The Next Day, and Coping Mechanisms

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The next morning was a quiet one, but not of the normal quiet contentment until Nora woke up and latched onto Ren for sweets. No, the last few days had passed tensely while he and Pyrrha trained nightly and the woman fought to suppress her own fears and panic. An internal war he could sense she was losing, though he didn't know what to do about it. His sensitivity through the Force made the ache and fear clear to him. It was tragic, the fate he'd been shown, but she fought through regardless. Putting on a brave face and never once betraying his secrets, even if it could possibly quite literally save her life.

And that was something about her he found very, very impressive to say the least. No matter what, she put on a smile and put her best foot into the ring, acting as though nothing were wrong.

Unfortunately even Nora's exuberance and excitement had been tempered. Not by the early wakeup time, or her lack of sugar yet, but instead seemingly for the somewhat grim mood that had settled on the dorm room since the night prior. Ren and the young, excitable partner he slept near were perceptive in their own right, he had already known that much before they'd come back from the forest. But when Pyrrha sat up and quietly moved to the bathroom to get dressed and showered, ignoring Nora's quips and cheerful good mornings, they exchanged worried looks. Looks that conveyed, more than just worry, suspicion and wonder in a way Jaune envied being able to communicate with a simple look and tilt of the head.

That was terrifying, in a way.

"She's alright, guys." He sighed and in answer to the unasked question there, running a hand over his face when those worried looks turned to questioning ones that they directed at him. Thinking quickly, he came to a useful half-truth and offered it to them with a yawn, "She was just up late with me. Training. We got too into it, took too long and stayed up later than we should have."

"So she's... Tired?" He could hear and feel the doubt in Ren's voice but nodded regardless and stood, tugging off his sleeping shirt and reaching for his clean dress shirt.

The girls liked to shower in the morning, and he and Ren took evening showers to give them their time, so it wasn't a bother for anyone but Nora that he changed here. And she just averted her gaze politely, the same way they would have for her if she needed to change after Pyrrha's shower ran long.

Or vice versa, of course, either of them could lose track of time in the shower after all. It was easier to do that than he'd have thought before his incarceration in the Temple. Time down there was a more distant idea than it otherwise would have been. Instructor didn't mind coming for him when that happened, though, and beating time management into him.

So he was rather practiced at keeping it, if he cared to.

"We were up late last night, training and practicing after dinner was out." He shrugged, not wanting to go into detail about what they'd been up to but simultaneously knowing that if he didn't they'd dig all the harder.

To change the subject, he asked, "Do you guys know where RWBY was last night? They missed out on dinner."

"Heard 'em pop into their dorms last night after dinner. In time for the last Bullheads back from Vale, probably." Nora answered, tugging her blanket tighter around her shoulders and watching him. For what, he couldn't hazard a guess, but for some reason he felt like she was peering into his very being. Finally, she asked, "You and P Money are okay, right? Didn't get into a fight or nothing?"

"We didn't get into a fight, no." Thankfully, that was entirely the truth, and while her eyes narrowed suspiciously and she appraised him with her eyes, she eventually accepted his answer. "We just… Trained and talked, there wasn't a problem between us."

"Hm… Well, okay then." The woman sighed and finally shrugged, turning to Ren and beaming a warm, bright smile. "Renny, can you go ahead and make sure they have some of those cinnamon pancakes I like? They always run out before I get there when I take second shower."

"...Alright." The man nodded, standing and finishing pulling his own uniform together. He paused for a moment to check his pockets and make sure he had everything and then turned to Nora, "Don't forget your homework."

"I won't."

"And leave the conditioner in your hair for five minutes." He added, the woman whining and earning a pair of raised eyebrows from him until she sighed and nodded. "I'll make sure our table is open, too. Orange juice or milk?"

"Orange juice please! And maybe a grape-"

"No soda in the mornings, Nora. You know what happens if you get that much sugar in you." The words earned a long, petulant whine form the woman and she flopped back onto the bed in a display of faked childish offense.

"But Reeeeeen~!" She whined loudly, grinning all the while, "People like grapes!"

"Indeed, and they like a sugar-free Nora all the better." The act was meant to raise everyone's spirits and it worked, the two men smiling and Ren sighing like someone who had suffered far too long. "Jaune, make sure she gets dressed after she showers. Alright? I'll get you and Pyr some food as well. Just in case it takes a while."

"Got it." He agreed, after which Ren waved a simple goodbye and took his leave, pulling the door behind him. Pulling his shirt straight and pulling his blazer on afterwards, he asked, "So, Nora, after classes do you want to maybe join us for-"

"Pyrrha isn't just tired, Jaune." Nora said quietly, watching the bathroom door and no doubt listening to the faint sounds of running water that told them Pyrrha was still showering. Never meeting his eyes but, he had no doubt, watching him regardless she explained, "She was upset last night when you joined us, too. And neither of you talked much, either. Then after you ate, both of you left early to do more before bed."

"I don't…"

"Jaune, Ren and I are both from settlements that got wiped out by the Grimm. And both of us know what people act like when something is wrong, but they don't want to worry anyone." Nora explained simply, finally turning to look at him with hard, bright eyes full of challenge. And an echo of something darker, too, that he couldn't place. "The way you two look when you think no one will see, and the way you answer our questions… It's the same."

"I didn't know your homes had been destroyed by the Grimm." He said it to distract her, but the surprise in his words was genuine. They'd mentioned being Mistralian, of course, and their accents matched as well as their names. But beyond that, they had not said much of anything about it. "I… I'm sorry to hear about that, Nora."

"It's fine. You didn't lead them there, after all." She shrugged it off like she didn't care and, for all he knew, maybe she didn't. Or she did, but in the way someone cared about an old wound long since scarred over but always stinging. Resigned to it and moving on. "What I care about right now is you and Pyrrha acting just like they did. Our parents, their friends… What is going on, Jaune?"

"There's… Nothing like that, Nora." He lied, offering her a small smile along with it. Together, they heard the water stop in the bathroom and he added quickly, wanting this dealt with before Pyrrha came out and complicated matters, "Look, it's personal, okay? And not dangerous to the team, or anything. We're just… Handling stuff. Alright?"

"Promise?" The woman stood, half-dressed in a mix of her uniform and pajamas and not caring in the slightest, and offered her hand with her pinky extended. He hesitated, more for surprise than anything else, and she shook it, "Promise me, Jaune. I'll trust you if you say so, but you have to promise. Okay?"

"I promise." He nodded, twining her pinky with his and mirroring the little shake she gave to seal it.

"Okay then!" She bounced past him and towards the door as soon as Pyrrha opened it and stepped through, a towel wrapped around her head.

"Nora- Aiee!" The woman 'eeped' as the boisterous ginger pushed through and then the door was shut again, with Pyrrha on the other side. The woman flushed, straightened her skirt and then blinked and looked at him, "What was… There's quite a lot of time before classes begin. I do not understand why she would be so rushed. Jaune?"

"She and Ren are worried about you." As was he really, and that was something he made clear in his tone and the small smile he offered her as he sat back on the bed and reached for his shoes. "Are you okay?"

"Of course not." She answered frankly, walking past him and tossing her towel from her head, calling her metal brush with her Polarity and sitting on her bed to brush it back and away before she changed into her dress shirt. "But I'll be fine, Jaune. Eventually. I just need to… Grieve is the word I want to use, though I doubt how applicable it is."

"I think it fits." He chuckled dryly, "At least, I can't think of a better word."

"Then grieve I shall use." She laughed, but the sound was short and sharp. Less airy and light, and more like glass cracking in air far too cold for it to survive. "To think I would grieve a death not yet here… And my own, to the point."

"It isn't a fact yet, Pyrrha." He pointed out, sitting beside her and unsurely wrapping an arm around her in a hug. She stiffened and he pulled away, stammering, "I-I'm not the best at this sort of stuff, but my sister Saph always said to hug someone when they cry. I am told it… That it helps."

"It does, I was just… Surprised." She sighed and reached up, tying her hair back like a woman who'd trained to do it. Which, given the length of her hair, she probably had. Then she smiled and sighed, leaning to the side so their shoulders touched. "Just… Tell me we can survive this, Jaune."

"Tell you?" Is that all she wanted to hear? Him say it?

"You are my friend, my partner, and my leader." She answered by way of explanation. "If you say that it is so, then… It is so. I will believe you."

"I… Won't say that, Pyrrha." She gave him a look, brows furrowed and fear sparking in her eyes, and he explained as quickly as he could, before she made assumptions and grew afraid. Wrapping his arm around her waist for the comfort he could offer her through it, like Saphron had shown him, he talked quietly, "I just… Prophecy and visions are hard to fight against, Pyr. Often, like quicksand, the more you struggle and resist the deeper you sink."

"And you fear that fighting fate may itself bring it to me?"

"I do. And so I… I don't know I can save you. And I won't…" He swallowed and sighed, voicing the words he'd been thinking all day. "I won't lie to you, Pyr. Ever."

"Never?" She clarified, watching his face as though a lie he could tell would be etched onto his forehead for doing it.

"Never." He shook his head and smiled thinly. "I don't to my family, either. Those I tell about my past, what and who I am? I trust them. And trust is a boat on a river, it sails both up and down."

"Another of your teacher's words?"

"No, not Instructor's. My dad's, actually, Instructor likes more… Stabbing related stories." He laughed, the smile coming to him easier than it had previously. Pyrrha returned it, and for once in the hours since she was faced with her fate, it reached her eyes and sparked them to life. Like glowing emeralds, turning and reflecting the sun. "I promise you though, Pyr, I will do everything I can to save you."

"I see." She murmured, leaning her head on his shoulder in spite of the dampness still clinging there. He blinked at it and stiffened, again not knowing what to do, and she murmured, "I believe you, then. And I would like a hug, silly as it may be. My family did not offer affection all too often, but your hug was… Nice. I would like more, before we head to breakfast."

"Alright." He answered, letting her have the hug she so desired if she believed it would make her feel better. It was the least he could do, and all that he knew for a fact he could do right now, so he was content with it.

The water stopped a few minutes later and they parted, less for embarrassment neither felt and more because Nora would never let it go if she saw them hugging like that. And on Pyrrha's bed, no less. That was simply a recipe for disaster, or more accurately, death by Nora induced crushed torsos from the hugging that would ensue from her coming to conclusions. That way lay death, as surely as the kind that an attempt to hug Instructor would lead.

When the trio were dressed, they left and headed along with some of the other early-ish risers who wanted first pick at the breakfast bar. Only a third of the students had meandered in thus far, mostly first years showing up 'on schedule' for breakfast and upper years with preferences on the bar they didn't mind indulging. All were dispersed in teams laughing and jeering, partner pairs either doing the same or looking at the doors for their other halves, and little groups made up out of mixes of the two at various tables across the massive cafeteria.

"Good morning. I saved you pancakes, and syrup as well." Ren spoke to Nora, not either of the two trailing just behind her, and she sat beside him and gave him a hug. The two exchanged a glance then and the man turned to them and smiled, gesturing to a dozen or so biscuit sandwiches in the center of the table and seeming unconcerned with whatever concern there had been before. "I have sausage and ham. I didn't know what else you might like, so I'm sorry."

"It's quite alright, we can-"

"Oooh, they're cute!" Nora crowed suddenly, bouncing and clapping her hands like a giddy schoolgirl at something behind them.

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"It's fine, see?" Yang assured her with an arm wrapped around her shoulders, as much to tug her along as to make a show of defense. Like she'd snap anyone who said anything about her anxiously flicking, exposed ears in half. In spite of the hot glare she shot toward Cardinal's way that sent the brunette hiding in his sandwich, she added, "No one is even looking all that much. See?"

"Because you glare at them like a rabid Beowolf if they do…" Blake argued it, but didn't tug out of her grip.

"I shall get our meals, you two sit and relax." Weiss said as they reached their table, ignoring wholly the foursome there staring at the Faunus beside her. Likely because she didn't want to engage with whatever they were thinking, unsuited as she was to dealing with situations such as these, Glabe hazarded a guess. "You've both of you enough on your plate without Ruby sans sugar to have to survive."

"You just don't wanna have to sit through the talk. Right, Weiss-cream?" Yang challenged sharply, earning pursed lips and the Schnee's heels clicking as she stormed away, tugging Ruby along behind her as she went. "Yeah, that's what I thought… Such a wuss about dealing with this kind of stuff."

"Yeah…" Blake nodded and sat, finding it easier to deal with her friend's looks if se ignored them and acted like all was normal. "I'd call her shy, but… Weiss."

"Not the shyest of the bunch, that's for sure." Yang nodded and plopped onto the bench beside her, giving Juniper a look and explaining shortly and hotly. "Blake was scared people would judge. She's out about them now, though. Any of you got problems, I got hands, alright?"

"Yang!" Blake whined weakly, ears flattening to the top of her head while she hid her face in her hands. "You're being too aggressive, Yang… They haven't even reacted yet."

"I was ready to put Cardin through a wall over Velvet when I didn't even know her." Jaune pointed out simply, reaching for a biscuit and starting to pull it into pieces idly while he talked. His eyes met Blake's and he offered a small, respectful nod, "None of us here are going to have anything bad to say about it."

"Well…" Yang sighed and drummed her fingers on the table, but didn't speak. "I'm just… I dunno."

"You're protective of your partner. Ruby too, if I had to hazard a guess" Jaune filled the point out simply, turning his gaze from Blake herself to Yang and offering another nod of approval and respect when she nodded her assent. Beside him, Pyrrha busied herself with eating a biscuit of her own when he said, "I don't mind keeping secrets for people who are important to you. If anyone troubles her, I won't mind lending a hand."

"Or a saber." Nora quipped playfully, grinning and shoving a hand-sized portion of pancakes into her mouth. "Das our dobs!"

"Nora, swallow before you speak." Ren chided gently in a voice that practically spoke of nothing but exhaustion. Like a parent with a child that was too unruly to handle almost, but existed constantly on the very edge of driving them to surrender. "They are both right, though. We're your friends regardless, as should be obvious by Velvet's presence at our table whenever she isn't training."

"Okay." She couldn't say anything else, too busy watching the rest of the cafeteria around them. After a few moments of quiet eating, those that had watched the table for whatever reasons they did turned away and back to their food.

Aside from a team across the room, with a Faunus on it whose little horns curled down past an ear and along the curve of her chin. A heavy frown marred her features, too, under a barely concealed glare. Blake met her eyes suddenly, curious in equal parts to being afraid on a deep and instinctive level, but the young woman turned away as soon as she did and went back to talking with her team. Something about the woman's lithe features stood out, though, and tickled at the back of her memories.

"Blake?" She flinched at the hand on her shoulder, grip on her fork sliding up to hold it like a knife, but relaxed in the same moment. Lilac eyes full of worry met hers and Yang asked, "Are you okay? You spaced out for a second there, starin' off into space. Someone looking at you dirty?"

"No." She answered unsurely, not knowing how the other Faunus had been looking at her. Not really, at least, or even if it had been her and not someone on her team. Weiss settled on her other side with a plate of potatoes and fish for her, knowing Blake's odd morning tastes, and Blake turned to her and offered a quiet, "Thank you."

"Of course, odd as it is." The Schnee answered curtly, setting a shaker of salt down beside her. "Why do you eat like that, though? It's breakfast. Surely something lighter would do better?"

"It's…" She almost said White Fang faire, their bases often hidden near enough to the sea that they relied on fish and sea game for meat. Instead, she offered a shrug, "It's Menagerie style food. Our climate isn't exactly the best for farming, so potatoes and rice is what we run most of the time. And being sea-based, you have to develop a taste for fish as well."

"Oh so that's-" The young heiress stopped suddenly and her jaw clamped shut. Flushing a dull cherry, she turned away, "N-Nevermind."

"No, what were you going to say, Weiss?" Yang pressed, all aggression lost under a veneer of teasing and a wide, feral smile. The Schnee flushed brighter and stared wide eyed and full of anxiety at the table, and Yang pressed, gentler and with a smaller smile and her voice low. "You can't fix your problems with all of this without addressing them, Weiss."

"But I don't…" The Schnee sighed, pinched the bridge of her nose and practically murmured, "I thought you liked fish because, well… You're… You're, you know…"

"A cat Faunus?" Blake offered, smiling in spite of herself when the Schnee blushed so bright and stammered so awkwardly that she looked more like Ruby caught with the cookie jar in her bed than a mature woman. "You… You thought I liked fish because I'm a cat, Weiss?"

"No!" She laughed awkwardly, blinked, flushed and then leaned her elbow on the table and rested her forehead on the palm of her hand. "I mean… Yes, but no, but mostly yes and… I don't know, I suppose."

"I like fish because of where I'm from, not what I am." Blake laughed and gave a wry shake of her head, ears flicking pleasantly now as she relaxed. No one was yelling, after all. Or jeering. Or hurling anything. So she laughed and added, "Do you think I'm so good at climbing for the same reason?"

"I-I… No, not really." Not anymore, she suspected Weiss meant, and when she grinned the young woman flushed again. "B-Blake, you are a fiend and a cur. Stop heckling me! It is quite impolite given I got you your food."

"What, telling the kitty not to bite the hand that feeds her?" Yang challenged, grinning maniacally when Weiss huffed and turned to her food without a comment.

"Hey." Blake murmured, laying a hand on Weiss' leg to get her attention. The girl stiffened sharply but didn't flinch away or turn to meet her eyes and, gently, Weiss moved the hand and arm around her shoulders to give her a hug. "We're teasing you. And thank you, for being so good about all this."

"Yang teases too much…"

"It's how I cope with stress." The blonde explained simply, voice laced with a sense of regret. Or maybe apology was a better way to phrase it, Blake decided, since Yang wasn't the type to regret things. "Don't stress it, I'll cut it for today. Okay? I didn't want to be mean."

"Okay…" Weiss sighed, and then straightened and gave her partner a hard look across the table. "So, Ruby. Where's your weekend paper? I don't recall seeing it in your folder this morning."

"Uh…"

"Dust damnit, Ruby…" Weiss growled and stood, glaring daggers at her and pointing towards the doors back to the dorms. "Come on, then. Let's go finish it, I know you got halfway through since I helped you."

"But there's no tiiime!"

"There's an hour." Weiss corrected as the girl rose, smiling thinly at her obedience. "Grab some sandwiches, and I shall help you finish it up. We have time, though we will have to rush it somewhat."

The girl whined, the table laughed, and then the pair left with Ruby loaded down with enough sandwiches for the both of them. All the while, Blake felt herself relaxing and accepting, letting everything she'd worried about roll away and forgetting about it. The rough spot was done, the awkwardness nearly nonexistent, and what problems there were they were working through. Turning back to her food, she looked back to where the sheep had been and blinked. The table, previously full, was empty now.

And that had her paranoia spiking for a moment, before Yang threw an arm around her shoulders and her Scroll flashed. "Dad wanted to see what my partner looked like. Apparently he didn't buy 'a cute little housecat'."

"Yang!" The woman laughed, "That's… Kinda racist."

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The Qrow :

Oh he does hide his abilities. But for a very, very clear reason that instructor lays out. And as shown later, if needs must, he will reveal it instantly. He is every bit my interpretation of a pure Sith. Bound by his convictions over even functionality.

The Helper (Guest) :

I thought I did. Correction noted and changed. Thanks.

Paradox Reader :

I would argue Blake and Jaune have comparable, if different, tragic backstories. Jaune loses his best friend and potential lover. Blake, though… Gods, to have a heart that cares for others but be part of a literal race of people oppressed for having cat ears and the like? That is tragedy, as surely as losing an arm or a mother.

I won't comment on future story twists and turns, but I do try and build things up properly. I fuck it up, sometimes, but I try. Do understand, though, I write bittersweet endings typically.

Red Demon Eye :

It's almost like I enjoy teasing you all with information. Revan's legend is at least tangentially known, there are locations suffused in the Force, the Force seems to make the Grimm avoid areas for some reason… So many questions~

One question I will answer, though, is that jaune does wear armor.. Not when he's going out on the town, mind you, but it's detailed that he wears light armor over his robes in an Ansel chapter.

Zenith Tempest :

I know. But he isn't trying to make her an apprentice, just help direct her. Motivate her, so he can protect her. I will explain that a Revanite isn't chained in the way you detail, though. They strive for power to protect what they love, yes, but like a Jedi they will let it go before annihilating themselves.