𝐈𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 (English)

Chapter 49

Jaune didn't remember his dreams for once.

He woke up to a tired Qrow and they both took a landing Bullhead back to Beacon in time for breakfast. His team relaxed once he was back, and no one batted an eye when he said he was going to sleep off-campus for the second night. And, yet again, the second night was like the first, with him being able to sleep without invading anyone's dreams.

It was a relief for him, but not the monumental shift the teachers had been hoping for. Oobleck privately told him they'd been hoping he would be able to access his own dreams and find some degree of control over his Semblance inside it. No such luck there, but Jaune enjoyed the nights he got without having to worry about discovering secrets or rewriting someone's DNA. He also enjoyed being away from a still sulky Nora who was passive-aggressively calling him "dad" in private and constantly sighing as she played with her dyed orange hair. He hadn't thought her one to hold a grudge but it looked like exceptions had been made.

The third night away from Beacon was as peaceful as the last two, and Glynda was content to let it continue, if only so she didn't have to deal with any more early-morning meetings. Things fell into a routine, and Jaune personally got to enjoy waking up with full aura and being able to focus on classes and training for once.

But it was inevitable things wouldn't last.

/-/

"Welp," said Jaune, almost immediately knowing he was in a dream and what that meant. "I guess four nights in a row was too much to ask for what. Did Qrow fall asleep?"

The huntsman was stuck babysitting him every night and there wasn't much to do, so it wouldn't have been unreasonable for him to drift off. It was still better to enter his dreams than those of a stranger.

"You agreed to be here, Qrow!" he shouted. "You knew the risks. That's kind of like consenting." It was as close as he was going to get. "I don't suppose you want to make this lucid so we can talk? Hello. It's a dream. None of this is real!"

There was no response.

He hadn't been expecting much in all fairness. Telling someone they were dreaming was easy but making them accept it and wake up within the dream was much harder. Most people were asleep, and their subconscious could process a lot of unrealistic stuff without getting suspicious. He'd had no luck with Nora and didn't expect he would with Qrow, and that was if he could even find the man.

The dream had taken him into a woodland and he could tell it was the Emerald Forest. Not because of anything marked with the trees, but having Beacon in the background above a tall cliff was a bit of a giveaway. That must have been the cliff they were launched off in initiation.

"I guess Qrow did study at Beacon before he became a huntsman. I wonder if he's dreaming about his initiation. There's no way it'd still be the same as ours after so long, right? Or is it really the same thing every year?"

A gunshot echoed nearby. Jaune put his aura up around himself just in case, but they always said you didn't hear the gunshot that killed you. He didn't know if that was true, but this one was already fading away as an echo, so it definitely hadn't been aimed his way.

I guess I could head towards it, but maybe I should stay here—

A blur shot out from the trees and landed in a skid in front of him, nipping that idea in the bud. Red cloak, silver eyes. Still locked onto the idea of Qrow, Jaune wondered if this might be Ruby's mom, up until he realised she had Crescent Rose in hand and that Ruby had boasted off building it herself.

"Ruby...?"

"Jaune...?" Her reaction was as surprised as his, but she recovered with a shy smile. "I guess this makes us partners. Doesn't it?"