𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (English)

Chapter 21

The loud and endless beep of Amber's life support echoed in his ears even after Ozpin escorted him from the basement and up to his office. A warm cup of coffee was pushed into his hands. He sipped at it mechanically and grimaced at the sweetness. It wasn't coffee at all; it was hot chocolate. Jaune took a longer sip, the velvety concoction coating his mouth and taking away the taste of the cold flagstones he'd tasted before.

Amber was dead.

She'd died. Right in front of him. Died asking him for a kiss. Died thinking they were going to go on a romantic date. Died thinking she was free, when in reality she'd been in a fucking test tube while her murderer ran free. Jaune's hands shook, spilling chocolate on his fingers. The pain felt good. Ozpin's kindly voice interrupted it.

"I realise you're not in any good state of mind right now, Mr Arc, and I would give you time to recover in any other situation. But I have to know. Were you able to find out who attacked Amber? Were you able to see their faces?"

Oh. That.

Intellectually, he knew he ought to feel more worried about having disregarded Ozpin and Ironwood's instructions. That was cold and logical thinking, however. He wasn't capable of it at that moment. "No." His voice came out wooden and flat. "I wasn't."

Ozpin cursed. "Why not?"

"Amber knew she was approaching her end even in the dream. We were in a forest. It was dark and... ominous."

"Ominous?"

"That might not mean much to you, but it's a big deal in the dreams." The older man nodded, content to listen to the explanation. "If something appears ominous then it absolutely is a bad memory, because there aren't any coincidences in dreams. Everything is scripted."

"I see. Amber recognised the point of her attack and had a panic attack. Is that what you're saying?"

"Close enough." Jaune took a longer drink. "Amber freaked out and then we appeared in a field of flowers far away." It wasn't a complete lie. "She wanted to avoid remembering a traumatic experience, and so we avoided it. She... died soon after."

Ozpin sat back, collapsing in his seat. He looked exhausted. "A mental block. I suppose she would have suppressed such a traumatic memory." Jaune didn't correct him. "In a way... In a way, I am happy for her. That she didn't have to experience that moment again." Ozpin took a breath, and it was shaky. Very shaky. "Was she peaceful, Mr Arc? At the end? Was it a kind death?"

Jaune's fingers gripped the mug tight. His own voice was hoarse. "It was the kindest I could give her."

"Thank you for that." Ozpin heaved a heavy sigh.

There was silence between them for the longest time. Minutes. Enough that his hot chocolate turned cold, and for his thoughts to drift to terrible places. Neither felt like breaking the silence, and neither would have known what to say anyway.

Eventually, Ozpin spoke, "I can provide you a private room for the night if you would rather not face your team."

Jaune nodded. His teammates would be full of sympathy and would stay up all night to keep an eye on him. He just didn't think he could deal with that right now. It would break him. He wanted to be somewhere alone where he could bury his face in a pillow and scream without someone stroking his back or trying to be there for him.

"I shall also deal with James so you don't have to."

"Thank you..." Jaune set the cup down. "I will... I will let you know if I find out who did this." He saw the teacher's confused expression and elaborated. "If they... If they dream about it... I'll know. I'll catch them."