notinthestars | I saw you in a dream

Entry tags:

jaune arc : pyrrhic_paladin

I saw you in a dream

The dreams had been plaguing her for months. Every time Pyrrha closed her eyes, she was back there on that tower - and it's no surprise, really. It was expected, in their line of work, the trauma that comes along with staring evil in the face - but it doesn't make it hurt any less. She's already berated herself, over and over, for going to the top of that tower. For Jaune, charging in after her, and for...

Well. They already knew how that ended.

It's far past midnight, edging towards two or three AM, she's not sure. Pyrrha sighs quietly, setting down Akoúo from where she was sharpening it. She should sleep - they had a fair amount of ground to cover in the morning. As much as she dreaded what she knew would be waiting for her the moment she managed to sink in to sleep, her body needed the rest. She wouldn't be able to serve anybody if she was tired. ~~She hadn't been able to help the one person that mattered, she'd be damned if she was ever so useless, ever again.~~

Pyrrha lays down, her sleeping bag snug tight between Ren and Nora. It calmed her, being close to their breathing, the warmth on either side of her. Proof that they were alive, that they were still there - that they hadn't slipped just out of reach the way...

She falls asleep slowly, restlessly - but tonight feels different, somehow...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"That's an interesting theory," Whether or not Jaune is correct, at least it's a place for them to start. Pyrrha, on the other hand, is honestly just trying to wrap her brain around the enormity of it.

"We're also very different people. I wonder if...the same events have happened to you as they have to me, and if you've reacted in the same way?" Pyrrha speculates, tapping a finger against her chin thoughtfully. And yes, while Pyrrha may be more technically skilled, Jaune was undoubtedly the better leader, and perhaps even in a healthier place emotionally because of that.

She's rather not steal from her friends, if it was avoidable. They had enough trust issues with Ozpin that she didn't need to pile on any more.

It seems to have everything just as she left it - just, minus their teammates. Luckily, they breeze over that with little more than a sad, knowing smile - she'd much rather bask in Jaune's excitement that it had worked. "I wonder if you could change it as well. I'd imagine so, anyway."

Pyrrha sits down on the sleeping bags, just watching Jaune take off his armor - her own was still in place, but she could remove it easily with a tendril of her semblance, and for now she's just content to watch Jaune, as though he might disappear if she looks away for too long. The Pumpkin Pete hoodie makes her hide a snort, muffling it against her knees as she draws them to her chest. "...still wearing that, I see."

"Well you went with Ruby to Haven, you boarded the Argus limited with her and the Grimm made it so you had to split up. Everyone made it to Argus and you stayed with somebody you knew I'm guessing. So far it's the same."

Jaune thought for a moment, he could mention the Memorial, but that'd be kind of sad. So instead he asks "So what's your plan to get to Atlas?" Because everyone else seemed bereft of ideas he assumed Pyrrha would have to take the task like she often did.

"I probably can since we're both sharing this dream." He doesn't feel like testing it just this second though, he liked the idea of just getting cozy with Pyrrha in this new place. They had plenty of time to test the limits.

He pouts a bit at her laughter "Oh come on not you too! You were on the box, you can't tease me about it too." There isn't any real frustration in his tone, this was the kind of banter they've been wanting to have since the other left their lives.

Suddenly he seems to get an idea "Hey take out your scroll a second." Once she does he plops down next to her and closes his eyes in concentration. A scene appears on Pyrrha's scroll. It's clearly from Jaune's perspective as he stood in a blacksmith's shop.

"This is the place I got my new set of armor and weapon upgrades. It's actually the first time Ruby's seen me take off my armor." Jaune explains.

The scene plays out with Ruby breaking into laughter, going cross-eyed over the cuteness of the bunny and falling to the floor laughing before the video stops playing.

"Yes, we did. It was a near thing, though. I assume you also ran into all those Grimm?" They hadn't had Jaune there to amplify Ren's semblance, so it had been a tough fight. Pyrrha had helped where she could by uncoupling the train cars and making them go faster with her magnetism. Her and Ren had exhausted themselves with Nora defending from any Grimm that caught up - but it was very, very close. "I just wonder if there are significant diverges. In the details...very interesting."

The mention of Atlas, their dire need to get there and their utter inability to do so had Pyrrha shifting uncomfortably, shamed blush high in her cheeks. She didn't like the idea of breaking the law for the greater good (what made her qualified to decide that? What made Ozpin?). Pyrrha averts her eyes as she admits to it, but she does admit to it. "We're using Weiss as bait. I'm to escort her to the base and distract the guards with my Mistral champion status. We reckon they'll be too starstruck to question Weiss properly. Ruby will hide in her suitcase and they'll hijack the aircraft."

After Weiss' long recovery from Cinder's attack, the girls had all been a lot clingier - for good reason. Weiss had adamently refused to be entirely separated from the group the way the plan required, and Pyrrha didn't blame her - she'd been on her own, away from her team, her partner, once, and they all knew how that ended. It's how Ruby convinced her to separate on the train - as much as she didn't want to leave team RWBY, she was even less willing to leave Ren and Nora. "And yourself? What's your plan?"

It's a valiant effort to stifle the laughter, but not entirely successful. It feels good, makes her heart light, to talk and joke like this. "I'll never forget the look on your face when you found out I was. It's...not a particularly healthy cereal, I have to say. I've no idea why they have athletes promoting it."

Pyrrha takes out her scroll obligingly, scooting a little closer when Jaune sits down next to her, letting their sides press together. She's less shy than she was before - what's the point, when it can all be taken in an instant? Her eyes widen when Jaune manages to cast a memory onto her scroll, and she watches in fascination as he gets his new armor and Ruby loses it. She...doesn't remember making Ruby laugh that hard, and it's a rare and beautiful thing. Of course Jaune would be able to do that - what couldn't he do?

"I always meant to get you a new one." Pyrrha says absently, smile still amused at the edges of her mouth. "I thought...maybe for Christmas. Something with Nora's face on it, I think Nora, Ren, and I talked about it."

As she stated her plan Jaune looked surprised. Not just that Pyrrha would come up with this plan, but that they had come up with the same plan.

Seeing how embarrassed she was he decided to momentarily tease her. "Pyrrha Nikos I am surprised with you! Breaking the law like that." He quickly drops the faux-offended expression very quickly in favor of a smile "I came up with the same idea."

"It was when I visited the memorial to you. I saw an Atlas airship flying over and it just kind of hit me." Everyone wasn't on board at first, but they went with it when they realized it was what they needed to do.

"If you need it, you can trust Saph and Terra to help you. Terra works in communications and can walk you through how to shut down the tower safely." He figures it wouldn't hurt to help her.

When Pyrrha scoots closer to him Jaune wraps his arm around her mid-section. There really wasn't anything for them to be embarrassed about anymore. They were going to share as much as they could with each other now.

"Really? I wouldn't mind changing up my wardrobe a bit though there's no way I'd get rid of this for good. If you want why don't you try imagining what it would look like and I can try it on?

The surprise just makes her shy about it, but Jaune's teasing tone is light - she didn't think he'd think less of her for it, but she's glad to be proven right. She can't say it surprises her that he had the same idea - where do you think she learned it from. "I'm full of surprises, Jaune. You just haven't had the pleasure of seeing them yet."

"Naturally," She manages a smile, though she looks down to avoid any melancholy over the idea of the memorial. "It was the same for me. But there was no airship, I just...was thinking about what you would do. You would do whatever it took, and you always thought outside the box and - it sounded crazy, but I just threw it at the wall to see if it stuck."

"That's a big ask. I've only just met her." But it would be helpful...could Pyrrha really do that? Ask them to risk so much for a stranger, in the name of her dead brother?

"It was more of a gag gift," Pyrrha admits, glancing back up at him as Jaune wraps an arm around her middle. She chuckles quietly, tossing her head back as she closes her eyes and obliges. The article of clothing appears almost instantly, once she manages to grasp it in her mind - it's Nora's face, obnoxiously printed on the front, cross-eyed and with her tongue sticking out goofily. Ren and Pyrrha's faces are also there, pulling funny faces, but Nora's is larger, front and center. The rest of the hoodie is the exact same shade as Jaune's current one. "We just thought - well, it would be funny. No one would ever guess."

He has a sad smile as she talks about how she came up with it. It's a warm feeling that she was thinking about him and what he would do. Especially when she needed it most.

Jaune shook his head about her saying it was a lot to ask of her. "Saph has known me my whole life. She's going to know how you came up with that idea without you even telling her." This was the kind of crazy plan he would definitely do "Besides, you, Ren and Nora should consider yourselves part of the Arc family."

When he sees the hoodie appear right in front of him he laughs out loud. "Oh wow that's great! Maybe when I get to Atlas I can have one of these made. I'm sure everyone will love it." Without a hint of hesitation he moves to pull off the Pumpkin Pete hoodie. In the moment he completely forgot about the fact he would be shirtless in front of Pyrrha, letting her see the results of his training until he covers it up with the new hoodie.

She's always thinking about him. Every breath she takes she knows she has because of him - she's reminded every step of the way that she carries the torch in his name. Pyrrha's fairly certain that Jaune feels the same way in his world, based on their conversations.

"...I'll consider it. If I get a chance to see her again." And if she can explain to everybody else why she knows the Saph's wife works in the communications tower. Pyrrha can't exactly name her source, can she? The mention that they should consider themselves part of his family puts a familiar lump in her throat, and Pyrrha leans to rest her head against his shoulder. "...of course we do."

"If you feel so inclined," Pyrrha stifles a laugh into her hand. Jaune immediately moves to put it on, however, which she...wasn't fully anticipating. Of course, Jaune didn't wear anything underneath the hoodie - she knew that by now, she'd seen him change before, in the co-ed dormitory - but she hadn't quite remembered. Pyrrha remembers that it's rude to stare but - he's different, more toned, new scars that have in actuality faded into old scars, by this point. She averts her eyes a few moments too late, blush in her cheeks intensifying subtly.

"Good, don't be too happy about it though. You're adopting seven high-energy sisters you're going to have to visit when this is all over. Hopefully Nora can tire them out for you." He was teasing, mostly.

Even if he had the sense to be embarrassed about changing in front of Pyrrha now Jaune wouldn't want to get out of sight of her for that long. Maybe when they were more comfortable that his wasn't just going to shatter in a moment.

Jaune seems to miss the blush and goes right back to curling his arm around her middle. "I feel like I should give you something too." He considers for a few moments "Oh right! It's not as fun as this hoodie, but I was thinking of an upgrade to Miló to go along with Nora's." He summons up Miló in its javelin form as she would remember it. "I was thinking maybe finding a way to get a conductive cable added it to it. That way you can hit an enemy while Nora holds onto the cable and sends electricity through it."

"I hope to meet them one day." Pyrrha says earnestly. She really does - her visit with Saph had been a wonderful thing. It had made her feel closer with Jaune - with the door she believed had been closed to her forever, up until now. Pyrrha pillowed her chin on her armored knees. "I don't have much family. Just my mom left, really."

It seemed like the other three members of JNPR had quite a bit in common when it came to family. But Jaune had brought them together, had taught them the real meaning of friends and family.

Pyrrha does her best to remain as unaffected as possible - luckily, Jaune is just as oblivious as ever and doesn't seem to notice her distraction. (The only reason she was ever able to keep it under wraps was his complete inability to notice when he managed to melt her into a pile of goo.)

She's glad he likes the shirt, and the suggestion gives her thoughtful pause. "We'd have to make sure it doesn't off-balance the blade. I'd have to look into decent conductor-resistant materials that would blend well." Pyrrha smiles, tilting her head at Jaune. "What would that team attack be called?"

"You should! They're all in one place so it'd be easy to visit them. Go with Saph if you guys are nervous about meeting them for the first time." He wanted them to be able to come together. To grieve together.

The mention of Pyrrha's mom gave Jaune some pause "I'm pretty sure I met her... she was really great." He doesn't want to bring down the conversation, but he thinks Pyrrha should know. "We met at the memorial, I think you guided us to meet." Granted he meant the Pyrrha that died. "I was really scared to meet her, but I'm going to guess you felt the same way when you first met Saphron."

To hopefully not drag down the conversation too much he switches gears to the weapon suggestion "Yeah I didn't think it'd be that simple, but it would mean Nora's electricity being able to go further."

He looks thoughtful at the question of the team attack name "I can think of two possible names. Lightning Rod or Lightning Bug. Which do you think works better?"

"I'd like that," Pyrrha nods, mentally adding on the if we ever finish our mission. There...really isn't an end in sight, if she's being honest. But it was a nice idea, that one day the fight might end and they'd all be able to go home - but if she was being well and truly candid...Jaune had already given his life for the cause. How could Pyrrha do anything less?

"Yes, she is. Taught me everything I know." Pyrrha glances over at him curiously. Guided to meet? She can only assume he means something beyond explanation, but if she was really dead in Jaune's reality...how could that be? (She's asking this as if what they're doing right now isn't beyond impossible). "Yes, I was. Saphron is lovely, though, she put me at ease right away."

"I'll see if I can draw up any designs when I have a moment," Pyrrha promises easily. She'd designed her weapon herself, so surely she could figure out some way of making it work! Even if they didn't have the materials to really make it - she could imagine it here to show Jaune. "I like Lightning Rod. It...has a nice ring to it."

Jaune decided to elaborate on it without prompting. "We were looking for Oscar. When I found out the truth they found out through Jinn I... said some things I shouldn't have to him. He disappeared for a while afterwards and we were all looking for him." It was embarrassing to admit now, especially because he couldn't imagine Pyrrha having done the same thing.

"I was in a pretty dark place, not knowing what to do knowing what we do about our enemy." He knows he doesn't need to say it, so he doesn't.

A small smile crept on his lips "Then the weirdest thing happened. When Ren and Nora stepped away to get something hot for us to drink I saw a fall leaf. Most of the trees should have already shed their leaves by this time of year. For some reason I followed where it blew and it took me to the memorial." It could have been a coincidence, but then he met Pyrrha's mom there as well.

Jaune's smile grew as she talked about drawing up designs "That's great! You should probably be able to find the components for it in Atlas." he looked thoughtful for a moment "I think I can draw up the designs for something else too. Who knows it might come in useful for getting the airship."

"Ah." Pyrrha smiled sympathetically, casting her eyes down to her hands. Her gloves tightened infinitesimally, but she nodded understandingly. "I'm afraid I said something to the same affect. I'm sure you understand why." She wasn't really mad at Oscar - she doubted Jaune was, either. But the idea that Jaune had died for a lie, had died for nothing was...more than she could bear, at that moment, when all of their hopes were so tenuously hinged...

The fall of Beacon had changed them all. Pyrrha was no exception.

Pyrrha looks up at the explanation of the leaf, watching Jaune's expression curiously. The leaf had...led him to her? Well, the memory of her, anyway. "That...rings of a certain faith, doesn't it?" Her next smile is soft. "I'm glad you could find some comfort there." She had taken some of her own away from the experience, especially with meeting Saffron but...honestly, would the guilt ever abate? At this point, she really wasn't sure it would.

"Certainly," Pyrrha smiled at his enthusiasm, sighing only a little (a vast improvement, honestly). "If we ever get there. Oh?"

Jaune felt a little better knowing he wasn't the only one to lose his cool. However he did feel bad for Oscar having to put up with it from either of them. While he had some stern words for Ozpin, Oscar didn't choose to have the guy in his head. Oscar was just doing the best he could with the situation.

He nodded to her mention of faith "I guess you could call it that. I really felt like you, or I guess the you from my world, had been looking out for me and the rest of the team when we really needed it. We decided even if we couldn't fight with you by our side anymore we'd act like you were." It was a little weird to consider the fact there was actually two of them even if the other one of each of them had died. It would make the afterlife interesting to say the least.

"Well I guess I can talk about it now, but it was just an idea I had off the top of my head. I'd need to figure out the details." He held out his hand palm facing upwards and little metal capsule about the size of a walnut formed in his hand. "I was thinking maybe we could get you something like this." With a thought the item was cut in two, the two halves falling to reveal yellow dust in Jaune's hand. "If we could get something like this that breaks on impact and ignites the dust you could have a lot of tricks handy. Maybe it wouldn't be as effective as Weiss's semblance, but I think you could come up with some uses for it."

Oscar was honestly just as much a victim in the situation as they were, if not worse off by virtue of having no choice in this road. Even if Ozpin stayed quiet in his head for the rest of his life, the boy was marked now by Ozpin's enemy. Did anyone really think Salem would let Ozpin's host live if she had anything to say about it? Oscar was in this, whether he wanted to be or not. At least they'd all made the choice to fight - they'd made the choice a long time ago, when they'd all vowed to become Hunters and Huntresses.

"I've no other words to use for it. Everything else seems...weak, in comparison." Because she'd felt like that too, felt like she'd had Jaune's guiding hand on her shoulder at times, when she felt lost. He was the leader for a reason - yes, she was more combat experienced, but Jaune was the one they knew how to rally around. He was the one who knew what to say when things got tough. If Jaune had been the one, in the village with Ren and Nora - he probably could have comforted them better than her stumbling words (they'd gotten through it, of course, but she was never good with people. That was all Jaune). "But yes. We...I felt that same way. I guess...in a sense, you were?"

Pyrrha makes a vague gesture to Jaune's person - what else could this be? They still have no answers, only speculation...

She watches attentively at the demonstration, head tilted to the side as the capsule breaks in two. "Something I could set off with my blade, you mean?" As opposed to having to be in the gun form to ignite dust...well, it was definitely another way of fighting, she'd just have to practice to perfect it, and probably add another pouch to carry them, but that was simple enough if they could find a way to make it work.

"You're right, I don't exactly have any other words for it." Maybe it was that faith they had in each other that allowed them to meet across universes. Part of him had to idly wonder if the afterlife was kind enough to their alternate selves that they were drawn to each other as well.

Shifting his focus to the weapon talk he shook his head "I mean you could set it off with your blade, but I'm thinking of something that gets set off by a sharp impacts with any surface so you could use your semblance to throw it at somebody or at the ground beneath them. Basically the shell breaking could create a spark that can ignite the dust." It was just an idea and he wasn't too married to it.

The items disappeared from his hand and he settled down "Maybe that's enough weapon talk for now though? I mean this is kind of our break from all that. We can do whatever we want here." He wanted to help her with weapons and tactics, but they didn't just have to do that.

Who could say? This was all too much, and Pyrrha wasn't inclined to question it overly - well, there was a part of her that did, but the larger part of her was just relieved he was here at all. If she had to lose him again, well...

"Ah, I see. Interesting," Pyrrha props her chin in her hand, considering it. Obviously, she only has to touch it to use her semblance on it, and she'd certainly be able to throw it hard enough, that was no trouble. Pyrrha looked down at her belt, considering the alterations she could make to it to accommodate...

"Oh, yes, sorry." She flushes a little, smiling apologetically as the items dissipate. She ran a hand back through her ponytail, smoothing it on her shoulder, red curls bouncing, unruly under her hand. "I guess we just spend so much time around it now, you know? It's consuming. I...haven't thought about much else in a while."

She hadn't even really been able to contact her family - she's sure it's much the same with Jaune - beyond the letter she'd sent from Vale before they'd started on their journey. Letting her know she was okay, she was safe after the attack, but there was something she had to do before she came home...

Jaune nodded to that. A frown creasing his face for a moment. "Yeah, but it's what we have to think about to protect everybody. Just... I think I learned it's good not to get so caught up in it either. What we're doing is important, but we can't forget what it means to be a person too."

He relaxes and settles in beside Pyrrha again "Anyway I think I'm getting better at creating these memory items! Here I think this could be good for both of us." Jaune summons up two mugs of hot chocolate, one he hands Pyrrha.

"I think I'd like to stay in this room for tonight, but how about tomorrow night you show me around your memories of Argus? You went to school here so you know the area better than me."

I'm not sure I ever knew how to be a person. Pyrrha thinks to herself, sparing a glance at Jaune before looking away - before the frown can crease her brow too far. Since the first moment Pyrrha could remember, she wanted to fight. No, not to fight - to protect, that's always been her mission. It's what she was good at - everything else, not so much. Jaune - he was the best of them. He was the heart and soul, and he was the reason Pyrrha felt like she had started to know herself.

She can't help the smile that stretches over her face when Jaune conjures up the hot chocolates - it feels warm and real even through her gloves, and Pyrrha revels in the sensation, as if that might make Jaune more real by extension.

"That's fine by me," Pyrrha agrees, bumping her shoulder up against Jaune's. "They're nothing special. But I'll show you, if you like."

Once she grabs the hot chocolate Jaune wraps his free arm around Pyrrha.

"They are special, because they're your memories." He insisted. To him there was nothing boring about Pyrrha. He wanted to know everything that he could now that he had this chance.

"I think it'll be pretty relaxing anyway and we can go anywhere we want." The one thing he definitely wanted to avoid for the moment was anything that reminded them of Beacon. That was awful enough to relive as often as they have.

Jaune wraps his arm around her, and the heady rush of conflicted feelings rushes through her again. Happiness, because it's him, but the melancholy sadness of him being gone, too. She wonders if she'll ever stop feeling that way (maybe not, so long as Jaune only exists in her dreams, but it's more than she had before, so she'll take it). Still, Pyrrha does something she might never have had the courage to do before, and lets her free hand entwine he fingers with Jaune's, where it's dangling from her shoulder.

"We'll see if you still say that tomorrow," Pyrrha chuckled quietly, turning to smile softly at him. "Yes, we can. I've seen every inch of this city."

Beacon...there was a part of Pyrrha that wanted to go back. Sometimes if she closed her eyes, she thought she could see their dorm just as they'd left it (but sometimes, she couldn't remember what color Jaune's comforter was, and wasn't that scary, in it's own way? Time fades all things, whether you want it to or not. One day she just might forget and never remember).

As their fingers intertwine Jaune feels a sense of peace flow over him. Whatever this was, however it worked, Pyrrha was here. He could touch her, hold her, encourage her. All the things he'd wanted so desperately to do all these months.

"You'll always be interesting to me," he responded in quite the sappy, but genuine line. There was nothing she could talk about now that wouldn't have his total attention.

"Of course I'll do the same thing if you want. Oh maybe I can show you where we used to camp!" It would be a good change of perspective from all this snow.

It doesn't really matter if it's sappy or not, because it's Jaune. The flush spread unbidden over Pyrrha's cheeks, and despite her best efforts, she wasn't able to quell it (at this rate, she'd be matching her hair soon enough). She wonders, idly, if they'd ever have been like this if they didn't know all too well what it was like to live without the other.

"I would love to see them," Pyrrha nods, letting her thumb brush over the back of Jaune's hand gently. She tilts her head thoughtfully, considering that. "Perhaps it is near where we camped. We...seem to have taken similar paths."

For once Jaune was noticing Pyrrha's body language and her blush. It made him smile and he leaned into her more. Just wanting more contact with her and knowing that at least in this dream world she was there.

He gave a nod "Yeah we passed it while we were working our way over to Haven. I imagine the best route is still probably the same."

"Did you ever go camping as a kid?"

She was never in any position to deny him anything, least of all now. Pyrrha's blush deepens, but she certainly doesn't mind, cuddled close to Jaune's side.

"It makes you wonder...what other things might be different, between our worlds." Pyrrha muses on that for a moment. "That must not be the only thing that changed..."

"No, I didn't. It was just me and my mother and she...had to work a lot." She worked hard, and encouraged Pyrrha to chase after her passions. But...with just the two of them, they didn't have huge family activities like camping.

I saw you in a dream

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)