#you mean to tell me that its only been a year since yumi died and he falls for a COP whos like 15 years younger than him. dont piss me off

[gigginox]

finished yakuza 2. what if i killed everyone

[luckyfirerabbit]

EoA: Jaune Dies Instead Pt 7

It's hard to measure the full impact that Jaune's...death had on the Arc family. Within the first few months of having gotten the news, one would think they took to their grief in a typical fashion -depression, lots of crying, broken routines- but after that things began to change. More so fall apart. The eldest daughter, Jessica, couldn't stand the farm any longer, so she packed up some essentials and moved out, taking Beveren with her. They didn't tell Gypsy where they were headed -because they didn't know- but promised to look after each other and keep in touch. They never did though. Both of them would be returning to the Warren soon, but not entirely aware of the situation and reason as to why. Gypsy had been afraid to tell them on the chance they would think she's crazy and refuse.

The twins didn't work or rough house as much as they used to, making the main house uncomfortably quiet. If something around the farm needed repairs, sure enough they would be on it, but otherwise seemed to just wander the house and pastures, or sometimes just sit and sulk on the roof. Alice still busied herself with sewing, but hadn't made a stitch that wasn't in gray or black. Noah never seemed to want to play his guitar anymore, Lola had stopped singing, and Yumi had gone mute altogether.

Everything about the Warren has seemed empty and wrong ever since, but that was about to change.

And Pyrrha could feel it. She could feel something anyway, and she believes it has everything to do with the scattered remnants of the Arc family returning home, as well as the impending arrival of Gypsy's mother and Glynda. Part of her expects the scolding of her life from her former teacher, though she isn't sure why.

They'll arrive in an Atlesian airship, the sight of silvery craft setting Pyrrha's face askew with confusion, a face she holds even as the machine touches down in the front yard and cuts its engines. She appears to approach unconsciously, though with a physical reluctance, and jolts to a standstill when the hatch in the airship's side pulls open. More so when a startlingly familiar redhead leaps out of the opening and runs towards her with open arms.

Pyrrha hates how seeing Nora makes her feel; she can't remember all the good things about her -their sisterhood, her laughter, anything- only those haunting, shattering moments of Cinder's Guardian as Nora's doppelganger fill her head. It keeps her from hugging Nora back when her teammate embraces her, but she is ready to blame it on the physical shock of being snatched up too quickly and too tight. It isn't a total lie, so Pyrrha doesn't hate herself for it.

"Glynda told me you were okay and I almost didn't believe it because you never contacted us after you left and I was so scared something had happened to you and-," Nora just lets it all out at once, borderline hysterical as she practically grinds her face into Pyrrha's shoulder. "I don't know what's going on and what did you do to your hair-,"

"Nora," Pyrrha presses gently through, her friend actually pausing, "could you put me down please?"

Nora blinks up at her, seemingly unaware that Pyrrha's feet aren't resting on the ground, and then mutters a mousy reply as she sets her down. But she doesn't let go, only tightens her arms a touch more. "I missed you so much."

Her breath catches. "I missed you too." and it feels like a lie because a part of her, something that feels like the Maiden, knows she killed Nora.

When Nora lets go she can breathe again, but only for a moment as she spots Ren coming out the ship next. Thankfully that his greeting is much more gentle than Nora's. She lets him hug her, squeeze her gently, and she apologizes in her reflexive way that makes him smile and nod in acknowledgment. She feels a light pulse of his Semblance against her aura and allows it through, jumping at the chance for a moment of peace.

As he holds her, she hears more footsteps and voices in the direction of this ship. Pyrrha recognizes some of them, team RWBY, she's fairly sure. What she isn't so certain of is the strange sensation of their presence, strange yet not entirely alien -a touch of magic, she thinks. Something in her is too anxious to lift her head, to look and see them, just not ready to face that sort of scrutiny if it's waiting for her. More voices still after that, and now she hears Gypsy and Glynda, and three other voices she simply doesn't know. Taking just the smallest peek over Ren's shoulder allows her to see the Witch and her former professor, and a much smaller Faunus that she can readily tell is related to Glynda somehow. And there are two more Faunus aside from her; dark skinned and unfamiliar, an Otter and a Bison maybe -the largest of the two holds a tall, black glass mirror.

There's a flicker of movement at the ship's hatch again and Pyrrha's eyes instinctively flit towards it. As soon as she processes what she sees, she can feel all the blood leave her face at the comprehension of sable cloth and bronze armor. She feels herself pulling free of Ren's arms and taking a step back, freezing there in spite of her brain telling her to keep moving.

"Pyrrha," it's a hard, desperate exhale as Rhea steps out of the craft and half-sprints across the grass to reach her daughter. "Gods' above, it's really you."

Pyrrha feels herself jolt and stiffen in her mother's arms in spite of how much she wanted not to. For months all she had wanted was this -the safety and comfort of Rhea's embrace- but something about this feels so very wrong. Like she is no longer worthy of her mother's love. Because Rhea doesn't know what she's done, does she?

"Momma," she chokes out, "w-what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean by that?" Rhea releases her, mostly, keeping her hands on her daughter's tight shoulders. Her face is a mixture of disbelief and hurt. "My only child goes missing and I'm not supposed to jump at the first chance I get to see her again? We've been so worried,"

"I-I'm sorry," the apology sounds small, sounds just like Pyrrha feels. She can feel the burn of tears in her eyes and tightness in her throat. Gods have mercy, she's going to break down in front of her own mother, of all people. And that's exactly what she does when Rhea pulls her in for another tight, all surrounding hug. Pyrrha fractures and sobs against her shoulder, and once it starts she can't stop. "I'm s-s-sorry."

For brief instant, Rhea remembers how many questions she had saved up for this moment; after nearly a year since she went missing, she had accumulated quite the list. But that list seemed to just roll itself up and disappear when she feels Pyrrha shuddering in her arms. Rhea had meant to ask where she had gone, why, meant to ask about her hair and remind Pyrrha about her father's desperate need to hear her voice again. But...all that could wait.

And even with all that aside, there was still so much work to do.