Chapter Text
Jaune rubbed his beard while he examined the wood. A callused finger ran along the edge of the crack before he finally shook his head. "Sorry Sal. It's better to just make a new one. This break goes along the whole back. I could make a replacement piece but the chair is so old, I might as well build the whole thing."
Sal gave a disappointed grunt. "I figured Jaune. Can you make three of them? The family is planning to visit us in the fall."
Jaune nodded and began to pull out his scroll to take pictures of the chair. One of the few things that worked out here on the frontier were the scrolls. They were designed for it. They couldn't make calls and only were able to detect and communicate nearby scrolls but for repairing chairs? The ability to take pictures was a godsend.
Jaune lowered the camera lens and patted the man's shoulder. "I'll try and get the order done in the next month or so."
Sal smiled. The older man looked outside to the darkening sky. He frowned. "Thanks Jaune. Sorry for keeping you so long. Were you going to stay the night in town? It's getting late."
Jaune shook his head. "Naw I'll head back home. The kids don't sleep if I'm not there to tuck them in."
Sal shook his head as if the idea was insane. "I guess a few wolves would be little trouble for an old mercenary. They are no grim, but wild animals can still be dangerous if you underestimate them. Be careful."
Jaune laughed. As time passed people began to forget exactly what grim used to be. A wolf was nothing to even the smallest grim. Seventeen years of the relative silence made them forget. Out of sight, out of mind. That wasn't a bad thing to Jaune's mind. "I'm not that old to worry about a few wild animals. Just let me know if you need them sooner than next month. I'll put it up higher into the queue."
The man in his late sixties bade Jaune goodbye. Jaune walked down the dirt street and looked around the village. Life seemed to stand still and somehow manage to move so fast. Outside of the small fence that marked the end of the village, Jaune moved south until he saw a new path to walk on. This one was carved out by Ren years ago for his family to go to town. But it went around a small stream.
Jaune did not even think of it when he used his aura to hop over the fifteen feet width of slow moving water. Little Mez and Syffy would be ready for bed by the time he got home. That left him and Nora taking turns reading to the children in a rotation. It was his turn to read to Mez.
Jaune's boots banged uselessly against the foot of the door as he took them off inside the cabin. The man smiled when he heard the kids scream for their dad. He squatted just in time to see both Mez and Syf run to and hug him. Mez was getting too big with his orange hair going deeper red as he aged. Syf clung to his side with her wet black hair a mop against his shoulder. Really as the years got on, they both began to look so much like a combination of Ren and Nora. "You two did not towel yourself enough. You're both still soaked."
Nora came out of the bathroom half haggard. She smiled at him and threw each child a towel. "I am just happy they put on clothes before they ran out. Go dry and get ready for bed." She ordered.
The kids whined for a moment before Jaune patted the kids forward. They both ran to their rooms to look for their books. Jaune stood back up and sighed at their antics. "Sorry I'm late. Sal had asked for a favor."
Nora nodded and walked over to wrap her arms around him. "Mmm. It's fine. We'll chat later. Syf will want to fight to stay awake now that you're home."
Jaune leaned into her neck and kissed her shoulder. "Sorry. Should we read to them together tonight?"
Nora smiled before she looked at her soaked shirt. "If you start, I'll clean up and come in."
Jaune kissed her one more time before he walked around the house to find Mez. The boy looked up when Jaune rapped his knuckles against the childs' door frame. "Come to Syf's room. We can read something together tonight."
Mez raised his book in a hopeful suggestion.
Jaune smiled at the boy. "We'll see. Come on."
-o-
Jaune woke up the next day to find Nora had been out of bed for hours. He looked at the time and sighed. He didn't mean to sleep in. Bless her. He thought.
Jaune quickly got his things to shower and spotted the note that told him she was taking both kids to school already and there was a plate in the oven for him. He grunted and ate the food quickly. He quickly washed his dish and the lone pot that was left on the stove before he put it away.
Outside he looked at the requests he needed to start today. He had only started making furniture for Nora because she needed it. Now that he had quit the local militia, he found a few more people were interested in getting new furniture from him. He started his unofficial business six months ago. For a village of seven hundred people. There sure was a high demand for furniture. He had been working non stop ever since. It was actually the sunshine that limited what he could and could not do. The wood needed to dry before he really worked on anything. The scraps he had left over were fine at first since they were cut out almost the year before because Mez said he wanted a room. Jaune had been preparing the wood and then some for the inevitable mistakes he would make.
Today was another day he would need to get more lumber. Even as he walked outside and lamented the torn up back yard. Jaune sighed at his mess. "And I give Mez flac for his room. I really need to make a shelter and workshop if I plan to keep doing this."
Carpentry was good money. Anything made in the village was vastly cheaper than importing something by air. Especially furniture.
Jaune started to clean the back rather than walk into the woods. There was still that sectioned off side for the kids to play. But Mez was as much on this side of the fence as the other. While wood shavings and chips would do nothing to the child's aura, having him run barefoot unsupervised around here never sat well with him.
Jaune knew that was the civilian upbringing in him whenever he scolded Mez. It did not matter that Syf broke her chair at four in a fit, or when Mez pouted and kicked his bed where the wooden leg moved and exploded when he was nearly seven. They were still just kids in his eyes.
Jaune grunted as he lifted up two beams that were in the middle of being cut to lengths for a project he had already finished. To be fair, Syf and Mez have not acted out like that in over a year. Syf was good at copying her brother and they had been well behaved. Especially at school where they had to be separated from the other kids.
Jaune grimaced as he had to explain that to Syf. Mez more or less understood right away when he was five. Syf was much more rebellious when she found she could not go play with the other kids.
"You are cleaning now? I thought you had to start that table today."
Jaune grimaced. A family had ordered a table a few months ago and the wood seemed to have dried at last. Jaune was eager to get the giant slab out of the covered garage. It had to be laid flat and it took a lot of room.
"Morning Nora. I was thinking I need to find a spot to build an actual workshop. This is as bad as the kids rooms."
That pleased Nora. Her arms were wrapped in front of her and she hummed at him. "I'll let it slide. Thank you for cleaning." Nora leaned forward to peck his cheek and started back to the house. "I'll start something for lunch. I will make something nice."
Jaune smiled in appreciation as he watched Nora sashay to the house.
-o-
Nora's heart nearly burst from her chest at the repeated slam against the front door in the dead of night. Jaune was already out of the bed and running to it. Syf cried in alarm at the abrupt noise that woke her. Nora quickly dressed and ushered Mez into his sister's room for a moment while she walked to the door in her robe.
"You're sure?"
"Afraid so. We are about to have a meeting. The mayor is asking if you and Mrs. Ren would attend."
Nora swallowed and looked to the man outside. She was not prepared to see the messenger's scared face. She had only experienced this one time before. She touched the wall while her world tilted at the repressed memory. It had been so long since she felt some of those old fears come back. The clock said it was nearing three in the morning. The grim was close then to raise the alarm now.
Jaune looked over his shoulder to watch her carefully. Nora nodded even as she tried to rub her head. He quickly looked back to the messenger. "Of course we'll go Bose. We'll take the kids too. Do you think your wife Alliana could...?"
The man at the door nodded. "Yes. It's the least we could do."
Nora ignored Jaune's concerned look while she tried to keep her heart from racing out of her chest. She quickly walked into the kids room. Syf had calmed down and just looked to her mom. "Mez. Get you and your sister dressed. Grab a few pairs of clothes for the both of you just in case. We are going to town. Hurry." She turned back and walked past Jaune who gave her one look before he checked on the kids and walked outside.
Nora's thoughts were jumbled. Her hands shook as she tried in frustration to button her blouse. "Just. get in. there." Her voice quivered. A metal clad hand covered hers. It made her jump. Nora looked up to see Jaune's warm eyes. He had put on his stained dark green chest armor with his sword and sheath at his side. Worn green and gold gauntlets covered his hands. Those cold metal gloves seemed to bring the reality of it all back to her in full force.
"It's ok Nora. It will be ok." Jaune pulled her into his arms and she instantly choked back a sob.
She muffled into his chest. "It's happening again. Ren-. I don't know what I would do if. What will…" Nora's voice trembled as thoughts formed of unsaid fears.
Jaune held her and rocked her back and forth. "Let's go see. If it's too big we can advise them to leave. Ok?"
Nora just nodded. She closed her eyes and hugged him.
-o-
Nora tried her best to hold Syf's hand as they walked to regain her composure. The kids knew something was wrong when they left the house in the middle of the night. They knew something was horribly wrong with how their mommy tried not to cry.
In the dark moonless night, Jaune led the way with a flashlight alongside Bose. The two shared quiet words but she could feel whenever he looked over his shoulder to her and the kids.
Grim.
It was one thing, twenty years ago, to think of grim. Before Salem. Before the battle that put that monster to rest, before Nora even knew there were gods. Teams RWBY and JNR were some of the only people that knew that with Salem gone, the cycle of the grim pools moved back to their original purpose. The everyday grim Nora had grown accustomed to had disappeared.
It was so abrupt that huntsmen found themselves looking for actual jobs. Cities began to grow beyond the capitals. But for RWBY and JNR, that last warning of the gods stuck with them. It was why Jaune started his mercenary company. It was why RWBY scattered to the four corners of the world.
This world was an experiment in emotion. What could be borne from love, hate, fear, anger. Any emotion made manifest.
The gods made humans have the ability to use aura to express their emotions. But so few actually had access to it. So where did all the unused and untapped emotions go? The very real answer were the grim pools. The gods had decided in their wisdom to balance the world one last time. So gone were the millions of grim that made the world uninhabitable. In their place, was something that Nora felt was far worse. Those same emotions still existed and they still had to go somewhere. All the gods accomplished in their balance was to make it so instead of hundreds of thousands of grim, we dealt with one grim that encompassed thousands grims worth of human emotion.
Nora was in awe of the first one. Bigger than any grim barring the whale Salem rode on but twice as fast. The first one that walked towards Vale shook the earth in its wake. It gave the huntsmen time to form a defense but so many people died defending the first grim. Since then, these new grim would appear every few years. Ren died the last time one appeared in their area.
She did not want to lose Jaune to the next one.
-o-
Nora watched anxiously while the kids were set to bed once more in their neighbors house. It didn't take long, they were both exhausted. Nora spared one last look at her children and followed Jaune out of the house and to the mayor's home. It was the third largest building in the village after the inn and the bar. Inside, the lights were on and men and women were in a heated debate.
"Sem! They're here!" Bose called as he walked in.
There was visible relief in the eyes of most of them. Nora watched them with an almost angry quirk to her eyebrow. So few people have really understood the difference with these new grim scarce as they are.
Jaune walked from the door to the center of the room. "What does it look like Sem?"
Sem stood in front of a table and rubbed his eyes. "One of our patrols was scouting the road east for a few families who were preparing to travel to Mistral. Sixty miles out along the Vein of Vale," Sem pointed to a river that cut across the map. "Our patrols found something moving in the forest. It was breaking through the forest making a path towards us. It's slow and it seems to stop for rest at night. At first they thought it was a class one, but they couldn't see above the forest until they were farther away."
Jaune nodded. "Who was the patrol that found it?"
"That would be us." Jaune and Nora looked to find a group of young men barely out of their teens. They shook unsteadily. They all seemed to have run through the night non stop to bring them the news. "We were moving along the main road when we first heard something hum loudly. At first we thought it was an airship. Just out of curiosity we moved around the ridge towards The Vein and found a path as wide as the river cut across the forest. When we got closer we spotted it tear through the forest. It was only after we got higher up one of the mountain paths did we spot it. The grim was four times as large as we thought. When it crossed the river we saw it easily walked across the bottom of the river only came up to hit the mid section. At least half as wide as the river."
Jaune nodded. "Did it make any sounds?"
One other man looked up. "Other than the droning we thought was the sound of a bullhead, nothing. It was coming in our direction. We're the closest settlement to it. We did a horse relay to get here and that was over twelve hours ago."
Jaune nodded. Nora and Jaune reached for each other's hand. "Sixty miles? What is that? Two days?"
Sim nodded and gestured to someone on his right. They quickly pulled up another map. "Two days. Maybe three before it arrives here. We need to evacuate the village. We have already sent a messenger by horseback. But it will still take a week to get to a settlement that would have access to a CCT never mind the possibility of an airport. Your family are the only aura users we have. I already made preparations for people to pack up as soon as I learned the news."
Sim waved several men and women to make preparations to move. Carriages take hours to organize for what they need. Sim looked at the map and decided on where they would escape to. "We'll go north. There is a settlement on the mountain pass. It would be difficult for a grim of that size to reach there."
"How long do you think it would take the caravan to reach it?"
Sim frowned and looked at Jaune apologetically. "A week and a half if we're lucky."
Jaune sighed. "I'll try and stall it. If it rests at night, I can try and lure it away towards here." Jaune pointed to the map where the river fed into a ravine. "Huntsman, when they come, could use the high ground to take it out. I don't know how many days I can give you to make the trip. But I would recommend everyone leaves in the morning."
Several people look to him in relief. Whatever debate had happened before Jaune and Nora arrived was closed when he volunteered. They all muttered a round of, "Thanks." When Jaune looked over to Nora her face was resolute.
"I'll be going with you."
Jaune nearly swore in front of the crowd. "You are not going Nora."
"Jaune, we both need to go to give them enough time." Her eyes were pleading. In that silent look she told him, 'to give our kids enough time.'
"Nora. I will be fine. I'll just pull it towards the ravine and escape." Jaune watched the fire in her eyes as she glared at him. They glistened. Jaune reached out for her before she batted his hand away.
"You don't stand a chance with me much less without me. I'm going." Nora turned to Sim. "We'll give you that time." Nora grabbed Jaune's hand and pulled him out of the house.
Jaune seemed to want to continue to argue. "Nora, you don't even have a weapon anymore, how are you-" Jaune watched as Nora turned around and kissed him. In an eerie flash of a long forgotten memory, Jaune hugged her. This kiss.. too many things were said. It was a kiss of longing and a kiss that warned of regret. Jaune pulled away. "Nora. Don't do this."
Jaune held her close. He had never opened his heart to anyone before. Not until Nora. She simply whispered in his ear, "It's going to be ok right? Just draw the grim to the ravine and leave. We can do that."
Jaune allowed her arms to wrap around his shoulders and they both silently felt the weight of what they were about to do.
-o-
Dawn had given the couple enough light where they both had to prod each other to actually start the recording. Nora and Jaune sat next to each other and reached for each others' hands as Jaune clicked on the scroll. Nora blinked for a moment. "Hey Mez. Syf. Mommy and Daddy are going to be going away for a while. I love you two. Mez. I am so proud of you. You are such a smart little man and I know you will grow into a wonderful man like both of your fathers. Syffie." Nora sighed and leaned against Jaune. "You are my special little girl. I am trusting you to make sure Mez grows to be a proper man who keeps his clothes on ok?" Nora stopped and nearly buried her face into Jaune's shoulder.
Jaune lifted the scroll so only he was viewed on the screen. "Mez, Syf. I love you both. You are our world and there is nothing more we want than to keep you both safe. If you are watching this, we have died protecting you. Nothing is more important to us than you two. Grow strong. Aunt Ruby will be your guardian. Trust her and try not to give her too hard of a time. You will all be hurting for a while. But it will get better ok? Rely on each other. You two are family."
Nora took his hand with the scroll and pulled it back so she was back in frame. Her eyes stung as she murmured out, "Take care you two. We love you."
Jaune stopped the recording and let his arm slowly go to his side. He exhaled while he kept a firm arm around Nora's shoulders. Nora shuddered a breath as she refused to break.
Jaune knew they had to get going. He kissed Nora's forehead and moved his hand out from under her to pull out the memory card. "Thank you Bose."
Bose took it and safely put it in his scroll. He had stood to the side trying to be as invisible as possible for the couple's privacy but he patted his scroll as he looked up from it. "Any time. We'll have the kids towards the front of the caravan. No one in the village are aura users like you two. So we'll have to keep them in their own carriage. The last thing we want are any accidents."
Nora nodded thankfully. "I'll go wake them. Jaune? Did you need anything from the trading post before we go?"
Jaune looked around and shook his head. Both of their packs were full. Jaune checked his scroll that was now fastened to his chest rather than in his pocket. He looked to see Nora had hers strapped to the same place on her chest. They would need them ready to stay in contact in the forest.
Nora walked through Bose' house and into the living room where Syf and Mez laid sprawled on the couch. Amazingly, they had slept through all the noises of the village as families gathered a few supplies and food to take with them.
"Mez. Syf. It's time to get up." Nora gently rubbed both of their heads. The kids stirred and looked around in confusion at the couch they had slept on. "Come on let's get up." Nora gently pulled them out of bed as they both sleepily rubbed their eyes and faces.
Nora laughed at the expressions and reached to kiss their heads. "Mez. This is important so can you look at me?"
Mez looked up and began to become more alert. "Mom?"
"Me and your dad have to go somewhere for work. You are in charge of yourself and Syffie. The whole village is making a trip to the mountains ok? But that means you two are going to be traveling in your own cart. Do you remember why?"
Mez repeated the lesson that was drilled into him since he was a little child. "Because aura users can hurt people and not mean to."
Nora smiled and ran her hand over his cheek. "Smart man. You both will be ok. It may feel a little lonely on the trip. Do your best to keep you and your sister strong. Mr. Kage and Mrs. Kage will watch over you both and make sure you are eating properly until you get to the mountain village. Once there just hang tight. By the time you get there, we should be on our way to meet you ok?"
Mez nodded and took Syf's hand. "I'll watch her."
Nora smiled and looked at her daughter. "Did you hear that Syffie? Mez is in charge."
Syf hugged her mom. "Mommy, where are you going?"
Nora exhaled and did her best not to let anything escape her throat. "Just work sweetie. Jaune and I will see you both in two weeks or so. Okay? Think of it as a long trip through the forest."
Both kids nodded. Mez, bless him, already seemed to have understood a little what was going on as he went to the window and viewed villagers as they ran to and from their houses to several dozen wagons. Most families would have at least one out here. Their family was the only one he knew that didn't have a wagon or a horse. And that was because they could all use aura.
Mez gave a yip of alarm as he was lifted into the air. Jaune put the boy firmly against his hip. "Hey Mez. Did your mom already tell you what you should do on the trip?"
Mez nodded and hugged his father. "Yeah. You're coming back right?"
Jaune nearly hitched his voice. "We will. I promise."
Syf seemed to have been jealous of the hug as she was tugging on Jaune's leg. Jaune nearly rolled his eyes. "You are both getting too big for this you know." Jaune squatted and picked up the nearly seven year old girl. She rubbed her face in his beard. The emotions warred on his face as he thought it could be the last time she did that.
"Follow Mr. Kage. If you have any questions or need help look for him Mez." Jaune ordered as he set them back down.
Nora knelt next to the kids and hugged them closely. "There will never be enough time to tell you how much we love you both. We'll see you soon."
Nora and Jaune walked out the door to the cheers of the people who spotted them. Jaune and Nora felt themselves fall back into very old habits and waved at them before they both ran out of the village and into the forest.
-o-
Jaune was given three maps. One was the area the original scouts found the Grim. The second was a much larger one that included the ravine they were going to draw the grim to, the third was the one Jaune hoped he and Nora could use after it was all over. The one that could show them the way back to their children.
"Let's stop for a second Jaune."
Jaune slowed to a stop and looked over to Nora. "You need to check to be sure?"
Nora nodded as she dropped her backpack. They were miles away from the settlement. Plenty of room to not alarm the villagers and close enough where the grim may start to pick up their aura instead of the emotions from the village.
"Yeah. Better to warm up now. It's been a while since I've needed to pull on my aura." With that Nora for the first time in nearly nine years allowed her aura to flare to life. It tingled and burned her body. It was as if she suddenly had feeling in her limbs again. Nora inhaled and exhaled. Her aura flared and faded with every breath. She moved her hands in front of her and called on her semblance. Lightning arced from the ground to her hand. She focused and soon the trees were singed. Lightning licked around the ground and over Jaune's body. His own aura protected him from the raw uncontrolled energy.
When Nora opened her eyes. She smiled at the feeling she got. "This takes me back. Jaune can you?" She tilted her head to her shoulder.
Jaune walked up and placed his hand on her shoulder. His own semblance resonated with her aura. The lightning came back ten fold as it tore through trees and burnt the ground and foliage in a circle. "Thanks. Like getting back on a bicycle. I think I am good now."
Jaune pulled back his hand and looked towards the direction of the grim. He could almost imagine hearing the footsteps of the massive grim from where he stood. He shook that idea away from his head. The other hills would have prevented that possibility.
"It's about midday. A few more hours of daylight and we should find a place to make our stand." Jaune said as he gauged the sky.
Nora picked up her back pack. "Whatever you say captain."
She smiled at him.
Jaune watched as she led the way. He couldn't keep the playful grin off his face. "Just like a bike."
-o-
Nora inspected the flat level of land below them. They would use the river as a way for the grim to follow them towards the ravine. There wasn't anything they could use to slow it down. The forest would slow them down more than the rocky river edge ever could.
"I found it Nora. It's about fifteen miles west of us. I was worried we veered too far when I saw the river a few miles earlier than I expected."
"As long as we know it's coming this way, we should be fine." Nora sighed and rubbed her elbow and she looked over the battlefield they would use tomorrow morning. "I have some root soup running right now. It should be done in a bit."
Jaune walked up and moved his hands around her waist. "How are you holding up?"
Nora leaned against him. "I am just thinking of the kids. I really hope they will be ok on the trip."
Jaune nodded. "They are good kids Nora. You can trust them. Alliana had baby-sat the kids a few times. They will listen to her."
Nora nodded as she walked out of his grasp only to hold his hands and pull him back to the fire. "Sit down mister, I need my cushion."
Jaune laughed and gave her a look as he obediently followed directions. Nora sat between his legs and he resumed holding his arms around her midsection. "It feels nice being back on the hunt." He kept his voice positive.
Nora seemed to follow along. "It's nostalgic. In a good way. There have been so many times when it was just us three trying to figure out what we were going to eat for food when there was no settlement."
"Thanks a lot for that, map stealer."
Nora smiled and pulled his arms tighter against her. "You can never prove it." Nora leaned against him and sighed. "I really missed this…"
Jaune grunted. He was already drowsy and leaned into her hair to wake himself up. "What was that?"
Nora closed her eyes and sighed. "I really missed this. Being this positive. Just thinking things will always be ok." Jaune held her and kissed the top of her head. She sniffed for a second.
Jaune sighed in her ear.
"Life was just easier when I believed it. I- I remember how little of a deal I made it when Ren left. He was just part of the back up complement of huntsmen. He would just be gone for a few days. I was at home when he took off. I don't even think I said I loved him when he left."
Jaune blinked and simply held her. Quietly to herself, Nora shuddered a breath, "I don't think I ever told anyone that before."
The couple sat in the quiet as the fire slowly burned in a subtle crackle of wood. Eventually Jaune murmured, "He knew you loved him Nora. And I think he may have thought that it was not a big deal when he left." Jaune leaned his head against hers as she slowly nodded along. "It was really nice seeing you up beat today but you don't have to force it. We'll see this through and go home." Nora squeezed his arms that still hung around her.
The earth rumbled in beats before it stopped at the darkening sky. Jaune sighed. That wasn't his imagination. That was the grim.
-o-
The sounds of the camp were quiet this late into the night. Mez knew what to expect when the caravan stopped to make camp. Even before Mrs. Kage told them, Mez and Syf had wandered the edges of the camp to stay out of the way. A few kids were confused why they couldn't play. When they got too close, like their parents showed them, Mez had him and his sister move their hands behind their backs and slowly backed away. He gave the kids a sorry look. A few of the older kids knew Mez and were a big help pulling the rest of the kids away while the camp made food.
Mez knew it would be a lonely trip. Only Mrs. Kage really approached them after the kids left. But he could tell this would be a little too much for his sister. Mez had one hand open with his aura in his hand. It lit the dark wagon.
Syf's black hair obstructed the book again. Mez wordlessly raised the book again in his already tired hand. Mez continued to read the book to his sister until she fell asleep in his lap. Mez wrapped the blanket around his sister and hugged her. Finally alone, Mez sniffed and cried to himself. "Please come back home."
A/N: Happy New Year! I had been thinking about writing a sequel to 'Will You Stay?', for a while. My new years resolution was to write and complete a story before I posted it. and this is that story. Having said that, I am still nit picking the hell out of it. I still like the setting and decided to expand on it with this one. I hope you all enjoy it!