Screw It, I'm Going Out to Find It!

Chapter XXV: Record Scratch

Jaune woke to nightfall. There was little to observe in the make-shift camp Blake had set up for them other than her sudden waking. It was the distant noises that woke them together. At least now he felt somewhat rested.

"When did you fall asleep?" Jaune asked as they began moving again.

For a second, Blake glanced at him, but then turned away. "Sorry, I was supposed to be keeping watch, but I got too comfortable."

Shaking his head, Jaune held up a hand to stop her. "You were right that I needed to rest, but the same goes for you. Don't push yourself past what you can take."

Over the tops of the viny trees, the light show had already begun. It flickered and flashed across the twilight soaked land, a flare in the inky night.

"I guess it's obvious where we're headed," Blake commented. It really was like a neon sign that said 'this way.'

It made Jaune wonder if anyone had tried to confront the partiers at night yet. "Do you think the Shandians are camping up somewhere for the night?"

"They would have to be. It's not as though everyone can just always keep going."

"It seems like those guys can," Jaune muttered to himself. "Do you think that means any of those DJs are still out here? I mean, there doesn't seem to be any fighting, but shouldn't the Shandians be headed there when there's no one in between?"

Blake hummed lightly. "It could be that, but we don't know. It might be that the Shandians don't want to fight during the night, and the DJs know that."

***

Ren slowly opened his eyes. It wasn't easy to sleep when the bass was rattling his teeth. Curled up on the ground and using her cloak like a blanket, Ruby laid across from him, trying to sleep. Sitting up made his side ache, so he used a stone to prop himself against. It wasn't as comfortable as a bed, but it beat carrying his own weight for a moment. Pushing himself to his limit had taken its toll, but it looked like Ruby was able to handle the rest.

In the corner of his vision was the culmination of their efforts. Ruby's weapon was laid carefully next to her. Chuckling to himself, Ren almost imagined her holding it like a stuffed animal; he could see her doing it. The glove at the end made him wonder just how much force Ruby had put into her attack. Satori had been using those dials the entire fight and his gloves had been fine, but her one attack had left them shredded. It left little doubt in his mind that Ruby shouldn't be underestimated.

With a grunt, he tried to stand. It was glaringly obvious that he hadn't rested enough, there wasn't much he could do about that now.

"Ren?" His movements had caused Ruby to stir, and she propped herself onto her elbow. Gently, Ren sat himself back down onto the rock he had been leaning against earlier.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," he broadly gestured toward the music. "If you were managing to sleep with that, you deserved the rest you were getting."

Ruby brushed his comment aside while getting up and dusting herself off. "It's fine," she told him. "I'm just glad to see you're okay. Nora would kill me if anything happened to you." Her concern gave way to a pout. "And I didn't know you were capable of doing something that reckless."

Ren sighed, as if he wanted to lecture himself. "I just didn't feel as though we had many options left at that point. It was either we gave up or did something risky."

In response, Ruby seemed to deflate a bit. "I know. And we couldn't really just give up with our friends out here. I just — I want to be strong enough that they can rely on us."