#Remnant's past

[lipeg]

Knight's Tales: Winter Solstice Special (Christmas special )

Ever Alter - Underground

The underground of Ever Alter it was a very interesting and mysterious place, where it keeps many secrets.

Entire civilizations hidden beneath the earth.

In one of the many caves, there was a very peculiar.

A cave that didn't look like a cave, it looked like a country that was buried but the sun continued to appear, rain kept watering the crops. Even though was beneath the earth, life continued normal.

And the seasons passed normally. Even beneath the earth.

The people who lived in this cave were called of Dragronelf. A race of human beings with blue skin, pointy ears and with horns on his head.

They were a peaceful race. But they weren't stupid, they had their warriors to cause a war to happen.

This race worshipped a Dragon God.

Those responsible for creating everything.

But after he created everything, he felt alone, then he split into two parts.

This race has a legend that a traveler who was also a great warrior would bring back their Dragon God back and thus, the Dragon God would unite all the races.

But that day was far from coming.

But they would wait hopefully.

This race was currently celebrating the winter solstice, It was a five-day holiday.

During these five days, they celebrated with their families together, to celebrate the good harvests, unlike other places, this cave, the best season for them was winter. During this season, the fruits have changed, giving them a unique flavor and aroma.

They meet at a lake that has mystical properties or magic.

On the same lake, They take the belongings of their deceased relatives with them, because when the item diving into the water to the incredible happened.

But now let's change our focus.

Near the lake there was a young knight was sitting by the lake.

A young knight with long blond hair, blue eyes, he had a sad expression on his face. The knight had little armor, he had armor no covering his chest and on his left arm.

He had black pants similar to jeans, his boots had a metal protection on the front, on the heel part there was a metal protection.

He had a red sash in his right hand.

He looked at red sash and he gave a sigh tired.

He got up and walked to the edge of the lake.

He knelt down, holding the red sash tightly, put his hand in the water, and released the red sash.

The moment he released the red sash, the lake began to glow. He was blinded by the glare.

As the glow faded, his vision gradually returned.

He was shocked by what happened.

He was no longer near the lake.

He was in a place unlike anything he had ever seen.

The floor was made of water.

It was literally water, he was walking on water.

The sky was in the middle. On one side was the blue sky with the sun and on the other side was the dark sky with the moon.

The stars were very bright on both sides.

There were only clouds around him and gears in the distance.

He started walking.

To look from one side to the other.

He found himself alone in an unknown place.

He looked everywhere to find a way out and to find Pyrrha's red sash.

— Hello again

His eyes widened.

He turned around with his heart beating too fast.

But it wasn't her.

In front of him was something that looked like a mirror. The mirror showed their first date, the first time they met.

He stood still, his gaze fixed on the mirror, and memories flooded his mind.

He began to walk again.

He was unsure. Should he stop or continue walk.

The further he walked, the more mirrors appeared. Showing memories with her.

The expression on his face was both happy and sad.

He hadn't forgotten those beautiful memories, he didn't like to relive those memories so as not to suffer.

After passing through several mirrors, he arrived at what should be the last one.

His last memory with her.

They had a discussion, she wanted to fight against a powerful enemy, but he was against it, saying it would be suicide. While he was arguing with her not to do that, she suddenly kissed him, which was amazing to him, but it was a distraction.

She pushed him into the rocket closet, even he protested, she didn't listen. She went to face a demon and ended up getting killed.

He had his first and last kiss with the woman he loved.

The mirror in front of him shattered like water falling to the ground.

But right in front of him was another surprise.

Your beloved. So beautiful when the day he lost her, without your armor or weapons, just wearing a beautiful white dress with her red hair flowing in the wind.

— Hello again... Jaune

His eyes smell of tears.

He ran out to hug her again.

His desire to have her in his arms again was very great.

But he was blocked.

He fell on his ass on the watery ground and didn't understand what had happened.

He got to his feet quickly and brought his hands to hold Pyrrha once more.

But before him was an invisible barrier.

The barrier seemed to have no end.

Jaune couldn't jump or even move to the side.

His anger began to rise, and then he began to strike out at the barrier.

— Please stop, Jaune

She asked him to stop.

He paused, but his anger still burned.

— Jaune, I can't interact with you

He looked fixedly at her.

Fear was taking over him.

— I'm dead, Jaune. There's nothing you can do to change that, I'm sorry

She saw her beloved knight losing his strength in his legs. Her knight was on his knees, so she knelt as well.

— I do not have much time. I would like to say though although i have lived for a very short time, the time we spent together was very good for me, you had no idea who I was, so I was happy

She laughed as her knight cried.

— Although you recognized me because of that cereal but seriously, how did you like that cereal, it only had sugar

She lowered it.

— I was sad that I couldn't be by your side, I couldn't see Nora and Ren anymore, that makes me really sad

A tear fell from his left eye.

— When Jaune returns to Remmant and when finds my mother, tell her that I thank her for everything she did for me

Her body began to glow red.

— Jaune, I loved you. I really loved you with all my heart, from the bottom of my soul, I loved you

It broke him.

Despair, rage, indignation, hatred, sadness took over your heart.

He begin desperately hitting the barrier, he wants this barrier to take her in its arms.

His arms were covered in white light.

He quickly started throwing a lot of punches at the barrier very quickly but it was of no use.

Pyrrha's body began to transform into red particles.

— Bye my Love

She disappeared with a smile on his face.

He blinked.

He was back at the lake.

He looked down and a saw red sash floating in the water.

He held the red sash very tightly.

He fell to his knees, he was crying.

Was what happened real or fake?

Who knows?

This has left a very deep mark on him.

He held his own face with his left hand, his hand covering his eyes but not stopping the tears.

— AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

The cry of raging and despairing cannot be heard.

The scream was drowned out by the joyous singing of the Dragronelf people.

Amidst loneliness and silence.

The knight on his knees and was in tears.

Pyrrha was watching her beloved crying.

She was in a beautiful place, a paradise where the souls of the dead go.

Pyrrha was worried and sad.

Until she felt a hand on her shoulder.

— Don't worry about him, he will get out of this situation. Either he will get up, or he will remain in the dark.

— How can you be sure he can get out on his own?

— He's going to get out of this completely alone, but he will get out of this situation. After all, he is the only one of my descendants who can bring pride to our family name

— You think?

— I don't think, I know, I've seen the future written in the stars and Crocea Mors is still with him, if he couldn't lift it, he would never be able to pull the sword out of the sheath, after all, I created that sword

These words came from the mouth of what would be the most powerful being ever born in all of Remnant.

So much so that there is no one in this who can surpass him, the only other being able to get close to him was his own daughter.

Ozma and Salem are nothing in front of him.

The most powerful wizard

The man who reached the stars.

The most powerful being that ever exists just below the gods, and the one who dared to challenge the two brothers

The progenitor of the clan of warriors and heroes.

Alexander Arc

The first Arc

[infernal-lamb]

some rushed doodles of our new goat darling........I have so many plans for them

[slymanner]

hurt my heart why dontcha.

[arrimorr]

My ocs, Sir and Ser, aka the eldritch malevolent policemen 😔

[mienar]

remnants of where we have been

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[remnantsofthepast-if]

Update - Act 2, Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – A sacred mission

You find yourself in an unknown world. With time and powerful sources against you, you and your friends rush to end the corrupted cycle once and for all. However, a new setback leads you down a much different path.

----

We officially start Act 2! The chapter is much larger than I had planned, around 55k+ words, which is… a lot, lol! Part of that is because of Ada/Omar’s route with all the variables affecting how they treat the MC. But, truth be told, I’m glad it’s substantial like this, hehe :D.

On another note, something funny happened a few days ago while I was coding. I updated Twine to version 2.9.2, which force me to tweak the code a bit to maintain the same UI, but for some reason the scroll bar wasn’t working? Anyway, after 2 hours of testing things here and there, I found an easy solution: go the fuck back to the previous version. If it ain’t broken… xD. I’m pretty sure the actual solution is super easy, but I might be missing it because, well, sometimes I feel like a bit of an idiot, lol! I'll figure it out eventually.

Setting that aside, though, I hope you enjoy this opening chapter of Act 2 and continue to join me on this journey through Remnants of The Past.

And as always, if you'd like to support this project, you can check out my Patreon​ and consider becoming a patron if you like what you see :D.

See you all soon, and have an awesome day!

[carlyraejepsans]

biscia it’s 2am over here for me rn so im gonna ask you my ultimate question:

do you think papyrus smoking is interesting?

im mainly talking about underswap here but i find it strange he does that there when. sans himself doesn’t smoke?

maybe papyrus smokes due to stress—idk, this ask is kinda all over the fuckin place LOL i think papyrus smoking a big ol cigarette is funny regardless if it fits him or not

I don't care about the swap dude, but canon papyrus should exclusively smoke with undyne when their cooking lesson goes wrong so they can light up the cigarettes on the house fire

[practicedvmm13fullofpotatoes]

Suddenly hyperfixated on TNUtB and decided to do headcanons for my favorite sfth kids!!

John "Johnny" Evans

Look, being able to see the future at a somewhat young age can be fucking traumatizing, of course he's gonna be less emotionally mature than his younger sibling

That one off mention of this sixth sense being genetic but also being two completely different powers in the two occasions we see it (For Johnny it's future dreams and for Jack [<- their father because I think he doesn't have a name] it's sort of like. Spidey sense if that makes sense [haha, sense]) leads me to headcanon that the sixth sense isn't future dreams/visions specifically, but being more connected with space and time.

Johnny got the sixth sense much earlier than he was supposed to. It manifested when he was around 13. It's terrifying yet super fucking cool to just be able to see the future. But at the same time, he did have a future dream about part of the school collapsing because of its lack of solid foundation. This is how he learned that what happens in a future dream will happen. Like a fucked up version of Murphy's law

There is a small chance that his future dream ends up being wrong because of a shift in the timeline. He once had a dream that half of Somerset was burnt down. This was supposed to be true. Not until the change in timeline by BD and The Spirit of Somerset

Sleep talks. Takes on different voices depending on who's in his dream. You cannot convince me otherwise

Johnny is trans. Thank you for coming to ny Ted talk--

Janae Evans

I was full on panicking with what Janae's gender is so. Non-binary Janae???

"But dvmm13!! Janae's a child!!" Janae's also got the internet, goddamn it. They're smart enough to fully understand things and themself

Despite being much smarter than everyone else in their class, they're actually pretty popular. Take that, introverted/bullied nerd stereotype!

They're actually quite the chatterbox. Give them a topic and they'll tell you all about it-- they could ramble on for hours on end (ESPECIALLY if it's a topic they like)

Tutors students around their age or older than them. You can never convince me otherwise. This is canon to me

Actually fucking terrified of Johnny's powers. I mean, woah, sci-fi/fantasy territory, it's really cool when written but abso-fucking-lutely terrifying when you genuinely think about it

General:

They're related to Egburt's wife. Like, she and Egburt are their great great grandparents, therefore explaining the powers

"But dvmm13!! Only the women of the family have this power!!" To that I say: yes, it's supposed to only be passed down to the women of the family, but Jack got the sixth sense because of a small genetic mutation.

[ceruleableu]

iori in a pig onesie. because why not tbh

[hiddenremnant]

(core) had some fun editing this lol

[loquatic]

Objectified OC/design, don't know what I'm gonna do with em yet

one of those butterscotch candy things and also a scarab beetle.

I was originally going to make it specifically a Werther's (my favorite hard candy) + June beetle (one of my favorite insects) but I changed my mind somewhere in the middle of the process

Anyways here's an armless version and a wip. I honestly like the wings better in the unfinished version idk. The design isn't final I'll think on it some more.

I'll probably give them more lore once the comic goes into more detail about hanging gardens, just seems like there'd be more insects there.

[tblsomedoodles]

I'm au hopping lol

Just a teen Grif introducing an almost-teen Simmons to Star Trek : )

I should work on this au some more, it's a lot of fun. but i'm only about 3 chapters from finishing the knife!simmons fic so i think i'll finish that one first.

[bubblegumbirbe]

michael is trying his best to even stay upright on those skates and scrap baby is ready to beat him at roller derby . and she is going to win . michael is going to DIE

[torgawl]

instead of just cross eyes and star eyes distinguishing dynasties in khaenri'ah, why do some khaenri'ahns cover one eye specifically? there’s many things that seem interconnected regarding the lore:

crimson moon turning around to look like an eye; irmin the one-eyed king; the unknown god’s cubes containing eyes in their design (same ones present in the cataclysm as well as the crimson moon), her glitching looking like arlecchino’s, and the four pointed star pattern that appeared when she showed up to the twins; forbidden knowledge and nibelung’s influence; fischl's auge der verurteilung aka eye of condemnation (crimson eye) and her skin's description "o holiest of sovereigns, high princess of immernachtreich (kingdom of evernight)!".

kaeya's note about the alberich saying "i saved this one memento from the fire 'father' made while he wasn’t paying attention. this was in violation of our principles. our clan's affairs should never be recorded" and "though we could not restore khaenri'ah to life, we of the alberich clan should lead lives as those who blaze like fire, rather than those who wallow in the embers [small piece of burning or glowing coal or wood in a dying fire]", father being in quotation marks and references to fire and ashes; the orphanage in khaenri'ah that wanted to house children from destroyed worlds and non-threats that leaked into the kingdom, in hopes of finding beings from beyond the sky who could transcend the gods; perinheri's first memory being transversing something like a chimney, filled with ash and being asked if he wasn't dead just for him to see the eye (crimson moon) and being told he was reborn; dust and the blood of of dragons (or dragon-like beings like durin and elynas) being connected to rhinedottir and the art of khemia; fire as rebirth and life but also, the balemoon blood specifically being connected to loss of memories and loss of memory being equivalent to death (not physical);  despite the orphanage never being able to find that transcendal person, it had many unusual individuals who became knights of the kingdom.

irmin as the first divine halberd (that once pierced the axis mundi [cosmic/world axis, world pillar, center of the world, world tree, etc.] and connected the nine worlds), the prinzessin der verurteilungas (fischl) as the last one; fischl and kaeya comparing themselves to one another and their parallels to irmin and odin; der ring des nibelungen, in which the dwarf (or nibelung) alberich creates a ring capable of controlling the world, using gold he stole from the rhinemaidens (or rheintöchter "rhine-daughters"). the conflict that arises over the ownership of this ring eventually leads to the destruction of the gods and their home, valhalla.

irminsul (irmin + sul) meaning great pillar and being a reference to the yggdrasil, the tree that supports the universe; the description of the item silver twig – collected in the center of the world - talking about a sage that hanged himself upside down in the irminsul tree to gain knowledge of the runes and the cosmos, then going into a secret kingdom down its roots [also a reference to hanged man in tarot that symbolizes wisdom, divination, sacrifice, prophecy, etc.]; odin who hung himself upside down from the sacred world tree, yggdrasil, for nine days and nights sacrificing his eye and throwing himself on his spear (gungir) as a ritual sacrifice in order to obtain secret wisdom; memories, fire and crimson moon hand in hand with the irminsul, king irmin and the concept of fate; the fake sky, the stars and being able to see fate but also fate being a means of the heavenly principles to control the world (neuvillette calling it puppet strings); khaenri'ah, a supposed godless nation but the crimson moon dynasty revering the moon (and hilichurls worshiping istaroth); the crimson moon having an eye on humanity and always being present associated with punishment and destruction (fall of gurabad, remuria and the catclysm).

crimson moon's semblance (arlecchino’s weapon) implying the crimson moon sought vengeance (“few survived the utter destruction of their kind, hiding in the shadows where the sun did not shine, longing for the crimson moon to decree their desire for vengeance be repaid”); the design of the weapon and arlecchino’s boss attacks resembling the double helix present in deathly statuette material dropped by abyss heralds, abyss lectors and shadowy husks, which has a single red eye. it apparently whispers "see, my child. all that lies under the throne of heaven shall be destroyed by upheaval. the eternal peace of the pitch-dark void shall embrace us all.” as you gaze at it.

the abyss order being founded by chlothar alberich and pierro being the first harbinger; the "sinner" – the crystal in chains from the chasm, protected by an abyss herald - not being a god but still worshipped by the abyss order. the voice stating to chlothar and the traveler’s twin that he "[knows their] fate well" and urged them to become a "transcendent one" saying he would "shed a tear at the end of time... as i gaze back upon your life". he also imbued chlothar with the power of the abyss, which alleviated his worsening conditions. the “sinner” refered to chlothar as “dear creature”; dainsleif, pierro and kaeya being examples of khaenriahns who hide their right eye; dainsleif being called “bough keeper”, bough is a branch of a tree, but also his constellation being a snake ring like ouroboros – representing the eternal renewal cycle of life, death and rebirth; the loom of fate being an operation of the abyss order first encountered during "a herald without adherents" quest.

“the threads of your fate lie in my hands” a quote by fischl connecting to the weaves of fate; fischl stating that if she does not obtain the divine halberd “...this world and everything in it is going to burn in hellfire” (legend of the shattered halberd vol. ii). some other excerpts of the book also include: “but unbeknownst to him, this was the greatest cursed sword of all, that had once burned the entire world to cinders: laevatain [in norse mythology, a weapon crafted by loki and the only capable of defeating the cockerel viðofnir, inhabiting the top of yggdrasil], the sword had extinguished after the world was burned, but... it burned bright once more. ‘the whole world... destroyed again...’ weiyang [fischl] fell unconscious as she spoke” (vol. iv), and, "the world is beyond repair. it shall be born anew from the ashes of the last” (vol. vi); dainsleif saying “none will escape the flames. see for yourself” but also neuvillette’s character story including “the puppet strings glossed as "divine rules" would one day be burned away by the fires of judgment” when talking about constellations; burning away the old world, project stuzha by the fatui and the image of dottore burning the irminsul; nahida saying fontaine's prophecy was engraved in the irminsul, implying the tree also contains the history of the future; sibylla, a prophetess who guarded the irminsul in an ancient city located in what later became the high seas (referred to as abyssal depths). she sacrificed her life for the sake of creating phobos, remus' grand symphony, but her lack of a will ultimately caused the project to fail, as her vague desire to "grant happiness to all in the world who are called humans" caused phobos to attempt to satisfy everyone's desires — including destructive and selfish ones — and set remuria towards the course of its self-destruction (possibly tying concepts of will and fate together); thinking of dottore's plan, it would make sense to burn the tree that holds memories with a fire able to erase them (arlecchino's balemoon powers) so that the world can be born anew breaking away from the shackles of fate.

there’s also the improvisation kaeya does during the play in his hangouts. "do you believe in fate? if fate decreed your life was to end in tragedy, what would you do?". he then throws a prop and we interact, choosing if we would face our fate bravely or challenge it and rise above it. kaeya then goes on saying "then so must it be! yes, so must it be! i shall discard this intaglio and rid myself of the shackles of fate", "fate means to send the machinations of war to every corner of the land to fan the flames of conflict till they ungulf the entire world… fate would see my sword tainted with the blood of innocents, that the bright banner of my homeland might fly in every nation known to mankind. but i shall not bow to the will of fate i am no pawn in heaven’s plan. i, qubad, will spend the rest of my days in a foreign land, 'till i breathe my last in a place far from home" and finishes the play with "but i must walk this path, or freedom dies by my hand. goodbye, my tribe and kin. farewell, sweet land of my birth". the prop we get from kaeya, the intaglio, symbolizes the noble origins of prince qubad in the play and the blood-red jewel (blood, red... funny, uh?) is said to be a crystallization of the question kaeya asked us about destiny. furthermore, an intaglio can be a type of engraved gem or metal signet ring.

[bridgyrose]

Penny nearly flinched as she heard the sound of a hammer slamming down onto molten metal, her eyes wandered around to look at the spirits that flew around her like fireflies. It was unlike anywhere she’d seen on Remnant, and yet, almost familiar to her. As if it was something she’d seen in a dream. “W-where… am I?” 

“This is the Ever After,” the Blacksmith replied as they looked up from the anvil, almost curious as they looked over Penny. “Though, you aren’t one of mine.” 

“One of yours?” 

“Someone who belongs in the Ever After. No, you’re a lost soul. One that shouldnt belong here, but needs help.” 

“I-I guess I am lost,” Penny answered quietly as she looked away. “Though, I-I am not sure how I got here to begin with. I know I died, but I… I do not know why I am here.” 

“No one in the Ever After dies, they ascend,” the Blacksmith answered. “You must’ve been caught between Remnant and here instead, so instead of making it to the afterlife in Remnant, you’ll be allowed to ascend and take on a new life.” 

“But I do not want a new life, I want the one I had with Ruby.” A faint blush crossed her cheeks as she said those words and a smile crossed her lips. “She made me feel… human. Like every part of me mattered and that I was more than just a weapon. That I was loved and cared for, that I was allowed to be my own person. I-I do not wish to live a life where I did not know Ruby.” 

The Blacksmith smiled and offered a piece of floating array to Penny. “Choosing yourself is always an option, though I cannot guarantee where you’ll end up once you’re back, only that you’ll arrive where you’re needed most.” 

Penny nodded and reached for her weapon, only to pause as she caught her reflection in the blade. For a brief moment, she had thought about choosing a different life, one where she could be anyone she wanted. One where she didnt have to be her. And yet, even with those thoughts in mind, she took hold of her sword. 

The blade itself was warm, nothing like how she thought it’d been. She smiled at the Blacksmith as she felt herself start to get pulled away. “Thank you.” 

“Good luck, Penny.” 

Penny took a deep breath as she felt her body plunge into a pool of white light beneath her, only for everything around her to turn black. Then she felt a pain in her side as she gasped, green eyes opening wide as she started to pant. Finally, she started to get her bearings as she realized she was on a cot in a tent. 

“You’re finally awake,” a young man said with a smile. “Mom said you were probably as good as dead when we found you. Figured some bandits left you for dead after taking anything they could from you. She’ll be surprised you’re awake.” 

Penny nodded and sat up, wincing as the wound on her stomach started to act up. Her fingers clutched at the bandages around her side, still getting used to the feeling of being alive again. “Where… where am I?” 

“About four days north of Vacuo,” the young man answered. “Though we’re probably going to get moving again in a few days. You’re welcome to stay with us until we can get to a village that has an airship. Otherwise, we might be able to lend you a horse once you’re feeling up to traveling.” 

“That is fine, I can call my friends and-” Penny paused for a moment as she searched through the pockets of her dress, unable to find her scroll. She frowned a bit and leaned back a bit. “Or not. Do you have a scroll I can borrow? I am sure Ruby is worried about me.” 

“I’m sure we can find one. By the way, I’m Garnet Valkyrie.” 

“Penny Polendina,” Penny answered. 

“Its nice to meet you. I’ll let you rest and grab some food for you.” 

Penny relaxed a bit and laid down. “Valkyrie, huh?” she thought to herself. The only Valkyrie she knew was Nora, though now that she thought about it, Garnet did look a lot like her. The same orange hair and blue eyes, though he did seem to have the same smile as Ren along with his skin tone. 

She sat up again as she heard someone outside the tent, then paused once she saw a woman walk in with a plate of meat and bread for her. Familiar orange hair had a few streaks of gray, her skin was scarred in a way that looked like lightning had run through her body. 

“You must be Penny,” the woman said as she placed the plate down next to Penny. “Garnet said you woke up and I wanted to meet you myself.” 

Penny nodded and took the plate, still staring at the woman. Now hearing her voice, without a doubt she knew exactly who this was. “Thanks, Nora.” 

Nora cocked a brow. “How do you know my name?” 

“Its me, Penny,” Penny answered as she tried to move off the cot and stand up, wincing before she could move enough to get her legs over the side. “Though it seems to have been a long time.” 

Nora took a step back as she looked Penny over. “P-Penny… but you… Ruby told us you were killed… how are you back?” 

“I do not understand it myself.” Penny looked over her hand and smiled a bit. “But I met a woman who gave me another chance. A chance to be with Ruby again and to help others.” 

“That… might be a problem,” Nora said quietly. “A lot has changed since you died.” 

“LIke what? And where is Ruby?” 

“Assuming Weiss hasnt moved her yet, she’s still buried out on Patch.” 

“I… I do not understand.” 

Nora sighed and sat down. “Ruby was killed by Cinder just a couple years after Atlas fell. Then we lost Sun and Coco while trying to reclaim Vale and the relic. We lost a lot of friends while trying to stop Salem.” 

Penny felt her heart stop for a moment as she listened, her whole reason for being alive gone. She was supposed to be here for Ruby, and yet, with Ruby gone… A tear fell into her lap and she moved a finger to her eye to wipe away a few more, not sure when she had started to cry. “I… I want to see her.” 

“Ren and I will send out a rider to the closest village to see if they have an airship that can take you to Patch.” Nora sat up and gave Penny a sad smile. “I’m glad to see you again, but… I’d be careful giving your name out. A few of the churches see you as a saint now. If they find out you’re back, its anyone’s guess about what they’ll do.” 

“Thanks, Nora.” Penny slowly picked up some meat with her fork, staring at her reflection on her fork. She still looked like she did all those years ago, out of place compared to everyone else. But now, she had a start. She’d go to Patch and visit Ruby and then try to find her place in this world. 

Weeks went by as Penny healed and an airship came for her to take her to Patch, and over those weeks she learned more about what she had missed. Salem had been defeated a little over a couple decades ago and a monument now stood in a reclaimed Vale to memorialize those that lost their lives to stopping Salem. Atlas had been rebuilt and renamed as Neo Atlas, a reminder to humanity that nothing is ever lost. And the grimm had started to become restless. Without Salem to control them, while many areas saw grimm keeping to themselves, others like Mistral started to see the grimm attack in larger groups, making it harder to keep villages safe away from the kingdom walls. Even as the airship flew over Vale, she could still see the mark that Salem left with her grimm river, much of the farmland now dead due to the grimm. 

“We’ll be arriving at Patch shortly,” the pilot said over the speakers. “Please stay seated in case of grimm activity.” 

Penny stared outside the window for a little longer before making her way back to her seat, her heart pounding in her chest as her emotions ran wild. Love, grief, terror, anger… all of it still new to her. She took a few deep breaths to calm her heart as the airship descended, lucky that there werent any airborne grimm around to halt the descent. Finally the airship landed and Penny clutched the armrest of her seat. 

“You may now depart.” 

Penny slowly got up and filed out of the airship with everyone else with shaky steps. Cold air hit her cheeks as she stepped off the airship, a reminder that it was mid fall. She shivered as she walked away from the landing pad and into the streets of Patch, pulling what was left of Ruby’s cloak that Nora gave her over her shoulders. It wasnt warm, but it at least kept the breeze off as she walked through the small town and out towards the place Nora said Ruby had been buried. 

It took almost an hour for Penny to reach the gravesite, her cheeks red from the cold wind and her body aching from the cold. She hadnt been sure what to expect, but seeing Ruby’s grave next to her mother’s did bring her a bit of comfort. Penny knelt down and rubbed her hands together to try to keep warm. Tears welled up and stung her eyes as it finally hit her that Ruby was gone. 

She wasnt sure how long she sat there on her knees shivering, but as the cold air stopped, she looked up to see a glyph behind the grave blocking the wind. Then, she turned to her left, then to her right to see a woman she didnt quite recognize  standing next to her. At least, until she saw the scar underneath what she could only describe as stress induced wrinkles. “Thanks,” Penny said quietly. 

“Its a bit cold to be out here dressed like that, dont you think?” Weiss asked. 

“I-I just came from Vacuo. I did not expect it to be this cold.” 

“Maybe this will help.” 

Penny paused when she saw Weiss hand over a green cloak, almost surprised that she still had the cloak that Ruby had given her in Atlas. She slowly reached for it, then pulled away. “I-I cannot accept-” 

“Please, take it, its only going to get colder tonight.” 

Penny nodded and took the cloak from Weiss and put it over her shoulders. The fabric felt warm against her skin, much warmer than what she had before. “I will make sure to return it to you before I leave.” 

Weiss shook her head. “After Ruby passed, we thought we went through everything she had. I only found this today when I got a message about a lockbox we never knew about. I was planning to leave it as an offering for her, but I think she’ll be happy to know its being put to good use now.” 

“I am glad she kept it,” Penny whispered under her breath. Her chest felt warm as she kept the cloak around her arms, glad she had something more to remember Ruby by. “How do you know she would not mind?” 

“She always wanted to help people even until she died.” Weiss knelt down and lit a small candle at the side of Ruby’s grave. “What brings you out to her? Only a few of us know she’s here.” 

“I-I wanted to… pay my respects to one of the fallen heroes,” Penny lied as a small hiccough escaped her lips. Well, it wasnt a complete lie, she did want to pay respects to Ruby, but not because she was a hero. Because of what she meant to Ruby, to try to say the words she never did to her. “But I should get going.” 

“Since you’re out here, why not come to my place for some tea to warm up? Next airship wont leave until morning and it’ll be a pain to get a room at the inn.” 

“That… that would be lovely.” 

“I’m Weiss,” Weiss said as she stood up and offered a hand to Penny. “What’s your name?” 

“P-Pen- Penelope,” Penny answered through another hiccough. She took Weiss’s hand and smiled a bit. “I go by Peneolpe.” 

“You look familiar. Like an old friend I knew.” 

“Maybe you can tell me stories about her. A-and Ruby. I would very much like to hear more about Ruby.”

“Tea first to warm you up, and then I can tell you a few stories.”

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Penny motioned for her swords to swing around to slice through the grimm, a smile crossing her lips as she watched the blades move as commanded. It took months to get everything to work, and while she was glad that she could finally take them on a test run, the amount of grimm that were showing up had started to worry her. She looked behind her towards the caravan she was protecting, yelling between breaths. “Get across the bridge now!”

“Are you sure you can handle this?” the caravan leader yelled back. “There’s no shame in blowing the bridge!”

“My job is to make sure you get across the bridge and to the next village!” Penny took a few steps back towards the bridge, eyes on the grimm in front of her. “I will follow once you are across!”

“We’ll hold you to that, Penelope!”

Penny sighed as she heard the name, still not quite used to being called it. Still, she couldnt worry about that now, not while the grimm were more aggressive than normal. Her blades stayed between her and the grimm as she tried to keep them from the caravan. Then, she paused as a larger beowolf made its way closer. She swore the eyes were silver instead of red, her body freezing as she remembered the Hound when it attacked.

She came out of her thoughts as she felt the grimm ran into her. Penny lost her footing and fell back, slipping off the edge of the bridge. No scream left her lips as she fell down the abyss, swearing she saw silver eyes staring back at her as she listened to the caravan leader call out her name. Soon, she felt water rush around her. It was warmer than she had expected, almost turning to light as she continued to sink. She closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate until she felt air across her face.

Penny gasped as she swam to shore and climbed out of the water, coughing as her body practically glowed. She picked herself up and started to walk back to the bridge she had fallen from, pausing as she watched a gash on her arm heal itself. With a sigh, she continued moving on forward, ready to continue her work.

[hannibal-is-my-comfort-show]

I thibk its funny when my friends talk abt trying to find happy queer rep while I'm just like "uh huh yah ofc, me too!" While I'm hoarding my evil sad little gays in the basement like a pokemon team whose only collective move is self destruct