Specialist Rose

42) A Long Road

"You'd think I would have brought my bike and a trailer to make this journey a little quicker, huh?"
"We knew this journey was going to be long. but maybe we should set up camp here before it gets dark."
"Good idea. Nora, Ren get some wood for a fire going, yang help me set up the camp."

The team split to perform their respective tasks and the woods were quiet. It had been about a week since they set off for Haven and they were barely into their journey. Luckily grimm were few and far between and Nora had enough optimistic energy to keep everyone going. Within 10 minutes a warm fire was crackling and whilst the others cooked up some food Yang was setting up a miniature lunar panel connected to her robot arm to charge it overnight whilst they rested. Yang lingered for just a moment too long staring at the arm her own sister had gifted to her and thinking of the younger that had been left behind, giving Jaune enough time to notice her dropped and opened wallet and pick it up in an attempt to be helpful.

Nora and Ren came over the shoulders of Jaune when he did not return the wallet right away to see what had captured his attention. Once they saw the sonogram picture they too had a wave of sadness come over them and a great sense of pity for their wounded friend. Yang got up and noticed the atmosphere, snatched the wallet back and sat down in front of the fire staring at the picture.

The others followed suit and sat down with Jaune speaking first,
"Well I suppose we all knew we were growing up but it kind of seems unreal that our friends would start getting married and having children and all the such."
"Ruby didn't though. Her daughter- died. She never got the chance to become a parent. I mean first she was a motherless child and now a childless mother?"
"It's not like that was her and Marrow's only chance at having a child, Yang. People survive miscarriages and I'm sure Ruby will survive hers."
"Well I'm not! You didn't see her fall apart like I did. Y-you didn't hear her screaming. Ruby lost so much- we all lost so much."
"Yang, we didn't need to hear her screaming. The pain she went through speaks for itself. You said you trusted your father to take care of her. So trust him ok? Ruby is tough and will be alright."
"And if she's not?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not ignorant to the statistics of this sort of situation. 29% of mothers who have had a miscarriage develop PTSD. And 54% of people who do commit sewerside have PTSD, or a depressive disorder. She lost 3 friends, her baby and went down on an exploding skyship, there is no way her mentality came out of that unharmed. I just- what if the last time we ever had a full on conversation was fighting for our lives on the field, what if she hates me for leaving, what if I'm still the same oppressive sister to her?"
"Yang, saying what if isn't going to help you or Ruby. Yes you guys had a rough relationship and I'll be honest most of the time you were in the wrong. But finish this mission and when you go back to Ruby you can come back a hero from her books and then grovel to her for the rest of your life for all I care. But the objective is to keep moving forward. Saying all this isn't going to change the past."
"I don't care. I'm going to bed. Do what you like."

Yang turned into her sleeping bag and curled up away from the others, but stayed awake to listen whilst staring at a bird in the trees. She could practically hear them turn to look at each other with that kicked puppy look in thier eyes. Nora spoke quietly as to not disturb Yang and asked her teammates,
"What would Pyrrha do?"
Nobody had an answer. Yang was right- they had all lost so very much at the hands of the group who caused the fall of Beacon and there was nothing to do but cry and keep walking to Haven, praying that answers would be waiting at the end of the long road.

"Hey. We can't think like that," Jaune still being the team leader he was shook his friends from thier thoughts.
"We can't just take a nasty blow and be dead to the world. Listen, - you too Yang because I know you're awake- we have spent years in training, we are all stronger than we look and when fighting a war both sides are trying to win. Some hits we take will be harsher than others but we have to keep moving forward. Weather we are fighting to prove something, fighting for a home, fighting because it's all you've ever done or fighting for everyone else but yourself it's all war and people are going to get hurt. But we can't let that atop us or else more people are going to get hurt. If there is one thing we learned from Pyrrha then it's persistence in the face of the impossible. So we will go to bed, get some rest and in the morning we will keep moving forward!"
That seemed to do the trick to get everyone to crack a smile even if only a little. And to get a bird to tilt it's head and almost smirk. Every one turned in to bed with thier thoughts gone with the wind and it was the first night for a while that they slept easy.

Recovery from Beacon's fall would be longer than the one to Haven Academy but nobody would go through it alone. Not even Ruby if Yang had anything to say about it.

I'm alive! Strange I know and I apologize for the strange update schedule, or lack thereof. In regards to the spin off one shot book I accidentally deleted the first 5 chapters I had written out. So with any luck and a bit of late nights I will get that going soon.
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See you later, love Lizzi