Endless Shadow [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 2: Colder

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3rd Person Pov

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Jaune: "Ruby!"

Ruby:"Aah!"

Startled out of her thoughts, Ruby Rose nearly fell over with a yelp, the hood of her crimson cloak falling from her head, exposing it to the cool winter air and gentle snow, the white flakes gently drifting from the sky above. Finally collecting herself from her fright, Ruby turned around to meet Jaunes cobalt gaze, clearly filled with an ample mixture of confusion and overall worry. Not doing much to ease her ever rising anxiety, the same could be said for her other two companions, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. Behind them, the snow covered path ran through the wilderness as far as she could see, her home several days and a ferry trip behind them, much farther than she could see.

Finally mustering up her stammered voice and some courage, albeit dwindling, Ruby did her best to appear collected in front of her friends, as if Jaune hadn't just shouted her back to the real world.

Ruby: "Uh-uhm, y-yeah? What? What's up?"

Her already shriveled confidence shrank even further when her team managed to raise a collective eyebrow in skepticism, clearly not convinced at all by her shaky front. Her boots shifted anxiously in the snow, the anxiety reminding her senses of the bitter cold around her, sending shivers and jolts of cold up her spine. This was the last thing she wanted.

Seemingly not caring anymore about what he originally was going to say, Jaune turned his gaze to the horizon behind them, set apart from the rest of the sky by the bright orange of an approaching sunset. Turning his gaze next to Nora and Ren, they all nodded to eachother, and his two companions dragged the partys packs to the edge of the path, already beginning to unpack essentials and gather firewood. Finally, Jaune spoke.

Jaune: "We're stopping for tonight. You're clearly not okay."

Ruby blinked several times before Jaunes words registered in her brain. Stopping? She flailed her arms up and down as she tried to plead her case.

Ruby: "But-!"

She didn't even get two words out however before Jaune spoke over her, not giving her a chance to weasel the party onward, all while he moved towards Nora to help gather firewood.

Jaune: "No Buts. It's already decided, we're stopping for tonight."

Ruby: "No! I-im fine! Really! We need to keep going, there's still time before nightfall! Hey!"

Her frustrated protests fell on deaf ears as Jaune simply continued to help set up camp for the night. She kicked herself mentally for letting herself get caught moping, a nearby rock suffering the physical reflection of her thoughts. With nearly a growl, she yanked her hood back over her head, taking only a second to note where her team was before turning on her heels and storming off into the forest.

The snow covered ground crunched beneath her feet as she stomped away, staring off into space, an angered frown still plastered on her face. She didn't know why she was angry. She just was. She wanted to be angry. But what was the point? Finally, she stopped her march at the edge of a small frozen lake. Why was she doing this? What did she accomplish by storming off into the middle of nowhere like some child? Why was she even reacting?

The wind shifted.

Racking her brain for any kind of reason to justify her actions, she sat at the edge of the frozen water, arms wrapped around knees tucked high into her chest, she stared into the ice, her reflection staring back at her. She found no awnsers in her own eyes. Only tears, and the tears only brought more questions. What was she doing? Storming off into the wilderness, leaving her friends clueless and alone. She knew Jaune wouldn't stop the party out of anger, he was worried. They all were. She could understand why he did it, she would do the same thing.