Author's Note: Happens right after their reunion in chapter 1. I'll go back and move this to be chapter 2 after a couple days.

Reflections

For the most part, the group's camp is a quiet affair. Even with Nora around, and rest of team RWBY returned, there are long moments when no one has anything to say. Or even wants to.

Thinking back over the last few months of their journey, Jaune can't remember a time he's seen Ren and Nora leave each other's side. It makes sense – they were orphans before the Fall of Beacon, and now without their adopted home, Ren and Nora have nowhere to go. They've seen what happens when one partner leaves the other. No one's willing to take that risk again, not after Pyrrha.

When she's not planning their next move or scouting ahead, Ruby spends her time staring into the fire, eyes tracking across the flickering flames, trying to find some hidden meaning in the way their lick at the firewood. Everyone leaves her alone when she's like this. Ruby needs answers, needs to know why they all ended up dragged them into Cinder's private war with Ozpin.

Weiss keeps herself busy, handling chores at camp or working to help Yang with her arm. They're still fine-tuning the prosthetic, adjusting settings, trying to optimize it for Yang to use. Blake watches silently, either on watch or around the camp. It's obvious there's something she wants to say, needs to, but she never does.

Everyone seems so alone. Ruby and Yang have each other and Taiyang back on patch, but their uncle is who-knows where, and Yang's mother hasn't been seen in months. Blake's alone – she always has been since leaving the Fang, and the only relative Weiss worries about is her sister, and she's out helping Atlas fight back the new waves of Grimm.

No one has a home to go back to, some place they could be apart from here.

Except Jaune.

His home is still intact. His village wasn't destroyed by Grimm or ruled by the iron fist of a disapproving corporate tyrant. His parents and sisters are waiting for him, happy to welcome him home. He just can't even bring himself to see them.

He remembers how they'd reacted when he left to become a huntsman. None of them had believed it when he called, told them he'd been accepted at Beacon, that he was the leader of his team.

Looking back, maybe they shouldn't have. Maybe someone who hadn't cheated his way in, someone who'd earned his place, actually deserved it ... maybe Pyrrha would have taken that person up the tower.

It took him less than a day to work past the delusion that he might have been able to help. Jaune knows why she sent him away, why she confessed her feelings just before getting him to safety - he would have never stood a chance against Cinder, against someone with that kind of power.

He would only have been a burden, gotten himself killed along with Pyrrha. Even more likely, she probably would have died trying to keep him safe, covering for him like she always did, taking an arrow or a blast of fire that was meant for him. But Nora, or Ren ... they could have helped.

If Pyrrha had Weiss for a partner, the way the heiress wanted it ... maybe she'd be alive. Or if she'd been with Ruby from the beginning, whatever power Ruby's eyes had could have saved her.

If Pyrrha had them at her back ... if she'd been partners with anyone but him, she might not be dead. He has no idea how to face his family after that.

Ruby watched as the flames licked at the firewood, slowly turning the tinder black and shooting flinders up into the air.

It's another quiet night at camp. By now, Ren and Nora are asleep, their bedrolls lying side-by-side, weapons in easy reach just in case something happens. Jaune is still up, staring into the fire with a look of such loss that Ruby doesn't know how to describe it.

She knew what was on his mind. Everyone knew – no one could mistake the look in his eyes when he thought of Pyrrha, that far-away stare as he tried to think of something else he could have done.

Ruby knew that look well. Ren and Nora wore it on occasion, but they hadn't been the ones with Pyrrha before the fight. It flickered across Blake's face every so often, whenever she looked at Yang, trying to imagine what she could have done to save her, to protect her from Adam.

Even without them, Ruby would know that look like the back of her hand, from every morning when she saw it in the mirror. Those moments when she wasn't doing something, when there wasn't anything to take her mind off the past, when she asked herself if there was any way she could have run faster, climber higher, gotten to the top of the tower a second sooner ...

Thinking back, Ruby couldn't really remember feeling fear. There were child's fears, sure. The dark house at the end of the street. The first time she saw a clown. But never real fear.

It's a testament to growing up with Yang, how her sister stepped in when her dad or Uncle Qrow could not, how she always felt safe at their home on Patch. Even growing up knowing her mother was dead - Summer had died before she really knew her. There was no sense of uncertainty - it was just the way it had always been.

Home was always a happy place, filled with her family, with Yang watching out for her, helping her with her homework, making breakfasts and lunches and somehow managing to figure out exactly how their mother had done it. Or close enough to match Ruby's memories.

That's what made that moment in the stadium so horrible. Seeing Emerald across the battleground, someone she'd thought was her friend, knowing she was behind whatever had happened with Coco and Yang and watching her eyes drill into Pyrrha. When she was too late, and she watched Penny start to fall. When she watched the arrow bury itself in Pyrrha's chest.

She felt fear then.

"You're going to be okay, Yang." Blake said, her head swimming from the wound in her side. "I promise. You're going to be okay."

It was a lie, and she knew it. Nothing would ever be okay. Not after this.

This was all her fault. Adam had come for her. He attacked her. He had hurt Yang, taken her arm, because of her.

She'd never forgive herself for that.

"I'm so sorry, Yang." Not that it mattered. No apology would protect Yang from him. Nothing could, not now that he knew how important the blonde was to her.

She had to leave. There wasn't any other choice. She would run, and Adam would come for her. He would keep chasing her, to the ends of the earth if he had to. Maybe even kill her.

But he would never hurt Yang again.

"I promise, Yang," she said, tears running down her cheeks. "Everything's going to be fine."

Blake woke with a start, pupils blown wide, barely able to keep from screaming.

It was a long, drawn out moment before she was sure she hadn't. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, pounding against the inside of her chest. Her throat was tight and raw, as if she'd been crying, the same way it had felt that night ... but no one else stirred. No one else moved an inch from their sleeping bags, too tired and too worn down to do anything more than sleep when the day was finally done. Except ...

Blake looked over, and found Ruby at her watch, seated on a large log in the corner of their camp. Crescent Rose sat across her knees, ready and waiting for whatever monster might try to hunt them. Her hood was up, covering her hair and turning her into one large, red silhouette against the darkened woods.

Blake was about to turn over and try to sleep when she heard it. It wasn't much, wasn't even vaguely loud. Just a quiet, sporadic intake of breath. The odd sniffle here or there. A choked breath or two from holding back sobs.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, getting to her feet.

"Yeah." The red cloaked figure said, too quickly to be convincing. One arm came up in front of the hood, and Blake heard the telltale sound of someone wiping their eyes on their sleeve. "Sorry, I just -"

Blake wrapped her arms around the younger girl, pulling her into her shoulder. Ruby didn't fight it, thumping into her chest and letting Blake carry the brunt of her weight. Little tremors ran through her shoulders, her body shaking as she was wracked with silent sobs.

"S-sorry," Ruby mumbled, her voice catching. "I j-just started thinking about Penny and Pyrrha and-"

"I know." Blake said quietly, running a hand along the back of the younger girl's head.

She almost said it would be okay. That things would be alright. That instinct to comfort, to tell Ruby that it wasn't as bleak or dark as it looked ... but she didn't have it in her. Not anymore.

"I'm here," she said instead. It wasn't much, wasn't some big promise. Wasn't a claim that the world would ever go back to the way it was supposed to be. But it was something. Some reminder that, at least, they were together again.

"I'm here."

Author's Note: Thanks for reading. If you can, please take the time to leave a review – it lets me know what the reader response is and whether or not I should do more stuff along the lines of whatever I've posted.

So you know, most of these are coming from prompts submitted to my tumblr. If you'd like to see the drabbles before they get compiled, or select your own prompts, please go check it out at redsuitwriter dot tumblr dot com.