[ Following up on Mosley's huge reveal and his brief text conversation with Pyrrha (with an equally big declaration!), Jaune wastes no time busting into their apartment as he throws his equipment on the couch. ]
[ For a moment, it's like how it had been those last few days at Beacon, with Pyrrha mired helplessly in her own frightened thoughts. This time, her CereVice is held carefully in her hands, Pyrrha staring down at it as she considers all the conversations she's had today.
The doors open with a whoosh and she almost doesn't hear them, but lifts her head at the last second.
[ He makes a beeline towards her, but slows down as he approaches closer. He's trying to gauge where her head is at before they actually start their conversation. ]
[ With some will, she sets her CereVice down. The moment it vibrates with Yu's next response, she'll reach for it - but for the moment, Jaune is the priority.
Impulsively, she holds her hands out for him. Come here. ]
[ Her phone vibrates loudly where she's left it, atop the kitchen table with Pyrrha sitting beside, but a quick - apprehensive, unsure - glance tells her it'd not the text she's waiting for. All for the better, really.
She doesn't let go of his hands, isn't sure she could. ]
Why don't we go talk on the balcony?
[ Spoilers: their apartment has a balcony. It's too small for their infrequent spars, but it is large enough for a conversation that would make the continuity of RWBY proud. ]
[ Letting go of one (1) hand, he nods and leads the way to their new filming location - the balcony. ]
Sounds like we're not the only ones who have something to say about what happened. [ He glances back to her phone as they reach the balcony. It doesn't surprise him. ]
[ It's cooler outside than inside, her bare arms unprotected from the late afternoon briskness. Her free arm curls around herself, almost to ward it off, but she knows it's not just the fall temperature that's getting to her. ]
I knew things were falling apart, but I didn't know it was coming to this.
[ The atmosphere of the colony had changed slowly and then, all at once, had become electric. Dangerous.
She looks up at him, seeks to hold his gaze. ]
But... you've been here longer than me. What are you thinking?
[ It's another thing Mosley is asking them: to decide who dies, to decide where home is. Pyrrha can build a life here - a job, a cosy apartment, friends both from Remnant and elsewhere - but it comes on the heels of disintegration and she still doesn't know what that means.
Did they bring her here to fight? To execute? It can't be because CERES wanted to save her.
For the second time in her life, Pyrrha doesn't know where to look. The horizon is too vast. She clings to his hand like it's the only thing holding her upright. ]
Mosley said we could be sent wherever we wanted. [ Inhale and ask, before she can lose her nerve, ] Where do you want to go, Jaune?
[ Unable to bear that, she turns her face away from him, looks resolutely away. Sometimes, it really hurts to feel this way. ]
Mosley told me that, once a decision is made, we're not bound by as many limitations as we expected.
[ She smiles, but there's no joy in it. ]
His exact words were, "you can also be sent to an alternate universe where you don't die," and, "you have a lot of options, essentially." [ And she might throw all that away for - for her own ideals, for justice, for the moral compass her mother instilled in her. Standing here now, Jaune saying these things, holding her hand... it feels a lot more difficult, her surety wavering. ]
[ Letting go of his hand, there's a quick pause in the conversation, one moment, and she's only inside for that moment. Her CereVice has been silent since they stepped outside, no new calls or messages, and she isn't sure if she's relieved or otherwise as she picks it back up and takes it out.
Scrolling to the conversation with Yu, only a scant few texts in, she holds the device out for Jaune to take, to read.
[ He reads it silently. More than once, and not quite showing his reaction yet. The content of the conversation doesn't surprise him, and yet he's strangely bewildered. ]
"Need to"? Pyrrha, you don't owe these people anything.
[ It's a little unfair, Pyrrha thinks. She hadn't asked him not to go to the tower that day so many weeks ago, despite desperately wanting to, despite fearing. She lets it go almost immediately, knowing she's put him through so much worse.
There are those words, though. Throw it away again. Is that what her death had been to him? A stupid, hotblooded mistake? He's the one who told her, never back down from a challenge —
She breathes out, shakily. Ignore it, move on. ]
I won't.
[ She can't leave him, not after these past weeks. ]
If we mobilize, I'll have others at my back this time.
[ He would have had her back last time. As long as they're contemplating unfair things. ]
I still don't see why they're worth saving. [ His vote to have both die was more passive than it was aggressive. He doesn't care about them, he cares about his friends. ]
Bellona Recreare is the head of a company whose idea of lawful punishment is torture. They make you relive your worst fear, all your pain and anguish, things you couldn't even imagine and it doesn't stop until they say so. And as for their so-called Bridge? Just ask her about the sacrificial rituals when you guys rescue her! That's who you're sticking your neck out for.
[ In other words, he's not going to get in her way, but he'll do whatever he thinks he needs to just so Pyrrha never feels that same slow death again. ]
[ There's nothing incorrect about what he's saying, but — ] ...
[ But she didn't become a Huntress because she thought the right of life and death should be her decision. She had wanted to protect people, not kill them. It's never been her right to decides who deserves life and who doesn't. Rather, Pyrrha strongly mislikes the idea that she was given all her skills and abilities just to stand aside and let justice be skewed because some people are angry, or afraid.
It hurts to know much he disapproves of her decision. It's hard to see this look on his face, this pinched hardness to his voice - belatedly, she's made aware of her abrupt confession and his lack of an answer - but it's all part and parcel of sharing their lives.
She deals with it. She loves him, so she deals with it. ]
I can't decide that, Jaune. I can only do what I think is right.
[ No dithering, not this time. More than once, she's thought if she had only consented to Ozpin's procedure sooner... ]
Yeah? Well, it looks like everyone's more concerned about their own moral conscience in the end.
[ There's more to be said, but they seem to have made up their minds. Any attempts at challenging their justifications only appears to cement them. Voting is murder. Freeing them is murder. Doing nothing is murder.
There's a brief moment of silence as they look out on the horizon, until Jaune buries his face in his hands with a frustrated groan. It's not directed at her, or even himself, but rather the situation that's currently testing them. ]
... I don't know what to do, Pyrrha. [ It's said quietly; a plea for help. ]
[ And, of course, when Jaune asks for help - finally, really asks - Pyrrha drops everything to give it. If his comments had hurt, it's nothing compared to seeing him like this and knowing she is, in some way, the architect of his misery. She steps forward, sets a hand on his shoulder, fingers flexing gently as she squeezes, reassuring or trying to be. It's a mild form of how she wants to reach for him, but Pyrrha knows (believes?) she doesn't have the right.
Not now, not after doing this. ]
Just do what you feel is best. You can't go wrong.
[ There's a silent promise there. No matter what, she's with him. Even if they find themselves on different sides, she will always come home to this apartment. ]
[ The Battle of Beacon really has forced him to grow up in some ways, he knows now there's a huge difference between platitudes and reality. And as far as who has the right to reach out for the other? Pyrrha is the one who deserves better.
It looks as if he's navigating through her phone again, but when he offers it back to Pyrrha, she'll notice that the notepad app is open. Only four words are on the screen. ]
I love you, too.
[ That's one thing he knows he's not wrong about. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Pyrrha?!
[ Is she home yet... ]
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The doors open with a whoosh and she almost doesn't hear them, but lifts her head at the last second.
Yo. ]
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Hey...
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Impulsively, she holds her hands out for him. Come here. ]
You look like you ran all the way here.
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It was just one foot in front of the other, and the next thing I knew was I couldn't slow down. [ He didn't want to either. ]
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She doesn't let go of his hands, isn't sure she could. ]
Why don't we go talk on the balcony?
[ Spoilers: their apartment has a balcony. It's too small for their infrequent spars, but it is large enough for a conversation that would make the continuity of RWBY proud. ]
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Sounds like we're not the only ones who have something to say about what happened. [ He glances back to her phone as they reach the balcony. It doesn't surprise him. ]
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I knew things were falling apart, but I didn't know it was coming to this.
[ The atmosphere of the colony had changed slowly and then, all at once, had become electric. Dangerous.
She looks up at him, seeks to hold his gaze. ]
But... you've been here longer than me. What are you thinking?
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[ Not being oblivious, it's just a broad question when they have so much to digest, not least of which the L-Word that Pyrrha dropped on him. ]
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[ She can't come up with a satisfactory answer, her eyes scanning the broad view outside their apartment.
She tries something different. ]
... right now. What are you thinking, right now?
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[ It will always be you. ]
Home. ... I don't even know what that is anymore. [ Remnant feels like a distant dream compared to the reality he's been living here. ]
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Did they bring her here to fight? To execute? It can't be because CERES wanted to save her.
For the second time in her life, Pyrrha doesn't know where to look. The horizon is too vast. She clings to his hand like it's the only thing holding her upright. ]
Mosley said we could be sent wherever we wanted. [ Inhale and ask, before she can lose her nerve, ] Where do you want to go, Jaune?
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[ It's said without a second thought. ]
Not without you.
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Mosley told me that, once a decision is made, we're not bound by as many limitations as we expected.
[ She smiles, but there's no joy in it. ]
His exact words were, "you can also be sent to an alternate universe where you don't die," and, "you have a lot of options, essentially." [ And she might throw all that away for - for her own ideals, for justice, for the moral compass her mother instilled in her. Standing here now, Jaune saying these things, holding her hand... it feels a lot more difficult, her surety wavering. ]
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[ He's sensing there's more than what she's saying. ]
Tell me what's wrong. Are you overwhelmed? Too many options can do that, too...
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[ Letting go of his hand, there's a quick pause in the conversation, one moment, and she's only inside for that moment. Her CereVice has been silent since they stepped outside, no new calls or messages, and she isn't sure if she's relieved or otherwise as she picks it back up and takes it out.
Scrolling to the conversation with Yu, only a scant few texts in, she holds the device out for Jaune to take, to read.
No more secrets. ]
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"Need to"? Pyrrha, you don't owe these people anything.
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Well, there's my life.
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[ Not while knowing what he's heard about what CERES is doing with all of their souls. They're just energy to a greedy company. ]
It's yours. Don't... [ he pauses. ] ...please don't throw it away again.
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There are those words, though. Throw it away again. Is that what her death had been to him? A stupid, hotblooded mistake? He's the one who told her, never back down from a challenge —
She breathes out, shakily. Ignore it, move on. ]
I won't.
[ She can't leave him, not after these past weeks. ]
If we mobilize, I'll have others at my back this time.
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I still don't see why they're worth saving. [ His vote to have both die was more passive than it was aggressive. He doesn't care about them, he cares about his friends. ]
Bellona Recreare is the head of a company whose idea of lawful punishment is torture. They make you relive your worst fear, all your pain and anguish, things you couldn't even imagine and it doesn't stop until they say so. And as for their so-called Bridge? Just ask her about the sacrificial rituals when you guys rescue her! That's who you're sticking your neck out for.
[ In other words, he's not going to get in her way, but he'll do whatever he thinks he needs to just so Pyrrha never feels that same slow death again. ]
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[ But she didn't become a Huntress because she thought the right of life and death should be her decision. She had wanted to protect people, not kill them. It's never been her right to decides who deserves life and who doesn't. Rather, Pyrrha strongly mislikes the idea that she was given all her skills and abilities just to stand aside and let justice be skewed because some people are angry, or afraid.
It hurts to know much he disapproves of her decision. It's hard to see this look on his face, this pinched hardness to his voice - belatedly, she's made aware of her abrupt confession and his lack of an answer - but it's all part and parcel of sharing their lives.
She deals with it. She loves him, so she deals with it. ]
I can't decide that, Jaune. I can only do what I think is right.
[ No dithering, not this time. More than once, she's thought if she had only consented to Ozpin's procedure sooner... ]
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[ There's more to be said, but they seem to have made up their minds. Any attempts at challenging their justifications only appears to cement them. Voting is murder. Freeing them is murder. Doing nothing is murder.
There's a brief moment of silence as they look out on the horizon, until Jaune buries his face in his hands with a frustrated groan. It's not directed at her, or even himself, but rather the situation that's currently testing them. ]
... I don't know what to do, Pyrrha. [ It's said quietly; a plea for help. ]
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Not now, not after doing this. ]
Just do what you feel is best. You can't go wrong.
[ There's a silent promise there. No matter what, she's with him. Even if they find themselves on different sides, she will always come home to this apartment. ]
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[ The Battle of Beacon really has forced him to grow up in some ways, he knows now there's a huge difference between platitudes and reality. And as far as who has the right to reach out for the other? Pyrrha is the one who deserves better.
It looks as if he's navigating through her phone again, but when he offers it back to Pyrrha, she'll notice that the notepad app is open. Only four words are on the screen. ]
I love you, too.
[ That's one thing he knows he's not wrong about. ]
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