dead? She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The awful thing that had destroyed her and Ren's home, killed his parents, and who knows how many others, was finally dead?
"After that, airships from Haven showed up," Nora focused back on Ruby. "I guess we made a bit of a mess, because we drew their attention. Good thing, too! Because, uh, like I said, there weren't any supplies here. Which would have been bad, duh. Buuut, they took us to Haven pronto, and we got you straight to the hospital! It's been like, two or three days since then. I kinda lost count."
And that's it? Nora typed. No other huge disaster? No one else was hurt? She could honestly hardly believe they had actually made it to Haven. Months and months of traveling, Haven was always just the distant destination.
"Nope!" Ruby beamed. "Well, Uncle Qrow thinks that Tyrian weirdo might have come here to catch us off guard, but we've all been keeping an eye out. Weiss and Yang showed up, if you can believe it. Plus, we have Oscar now, and Uncle Qrow doesn't have to watch for Grimm, so we should be covered now."
Nora frowned. Weiss and Yang were here, which was great! Weird, but great! Only, there was one thing she didn't understand. She typed out her question. Who's Oscar?
Ruby gasped. "Oh my gosh! I completely forgot to tell you about Oscar!" She stepped back, laughing nervously. "But, uh, maybe Uncle Qrow should tell you about him? He's way better at explaining that kind of stuff. Besides, you have to go see him anyway, to get your new scroll."
Nora tried to remember if she ever met an Oscar before. She didn't think she had. Maybe he's another relative of Ruby's or something? Oooh, or maybe one of Qrow's Huntsman buddies from Haven! That could be exciting.
"Look, I'm going to wake up Ren and Jaune. I was on my way to your room anyway, I'll tell them you woke up, and not to worry. If you wanna go see Uncle Qrow now, he's not far. He's in the hospital lobby." Ruby bit her lip. "And, uhm, Nora?"
Nora tilted her head, asking her to go on. Ruby leapt forwards, wrapping her arms around her waist and hugging her tightly. "I'm glad you're okay. We were all pretty worried, for a while. I don't…I don't think any of us could have…" Ruby trailed off, but she didn't have to finish. Nora knew what she was trying to say. She felt the same, after all. None of us could manage to lose someone else, not again, not so soon after Pyrrha.
Ruby pulled out of the hug, smiling and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I guess I should get going, then. Good luck! Oh, and take it easy! You really shouldn't try stressing your throat!" Ruby took back her scroll, and walked past her, humming as she made her way to Nora's room.
Nora kept walking down the hallway she had turned on before bumping into Ruby. At least she had a destination now. As she felt her balance grow steadier, she let her hand fall back to her side, no longer needing to keep it near the wall.
She picked up her pace, and a thought popped in her head. She smiled, and started skipping. She felt way better, now that she had a chance to talk to Ruby. I'm alive. My friends are okay. And we made it to Haven. What more could I ask for?
Finding the lobby wasn't hard at all. Thankfully whoever invented the first hospital had decided it would be a good idea to put signs everywhere showing you exactly where to find whatever you were looking for. See? Today's a great day!
Sure enough, just as Ruby said, her Uncle was lounging in one of the lobby chairs, snoring loudly. He didn't look much different than the last time she saw him, although he did seem a bit less…messy. Although, I guess a few days out of the wilderness and a hot shower could do that to you.
Nora approached him slowly, nervous. Should she just…wake him up herself? Wait for him to wake up on his own? What if he hadn't slept a whole lot either?She didn't wanna annoy him or anything like that. He was the only reason she was even still alive, right now.
Oh, come on, you big baby! She shook her head, rolling her eyes. Don't be ridiculous. He's Ruby's Uncle! She grabbed his shoulder, shaking him lightly. He jumped at her touch, groaning as he stirred, rubbing his eyes.
"Ruby? You done yet?" He asked, still dazed from waking up. His eyes focused, widening when he saw her. "Nora? What…kid, what are you doing up? You shouldn't even be out of your bed right now, let alone your room. And where's Ruby? She was going to check on you."
Nora opened her mouth, but caught herself just before we tried to speak. Really have to stop doing that. At least I caught myself that time. She frowned. This is something that's going to happen a lot, isn't it?
Qrow had noticed her, thankfully. "Ah, shit." He cursed, shoving a hand into his pocket. "Hang on a sec, I have it somewhere, here. Almost…got it!" He held out a shiny new scroll, which Nora took. "Doctor's left that for you to use. It's got all the same stuff your old one has, they just made typing a bit easier. Not exactly life-changing, I know, but hey, it's something. Your old one was missing, anyways, so you would'a had to get a replacement regardless." He crossed his arms. "Now, seriously, what are you doing out of bed?"
Nora quickly typed out a response. I haven't been up long. Jaune and Ren were still sleeping, and I didn't want to wake them up, so I left, looking for someone who could tell me something. I ran into Ruby, she filled me in and told me to find you, while she went to wake them up.
Qrow nodded, satisfied. He seemed to relax a little. "I still don't think you should have left your bed," He told her. "But you're up now, and there's not really any point trying to force you back to your room. You're not exactly in critical condition anymore, and I'm sure you're a little stir crazy, even if you did just wake up. Just take it easy, and you should be fine."
Nora gave him a thumbs up and a smile. Qrow chuckled, nodding his head towards the exit. "Come on. I'm sure you got at least a couple questions, and it's probably not a good idea to answer them in the middle of a hospital lobby."
He stuck his hands in his pockets, turning to leave, and Nora followed. They didn't go far, leaning up against the wall twenty or so feet from the entrance. I guess it doesn't really matter if we're out in the open, so long as we're not heard. If Qrow didn't have a problem with it, it was probably fine.
"Well?" Qrow asked. "We're fine here. Go ahead, ask away, kid!"
What first? Should she ask about who Oscar was? About whether they met with Lionheart yet? She remembered something that Ruby had mentioned, and her fingers raced across the screen of her new scroll, her heart beating a little faster. Ruby said you thought that Tyrian might be here?
Qrow sighed, pulling out a flask from his coat. "Not really much question about it, hate to say. Before we arrived, I figured he'd probably come here, wait for another chance to get at Ruby. People like him, they don't just back off after one try. And wouldn't you know it, turns out there's been a bit of an uptick in strange, unexplained murders the last couple days." He took a long swig from his flask, before capping it and placing it back in his coat. "Now, Haven's never been what you'd call a 'nice' place. Place is ridden with organized crime, even worse than Vale. But those are usually more simple killings, easy to identify. Tyrian's here, and he ain't happy."
He ruffled her hair. "But I wouldn't worry about it, kiddo. Difference from last time is we know he's here, and we're on the lookout. Everyone is a lot more prepared than they were at Oniyuri. Trust me, he's the least of our worries."
Nora giggled silently, fixing her hair. That was good, at least. Weirdly, she hadn't been very worried about Tyrian. At least, not as much as she thought she would. For someone who had sliced her throat open, she was more concerned that he might go after Ruby.
She frowned. Right. Her throat. She bit her lip, typing slowly, each letter an effort to put on the screen. She knew she shouldn't even bother asking, but she had to know for sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
About my throat…when we were cleaning the wound, you said you weren't a professional, you didn't know for sure. Have the doctors said anything about whether or not I'll be able to speak again?
Qrow's face fell. "Kid…" His voice was cracked. Oh. Nora lowered her head. She blinked, something wet streaming down her face. Stupid Nora. Always been a little out there, haven't you? I should never have gotten my hopes up, I KNEW it wouldn't lead to anything good.
She sniffled, and felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. "You know," Qrow began. "Long time ago an old Huntsman buddy of mine was on a mission not too far from here, actually. Pretty standard stuff, there was a particularly old geist in the area, it had possessed almost an entire town. Gave him a bit of trouble, but nothing he couldn't handle. We went out for drinks afterwards. Well, I did. Uptight jerk had a glass of water, if you could believe it. In Haven."
Nora giggled, rubbing her eyes. "To cut a long story short, a few days later it happened that there was a bit of trouble brewing in the town we were staying at. See, this buddy of mine, he was from Atlas. Graduated from the academy, went straight into the military, and all that. Now, this was at a time when Faunus relations were bad, and things were starting to get violent."
"Not as violent as today, mind you," Qrow quickly added. "But back then, that kind of aggression was still new, and it felt good for a lot of the Faunus who thought they could finally strike back, in some way, even if it didn't actually accomplish anything."
"So, we have a Huntsman, who just so happens to be an Atlas soldier, staying in a small town in Mistral. Now we both grew up in Mistral," Her eyes widened. He did? "So we know what it's like. Things here are messy at the best of times. Law and order is a joke here." Nora couldn't argue with that.
"Eventually, some of the more extremist elements in the town started getting antsy. They saw my buddy as a symbol of the same system that had put them down for as long as they could remember." Qrow snorted. "Which was bullshit. I'll never tell him this, but that guy is pretty much as close as you can get to incorruptible. I'm a little older and more jaded than you are, kid, but even I think the guys a saint. Frustrating at times, and too damn stubborn for his own good, but that's about it. There aren't a whole lot of people I like, and certainly not in the military, but he's alright."
"Course, none of these guys knew that," He said. "They just saw some stuffy Atlas soldier, who showed them up by doing in a day what they couldn't for months. They got angry, bitter. And eventually, the day before we were going to leave, they decided to do something about it."
"I don't remember exactly what it was," Qrow said, scratching his stubble with his free hand. They were sitting against the wall now. "I don't know if there was a bomb planted somewhere, or if one of them knew their way around a bullhead and messed with something important, or what. The only thing I DO know, is that for once, it wasn't my semblance. I spent…a good amount of time making sure of that."
"My buddy was on his way back to Atlas, and I was hitching a ride. I had business with the then-headmaster, and I didn't feel like flying the hard way." Qrow took a deep breath. "I noticed something was off first. Years of paying close attention for anything my semblance could screw up actually paid off."
"There was a ticking. That's what makes me think it was a bomb, but I'd be damned if I knew what every alarm that a Bullhead makes sounded like." He shook his head. "It could have been one of those. It took me a second to realize what was actually happening. Once I did, everything happened almost at once. I yelled for the pilot to open the emergency doors. He had Aura, he'd survive the fall, and I have my own way out of situations like that. The pilot opened them alright, but the ticking had sped up, and we were near the front of the Bullhead. My buddy, being the self-righteous asshole that he is, didn't even think. Just gave me one big shove, as hard as he could."
Qrow grew quiet for a moment, before continuing. "He tried to follow me, but he wasted too much time getting me out of the way first. As I was falling, the Bullhead went up in flames, lighting up the sky. Once I hit the ground, I went straight for the wreckage. It wasn't hard to find him."
"The pilot was dead, probably killed instantly in the explosion." He said bluntly. "My friend, though, he had Aura. He had survived the blast. Most of his body hadn't." Nora winced. "A lot of the right side of his body was burnt, and some shrapnel from the wreck had embedded itself inside of him. But, he was still alive. Unconscious, but he was breathing."
"For the rest of it, I was sort of on autopilot," Qrow admitted. "We weren't far from another town, so I called for some help. Grimm came, hordes of them, attracted to the crash. But my friend had just saved my life, and was near dead himself." He smiled. "Pretty sure I cleared the whole forest that day. Anyways, help showed up, got him to the hospital, where he was transferred to a much better hospital. Things looked bad for a few months, but he eventually gets fitted with some state of the art cybernetics. Perks of being an Atlas soldier, I guess."
"And do you know what happened after?" Nora shook her head. "Guess," Qrow told her.
Nora frowned. He went on to become a super cool soldier? She didn't understand the point of the story.
He grinned. "Oh, he became a lot more than that. He's the Headmaster of Atlas academy, and the General of the Atlas military to boot. One of the best around. And he became all of that, a long time after his injury."
Nora's eyes widened, and she turned her head to look up at him. This is for me, she realized. He's trying to cheer me up.
"I can't do anything for your voice, kid," He said sadly. "I'm sorry. I wish I could. But I want you to know, just cause you won't be able to speak any more, it doesn't change a damn thing. You're still Nora. You're still my niece's friend, who went with her when she left home. You're still the kickass girl who held off Tyrian long enough for me to reach you, just to protect your friends. And you can still be a lot more than that."
Nora stared up at him, tears filling her eyes. She smiled, and threw her arms around his neck, sniffling.
"Hey, hey, easy kid, you're gonna knock us both over!" Qrow chuckled, patting her on the back.
She pulled away, mouthing the words Thank you.
"Eh, don't mention it," He waved a hand dismissively. He stood up, holding a hand out to help her up. "Come on. There's a few more things you ought to know about. For one, Yang and Weiss showed up, nearly gave me a heart attack."
Oooh, that was exciting! Nora took his hand, using it to pull herself up with a hop. She opened her scroll again. So, have you met with Lionheart yet? And who's Oscar? Ruby mentioned him, but she said you would be able to explain it better.
"Oscar…well, that can wait for an explanation until we get back to where we're all staying. As for Lionheart…" Qrow frowned. "We've met with him. And, well, I got a few questions myself for the guy. There's some things that he said that aren't exactly lining up. I don't want to assume the worst, but I think it's a good idea to proceed with a little caution."
We're leaving the hospital? Qrow nodded. "Like I said, you should be fine. Doctors might have wanted to hold you another day, to be sure, but I doubt they'll raise a fuss, and like I said, you probably wanted to get out."
She nodded in thanks. "We'll just head back home, and you can get some rest. Maybe catch up with Yang and Weiss, first, I'm sure they'll be glad to see you. They were ready to go on a warpath when they found out you were in the hospital, and that the man who put you there was somewhere in town."
Nora grinned. Things were looking up. Sure, they were rough for a minute there, but that's life. Everyone made it to Haven alive, Weiss and Yang were back, and some new guy even showed up.
And…and Qrow was right. She might never speak again, but that didn't change anything, not really. She was Nora Valkyrie! Coolest Huntress in training ever! She survived that stupid Tyrian jerk, and she would survive whatever else they would have to go through.
And this time, when the words ran through her head, they didn't feel anywhere near so hollow as before.
"I already told you, It's not your problem!" Emerald hissed into the scroll.
"The hell it isn't!" Jadis roared. "This isn't exactly a small heist the two of you are pulling, I'm gonna need a few more details!"
"Screw you!" She shot back. "Don't forget, this is our job! Not yours! You're lucky we're bringing you the opportunity to make anything from this, I told you, the train will get here when it gets here."
"Then tell me when," Jadis argued. "I need to know ahead of time, Emerald. If you want me to sell the dust quickly, I have to set up meetings, phone calls, all of that. That takes time."
Emerald snorted. Bullshit! Jadis wanted to know when the train arrived, so she could know when to set guards to watch for it, and rob it before they could. And Emerald would be caught dead before she let that bitch snatch this away from her. She was the one who had worked for this, for her and Mercury, and there was no chance she'd let Jadis have a hand in it anymore than she already did.
"Neither of us are in much of a hurry," Emerald answered smugly. "If it's time that you're so worried about, then don't worry, you have plenty! We can wait."
"Fine, then!" Jadis huffed. "If you can wait so long, then you can find someone else to buy your dust!"
She hung up abruptly, and Emerald screamed in frustration, throwing her scroll into the wall. That bitch! What, you're gonna screw yourself over too just because you can't resist being petty? She had to be insane. They'd all lose out on way too much money for her to just pass up like that!
Emerald heard a light knocking, and the sound of the door to her and Mercury's door being opened. A blonde head peeked in. "Is everything okay in here?" Saphron asked, concerned.
She bit her lip. Of course she heard me. Fucking Jadis, causing me problems even after she's hung up. "Everything's fine, now," Emerald said, cooling off. "I was pissed off, and let it get away from me. Uh, sorry." She apologized. It probably wasn't a good idea to go throwing things in a house that wasn't theirs.
Saphron shook her head. "It's okay! We all get a little angry, sometimes. I swear, I feel like I'm going to kill Terra if she 'forgets' to do the dishes one more time. Being exhausted from work doesn't work as an excuse on a weekend." Her expression softened. "Are you okay?"
Emerald shrugged her off. "I'll be fine. I'll just wait for Mercury to get back, and I'll be good." He was out of the house at the moment, picking a few supplies up to keep his legs working. She usually felt better whenever he was around, so she'd just have to wait a while.
She blinked. What did I just think? That being around Mercury made her feel better? She frowned. It wasn't…wrong. The last few months, Mercury had been the only thing she could count on, the only constant in her life.
He'd shown her again and again that he wasn't going anywhere. That good or bad, they'd go through it together. Never, in her entire life, had someone done that before. And never, even with Cinder, had she felt so…at ease around someone.
Saphron raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I didn't know you two were like that."
Emerald blushed. "We're not!" She denied hastily. "We're just partners. That's all."
"If you say so," Saphron shrugged. "You would know better than I would, I guess. For what it's worth, I think you two would be cute together." Emerald opened her mouth to shoot her down, but Saphron cut her off. "You're sure everything's okay?" She asked one more time.
She nodded enthusiastically. "Yes!"
"Well then, in that case, I have some clothes to Iron. See you at dinner!" Saphron's head disappeared from sight, and the door shut right after.
Emerald slumped down on her bed, thinking back on what Saphron had said. It was ridiculous. Impossible. It didn't make any sense. Her and Mercury, they…they weren't exactly normal, she knew that. They had a weird relationship, but then, they were weird people.
She liked Mercury. He was her best friend, her only friend, really. Sure, she enjoyed being around him, but that was just because she was comfortable with him, in a way she just wasn't with anyone else. He was an asshole, yeah, but when you ignored that, he could be kind, in his own screwed up way. Like cleaning her weapons along with his, when she had left them to infiltrate Greenwood's estate. She thought it had been a little charming, when she found out.
Emerald frowned, her heart beating faster and her cheeks turning red. No. Absolutely not. He was just her friend. Her friend, who had been there for her when she needed it most. Who had run away with her, fleeing the most powerful people in the world. Who took care of them both while she was still coming to terms with leaving Cinder, and who was the only person in the whole world who understood her.
Emerald blushed. Fuck.
This is the second half of last week's chapter, and this was quite a bit of fun to write. I think I wrote something like 5.3k in one day when writing these two, and one of my normal chapters are like 5k.
Anyways, I uploaded another one shot the other day, this time for Code Geass, so if you're interested, check it out! Just something keep writing fresh, although I may continue it.
If you enjoyed the chapter, please, leave a comment! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
As always, I crosspost on Ao3!
Next Chapter: Tuesday, May 7th