Adam's Redemption (Mistral Arc)

The Hard Things (V4)

I don't own RWBY. RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth and was created by Monty Oum. I only own my OCs

Adam awoke the next morning. Of course, it was really early, 4am at least. Adam did all the things he normally would. Afterwards, he did a check of his supplies, of which he noticed something strange

Some of them were gone. Some of his food was gone along with some of his water. A bit of his dust was gone too. Adam scowled because this solidified his thoughts about Maron following him

Still, Adam would have to deal with it. Adam suspected that Maron already knew that Adam knew he was following them, but he couldn't risk giving up that advantage in case he wasn't. He would still have to be careful anyways

Adam heard a gasp coming from Ruby's sleeping bag and turned to look at it. Ruby was sitting up in a cold sweat. Adam turned away. He knew that it was a nightmare. He had plenty of them to know that

"Didn't get a good sleep?" Adam asked even though he knew she didn't. Ruby, of course, jumped, forgetting that Adam was awake at this time

She put a hand over her heart and took a deep breath in. She turned to Adam

"No. I didn't." She replied. Adam nodded his head

"Yeah, I get that. I used to get nightmares about my branding after I got it. Hell, I still get them, even years after the incident happened." Adam told her. Ruby lowered her head at the response

Adam noticed that and sat up. He walked over to Ruby before sitting down by her. He put his hand on her shoulder

"So, listen to me when I tell you that I know how painful it is. Tell me, what's been giving you nightmares?" Adam asked. Ruby put her hands over her face

Whether it was shame or something else, Adam didn't know

"I can't stop thinking about Pyrrha. The night Beacon fell. I was there when she died. I know I could've saved her if I had just been fast enough. I know I could've just... done something." Ruby said to Adam, her voice breaking down more and more as she went along

"Hey, that's not true." Adam said

"But, I really could've. If I just hadn't wasted my time with Grimm, then I would've stopped her. It's my fault she's dead." Ruby told Adam, tears pouring down her face like rain

"Stop that. If anyone is responsible for Pyrrha's death, it's Cinder and her allies. Not you. And Ruby, you can spend your entire life telling yourself that you could've saved Pyrrha, but it won't change anything. The only way you can possibly do anything about that is to continue going along your path. You can't do anything about her death. It's in the past." Adam stated

"But-"

"Ruby. There is nothing you can do but accept her passing. Come here. Give me a hug." Adam interrupted. Ruby took his offer without hesitation and hugged him

"It hurts for me to see you like this, you know? I've barely had family in my whole life. Everyone here and the rest of our team, RWPY, is the closest I've had to family for a while, Ruby. You, yourself, are my little sister. So, please, just let it all out Ruby." Adam told her

"I just miss her." Ruby croaked out of the tears

"Me too." Adam replied, tears streaming down his face while his voice was trying it's best to stay stable

It wouldn't be for a while until Ruby finally stopped... and even longer to stop hugging him

***

"So, the next town is... uh-huh! Uh-huh... we're lost." Ruby claimed

"We're not lost, the next town is Shion. My family used to visit it all the time." Jaune told Ruby