( closed ) the river knows to reach the sea

[qaw]

Who: Blake, Pyrrha, Qrow, Ruby, and Yang
What: Catching up
When: Early April
Where: Blake's Van
Warnings: Discussions of trauma, war crimes, and risque drawings

It's been a while since Qrow has taken part in one of these group meetings, and even longer since he felt like he was leading one. Hell, maybe he's not leading this meeting. He's the one with the most updated information, but Ruby is the leader of her team and closer to Pyrrha than any of the rest of them. Maybe it's her meeting.

But it doesn't matter. It's a pleasantly cool mid-spring evening. Dinner is over, the Drifters are winding down for the night, and the Convoy has deployed its shield. The five of them are gathered around a cheery little campfire, the flames throwing flickering shadows against the... interesting... mural painted on the side of Blake's van.

Whether or not they're ready for it, it's time to catch up.

Comments

[tokencanadian]

"...A team name? But isn't that a bit--"

Quick? Because she just got here, not that the others are worried about that. No, they've been here much longer, haven't they?

How long have they existed... without her?

Pyrrha swallows something acidic in her throat.

"I wouldn't want to take up Weiss's position permanently, of course."

[guidemyway]

Ruby looks over to Pyrrha and frowns briefly.

"Of course not. We would never think of you replacing Weiss. And no one would want to replace you either." There's a pang of guilt as she thinks over her own recent history.

"After Beacon fell. Team RWBY kind of went their own way for awhile, for a whole lot of different reasons." She didn't exactly like dwelling on this either.

"But for awhile I travelled with Jaune, Ren, and Nora. We formed Team RNJR for awhile. It wasn't something I did to take your place. ...But we all needed each other because we-" Because they had lost Pyrrha.

[tokencanadian]

Pyrrha expression is a mirage. Soft and vague. It's hard to say whether she was thinking on the way Ruby's words trailed off, or not thinking at all.

Just... taking all that in.

What feels like an eternity is a short couple seconds before Pyrrha swallows something hard and bitter in her throat, and states: "RNJR is... that's a good name. For it, I mean. I'm sure you all did very well."

Without her. Which is something Pyrrha has summarily decided she is not ready to think about in the slightest.

[guidemyway]

Ruby immediately feels bad for opening up her mouth. It's hard to know what to say in the first place, but Ruby was probably that had been closest with Pyrrha's team after she passed. She had hoped the information would bring comfort.

"Yeah. I-" She stops herself, and looks down at the fire briefly.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

[tokencanadian]

Everything about what Ruby knows could potentially be a great help. Or it could hinder things in ways Pyrrha had no way of knowing. As it was, the scraps Ruby fed her left Pyrrha chewing on the edge of her lip, contemplative. That was the nature of destiny, it seemed.

But she could never ignore Ruby's sadness.

Reaching over, Pyrrha tried to place a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"No, I... thank you, really," she meant it, even putting on a slight smile. "Seeing you here, Ruby - all of you, after what I did - that makes me feel better."

[fists_of_funny]

"Your spot in Team JNPR will still be waiting for you when we all go home, Pyrrha." Yang speaks up. Because they are going back to Remnant, all of them. Whatever force brought Pyrrha back, it's gonna have to go through all the rest of them if it tries to take her back.

[guidemyway]

The awkwardness and terrible feeling in her gut lightened up a little feeling the hand on her shoulder. It was going to be strange walking the line between what she should or shouldn't say with how long she traveled with RNJR, but she knew how much each of them desperately missed Pyrrha. Maybe the best she could do was just try to make sure those feelings got across.

"Right. And well- while we're all here. We might as well make the best of it. I feel like we've got a lot of adventure ahead of us."

Ruby blinks slightly at Yang's comment. She still wasn't exactly sure if they'd get that chance. But she hoped so, and Yang's determination was pretty infectious.

"Yeah. I think that's a good thing to work toward."