i can go the distance!

          “ doesn’t it bother you, oscar?  not only does his existence inside you violate your very personhood, but ... it paints a target on your back. ”

          “ did you know, way back then?  how i felt about you, i mean. ”

          “ blake? ”  pyrrha catches the faunus walking through the hallway outside her dorm room.  she looks tired, zoned out at best, sitting upright on her mattress against the dull wall with her knees held against her chest like a stuffed animal she needs support from.  “ could i ... talk to you ? ”  she breathes in deeply.  “ i need to get something off my chest. ”

doesn’t get a weapons upgrade in atlas bc i hc’d that her mother was a master weaponsmaker. milo and akouo were fixed back in argus. ( EDIT: this is a hc i developed with @ryoshan‘s yang a long time ago, that yang made blueprints for updated versions of milo and akouo while she was recovering from her own injury in patch. yang sent the blueprints to pyrrha in a letter and pyrrha showed them to her mother, who was impressed and remade them herself with minor adjustments. an early version of milo featured a sword version as well, which yang figure out how to add in there. so now milo is like, a huge swiss army knife LOL ).

politically, pyrrha agrees with robyn, but understands that ironwood is trying to do the best thing. 

she feels an immense guilt that makes her shut down emotionally around penny, even though she’s alive.

pyrrha has a very hard time acknowledging ironwood in a friendly manner, however, due to her trauma post beacon. he was one of the people who, alongside ozpin, glynda, and qrow, asked her to be the maiden and essentially make her feel like they had no other option to save the world but her.

pyrrha goes to the rally with ruby, ren, + nora.

during the training montages, pyrrha works the upper limits of her semblance in order to strengthen it.

they failed to cover an amused snort behind their hand, masking it with a composed frown.   ‘   i apologise, that wasn’t funny.   ’   a bold - faced lie, cardin tripping across the courtyard from their table was the epitome of humour.   @indestiny   /   short starters   (   acc.   )

     she’s trying not to succumb to the darkness which lingers in her mind, the smoky trails of a bad memory, of earth shattering heartbreak from the knowledge that this outcome could have been avoided with just a bit more haste in her weary steps up the side of beacon tower. the unfortunate reminder follows pyrrha easily as her shadow does, & ruby is constantly fighting the battle to keep it in the very back of her mind.

     she is trying to keep her thoughts rose-colored despite the loss of the lenses tinting her world with lovely shades of pinks, all happiness & good fortune. seeing pyrrha again does spark the familiar feeling of freshman year jitters ruby once experienced walking through beacon’s campus, her prodding question pulling a stifled laugh from the rose’s lungs for the first time in a stretch of ten days. ‘ ugh — was it ever ! ‘

     ruby flops dramatically into the back of the couch she’s seated on, appendages thrown out to the sides haphazardly, her gaze now focusing on the cream colored ceiling overhead. ‘ okay –that made it sound like getting used to them was bad; i promise it wasn’t. jaune, ren & nora are great ! it’s been fun getting to know them more since we’ve started this whole journey … ‘ her voice trails off as the heels of her palms move to press against her eyes, a soft groan escaping her lungs.

          ‘ but somehow, ren & nora manage to bicker more than all of team rwby combined. i didn’t even think that was possible !! ‘ her hands are thrown up into the air with her exclamation. ‘ & nora has so much energy. she has more energy than i do ! d’you know how crazy that sounds coming from someone with a semblance like mine ? ‘

     her laughter comes easier the longer she becomes reacquainted with pyrrha’s presence. the tension in her shoulders & back has gradually loosened the longer her laughter rattles inside her ribcage, the giddy, guileless child re-emerging after months in isolation.

          ‘ it’s been a lot, ‘ ruby murmurs, coming down from the unexpected rush of serotonin, her head gently lolling to one side to allow her a glance in pyrrha’s direction. ‘ they really missed you, pyrrha. … we all did. i’m really glad we got to see each other again. ‘

     clearing her throat, ruby shifts against the couch cushion, realigning herself into an upright position. her ears are dusted with a light pink hue when she realizes just how childish her display must have looked from an outside perspective. her hands busy themselves with straightening her skirt, anxiously smoothing creases out of the fabric. ‘ so – !! ahah. it looks like you’ve been busy yourself while we’ve all been out adventuring through mistral, ‘ she says, eyes eventually flickering back to meet pyrrha’s emerald gaze, now much softer than they had. ‘ how, uh … how’ve you been ? ‘

          pyrrha listens to ruby’s words with undivided attention, her descriptions of the team sounding all too familiar.  ren and nora’s silly arguing, nora’s overabundance of energy ( that came to jnpr’s advantage on more than one occasion! ) ... it all brought atypical smile to pale visage anchored in melancholy.

          but then it falls, like the very reality of her world had so long ago.  faster than it came, pyrrha’s smile sinks back into her cheeks, dissolving as if it’d never been.  how’ve you been?  she shifts in her seat uncomfortably, legs turned away from ruby, folding her arms in ( as if to hug herself ) as she mentally searches the recesses of her mind for a reply.  “ oh.  i’ve been fine, ruby. ”  she assures, unconvincing false smile plastering itself onto her lips now.  

         then she remembers her mother’s pleading, begging for her to tell her when something’s wrong — that she can’t afford to lie about her health, physical or mental anymore.  nikos takes in a deep breath like it’s a tornado shredding through her confidence once it reaches her lungs.  “ i’m better than i was, anyways. ”  she suffocates the eye contact she had with ruby, green gaze fixating on the floor once more.  her movements are near robotic, discomfort having its way with pyrrha’s stance and body language when discussing her injuries, her downfall.  “ i spent a lot of time in and out of the hospital.  lots of different therapies.  i’ve had to adjust to life as a civilian, too. ”  

          ‘ what d’you mean ? ‘ she looks across the endless expanse of hardwood flooring, plush furniture & earned comforts to the occupied space of a would-be ghost who snatched victory from the oppressive jaws of defeat. the sight of her still makes a pang of fear rise in ruby’s stomach at times when she isn’t expecting to see a flash of auburn in her peripheries, or hear the pleasant chime of her voice. one of her hands silently clenches around the ruffled fabric of her skirt as she peers across the room to pyrrha’s solemn form, perplexity managing to pierce through the ripple of her anxieties.

     her body shifts somewhat uncomfortably in the seat. ruby attempts to recenter herself on top of the cushion, diverting her eyes for a short moment that allows her to regain some semblance of composure. a smile blooms, flora alive amidst the cold winds of winter. ‘ i mean … we kind of have a long way til we get to atlas from here, ‘ ruby murmurs, slightly tilting her head to one side. ‘ what better way to pass the time, right ? ‘

          she notices all too easily the signs of nervousness in ruby’s body language, what with her shifting awkwardly and her hand’s placement on her skirt.  her heart sinks in her chest like an anchor at the consideration that she may make ruby uncomfortable — that perhaps she is just a symbol of a heart shattering memory.  maybe that’s all i will ever be.  

          her self - deprecating train of thought is abruptly interrupted by her classmate’s sudden jolt of optimism about pyrrha’s suggestion.  surprise glazes over gleaming emerald eyes, and her hands excitedly clasp together.  pyrrha’s form straightens at the prospect of ruby’s storytelling ( something she’d been eager to hear ever since their days at beacon ).  the rose’s view of the world had always been somewhat romantic ( as if pyrrha couldn’t say the same ) : she perceived the good in a person, the best in people in general, and that was an admirable trait that most did not possess.  with the slight upturn of her lips, the knight leans forward, ever ready to witness to the unwavering spirit of ruby rose in the form of adventures with the warrior’s own team.  “ in that case, i would love nothing more than to listen, ” she notes.  “ was it difficult to adjust to your new teammates? ”  she teases, a tiny giggle escaping her lips at the thought of jn*r adjusting to life without her.