Jade Pegas's Full History

Jade Pegas was born in a village somewhere on the continent of Vytal. Her parents never stayed in any place for longer than a day. They believed that the Four Kingdoms created the illusion of everlasting security, and that they would fall eventually, leaving a vast amount of citizens unprepared. Those who choose not to lead the life of a huntsman would not be prepared for a Grimm attack and would fall before the huntsmen could launch a counter attack. Of course, Jade always opposed this decision, she wanted to sleep in a bed, have friends, and have a fun life. Her parents, of course wouldn't budge on the matter, but she never let up.

Although she never had the opportunity to train at a combat school, Jade's parents taught her hand to hand combat, and they helped her forge her weapon%. Her skills for her weapon, however, were hers to develop, and, eventually, she came up with a technique that none could easily counter. Her family had dealt with their fair share of bandits. That is to be expected when your entire immediate family consists of Faunus in a world full of discrimination and hate. Since a simple set of cougar ears could earn you multiple bullet wounds and lacerations, Jade's parents stressed that she should keep this trait of hers hidden. Her mom even hand-knitted her a wool cap to conceal her second set of ears.

Although she didn't agree with a very major choice they had made, Jade still loved and admired her parents. Her mother, Arinna, was a very caring mother who went to the extremes to protect Jade sometimes. Although most would think that she would achieve this by keeping Jade out of combat, this was not the case in a world filled with chaos and darkness. (Arinna is the Goddess of the Sun in Middle-Eastern Hittite culture. "She is a warm and sunny Goddess who offers protection from war and disaster. Nothing can go wrong while the sun shines." The deity is known for her protective nature and this fits with Jade's mother quite well, although it's nearly impossible to avoid conflicts in the World of Remnant.) She has helped Jade through every obstacle - physical and emotional - that she has had to overcome. Her father, Lapis, was the one who conducted most of Jade's training in hand to hand combat and weapons forgery (not that Arinna didn't have anything to do with her progress). Her skills would not exist without both of their contributions in her life, be it combat or wilderness survival.

Jade and Arinna were especially close, but Jade admired her father immensely. His focus during encounters was like that of a Shaolin monk. Arinna was also quite adept in combat. The two used tactics that did nothing other than decimate foes. Whenever a situation was about to go south, the two would still do their best to reach out to the possible threat and try to convince them of a better path to take, but would still be able to incapacitate anyone who chose violence instead of understanding. The two would never kill unless necessary. Anyone that was unfortunate enough to find themselves on the business end of their weapons would be assisted to the nearest village after the fight. Although many were ungrateful after their beatdown, some showed gratitude for the couple's kindness and would even apologize for their rash behavior. In short, they were pseudo-pacifists. They didn't want to resort to violence unless absolutely necessary.

The family had its close calls, but always scraped through. But then, the largest pack of beowolves they'd ever faced ambushed them near the edge of a forest. Lapis was the first to fall. He took a nasty gash to the abdomen and fell against a tree, blood spraying onto Jade. Arinna, after strong protest, forced Jade to run out of the trees while she protected Lapis. When she reached the opening, she was surprised by a strong impact to her weapon%, sending it flying out of reach. Outnumbered and with nowhere to go, she jumped up into a tree. The creatures circle the tree and gave her no route to escape.

Certain that her death was imminent, she began to weep. She thought about her parents and what had become of them. Her living nightmare was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her rifle flying toward her with a strange woman clad in white where it once lay. She snatched it out of the air. With nothing that could be described in any other way than pure rage, she separated Lincah and Ajek and began to decimate the pack of beowolves encircling the tree. She wasn't alone though. Automatic gunfire was peppering the grimm while a pair sliced them to pieces. When the last beowolf was no more, she could finally see her saviors. A boy, about her age, with a rifle, a beautiful looking woman with a pair of small spikes, and a man with a saber, wearing... blue. The man with the familiar color asked her what happened.

Jade suddenly remembered. Her parents! She took off into the forest, sprinting towards her only family. When she arrived at the location of the initial ambush, she froze. The grimm surrounding her most precious companions were dead and evaporating. But that wasn't what caught her attention. Arinna was leaning up against the tree next to Lapis, clutching his hand with tears rolling down her face. She knew, at that moment, that her father bled out with her mother never leaving his side. Arinna looked up to Jade, seeing the tears pour from her eyes, along with another woman dressed in white with her hand over her mouth. Jade ran to her mother. The older woman's leg was severely wounded, and her chest had sizeable opening. Arinna struggled to speak. "J-Jade... You're ok."

Shaking her head, the girl interrupted, "Don't worry about me! We have to bandage your wounds!" She looked over to the woman who saved her. "Help me!" The stranger couldn't even speak. She looked as if she had never seen a more heartbreaking event than the one in front of her. "Why aren't you helping!?" More grunts of pain from the tree. "S-Sweetie, we b-both know th-that there's n-nothing to be done." Jade couldn't believe what she was hearing. The dying mother reached up to the tattered, bloodied ascot wrapped around her neck. She took it off and placed it in the girls hands along with a necklace that she recognized as the one her father wore. Jade couldn't contain herself anymore. She broke down right at that moment, burying her head into the shoulder of the woman who had sacrificed herself for a man that had died anyway. She couldn't bear the sight of the cold and lifeless father of hers being clutch by someone who wasn't far off from the same fate. Arinna looked to the unfamiliar face. "T-take her... p-please..." She opened her mouth one last time. "I... l-love you J-Jade... S-so... m-much..." Jade watched the light fade from her eyes. With a pained cry, the younger girl hugged her mother tightly for the last time.

Without either saying a word, the stranger helped her bury her parents. Jade was beckoned to follow. What other choice did she have? It was the middle of nowhere, and she didn't have anyone left. The two walked in silence. The trees began to thin out, and they two spotted the rest of the group. Jade couldn't help but tear up a little more at how much the unknown man looked a little like her father. He offered to escort her to the nearest village. She nodded. As they walked the boy asked her what her name was. "J-Jade...Jade P-Pegas." The boy told her his name. Grease or something like that. Apparently the two adults were married and Cen (as he explained after I questioned his name and his color) was their son. The mother's name was Blanche and the father's was Sarrau. The latter asked Jade if she had a home, but she just shook her head. It looked like the man was thinking for a few seconds, but then he asked something that she would never have expected. "Would you like to come with us? We're headed for Vale. You can stay with us when we get there if you want." Hearing this, she began to tear up, and she wrapped Sarrau up in a tight hug. He reminded her too much of her father with his appearance, but seemed to have the caring nature of her mother as well.

Blanche offered to wash her clothes for her and the group slept in the village for the night. At least, Jade tried to sleep. She found herself crying every now and then and even some sobs escaped her lips. Cen was very kind though, and stayed next to her trying to comfort her. He wasn't very successful, but he tried. She eventually dozed off, but her slumber wasn't one that she could say she enjoyed. She was bombarded by nightmares about the encounter that stole her parents from her.

Over the next few days, Jade was occasionally asked about herself by Cen. Answering these questions wasn't too personal, so she felt no problem enlightening the boy. However, some of his questions brought up some less-than-happy memories, and she began to hesitate. Cen seemed to notice this, and held off for the time being. She liked him. He could tell when she didn't feel comfortable and made sure he stopped making her uneasy.

A while later, Sarrau looked over his map, and said that they were halfway between Vacuo and Vale. Jade noticed that Blanche looked a bit worried. Then Cen touched his fingers to the ground. That must have been his semblance. He confirmed his mother’s worries when he informed the group that they were surrounded. Whoever was stalking them emerged from their cover. She could recognize the emblem on their uniforms. It was the White Fang. She had encountered them many times during her travels. Thinking about this, she couldn't help but think of her parents. They handled these situations quite well, avoiding an inevitable conflict with their convincing arguments. Shaking the memories of what once was, she hoped that her new companions could do the same.

The leader of the group demanded that they leave their belongings and leave. Instead of negotiating, however, the family of three drew their weapons. Caught off guard, Jade drew hers later than the rest. The squad charged, but was decimated by Sarrau and Blanche. She couldn't help but feel sorry for the dead grunts, but she moved on with the group. After walking for a distance, they were ambushed by another group. They weren't given the same chance to walk away that the last one gave. Jade didn't have any problem with fighting now. This was a pretty large group. She was taking down some grunts when she heard Cen sceam behind him. She turned around to see Blanche on the ground and Cen's bayonet in the White Fang leader's arm, firing shots at the same time. She turned back to find some more grunts to attack, but the leader called a retreat. Jade ran over to Cen. He'd taken a hard punch to the side of the head, but he would be fine. Sarrau had to stop him from charging after the retreating forces.

When she saw Sarrau next to Blanche, Jade froze. He had his hands pressed onto Blanche's chest which was covered in red. She snapped out of it and pulled out a strip of cloth. After wrapping it around Blanche's chest, she stepped back while the others picked her up and started moving her to a nearby village. When they arrived, Jade ran off to find a doctor. She moved door to door, bang on each one. No one would help. They either never answered, or just closed their doors after Jade finished with her pleas. She didn't stop though. She was determined to find someone to save Blanche's life. It was the least she could do. After all, the woman had already saved her life. Jade returned to the rest of the group empty handed with clenched fists and a look of disgust and rage in her eyes. That look faded as soon as she saw the group. Cen was just sitting there, and Sarrau was sobbing over Blanche's cold body. Jade began to cry as well. They eventually burried her and moved on after Sarrau put what looked like a flower of some sort on her grave. She realized that it was the very flower that she kept in her hair. Without speaking, the group moved on.

They kept to the trees as much as possible and stayed off of the path. Following a path would be moronic considering how pissed that White Fang leader would be about his arm. The only downside was that they attracted more grimm and help would be scarce. They only slept in a few villages while mostly resting in the trees. This continued for months. Jade stayed close to Cen most of the time. She was especially worried since Cen hadn't even spoken since Blanche was slain. She held his hand and tried to get him to talk. She even forced him to eat sometimes. It occurred to her that he had been in her shoes after she lost her parents too. She did her best to try and keep him together. It eventually started working. Cen began to talk more, and even ate on his own. His overall demeanor improved thanks to Jade's help. They reached a village just outside of the kingdom of Vale, but it was quite dark. They stayed in the village and waited until the morning to conclude their journey.

It was a surprisingly warm morning considering that the previous night had been frigid. Jade grew increasingly nervous as the group approached the gates. She could keep herself together, but what happened next made her as terrified as she had ever been. Cen began yelling about the "animals" and "murderers" in line up ahead. Sarrau walked over to some offended faces to apologize, and Jade's fears were realized. Cen was referring to the Faunus in line. She couldn't stop shaking. Cen seemed to take notice, and the pure rage that had appeared on his face vanished and was replaced by worry. Cen had yelled some horrible things about the Faunus just then. But who could blame him? His mother was murdered by the White Fang. Some prejudice would be expected. But the fact that she herself was a Faunus scared her even more. She had grown quite close to Cen, and she possibly even had feelings for him, but if he discovered her secret, would he accept her?

After a while, the group reached the security check. Cen and Sarrau presented something to the guards and were allowed to move on, but when Jade walked up, she didn't know what to do when the guard demanded her identification. She just replied with, "I don't know what that is..." The guard gestured her to follow him. "You must be from outside the kingdoms. You can get registered here. You'll be able to do anything that any citizen has the right to do. She was brought into a room and handed some papers.

Jade spent about 10 minutes filling out forms. They were pretty easy to answer, but then she found a question that she had been dreading.

Species: Human or Faunus (circle one)

She started shaking again, and after a tear escaped her eye, she circled "Human". She felt disgusted with herself, but what choice did she have? She couldn't just reveal her identity to Cen. Who knows how he'd react.

The guard who brought her into the back room looked over the papers. Noticing the stain on the paper, he turned to Jade. "I take it you're a Faunus?" Jade looked up in surprise. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. I've seen a few Faunus trying to hide their identities. I know the signs." Jade started to cry again. The guard put his hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to feel ashamed." He removed his contacts from his eyes, revealing what appeared to be snake eyes. "I've been hiding it for years. Nobody would even guess." Jade nodded. "Thank you." The guard escorted her back to Cen and Sarrau.

She decided that, although she would have to hide her ears for the time being, she would eventually reveal them to Cen. Now was not the time though. Maybe in a few years when he's had time to cool off from the incident. The group began moving through Vale. Jade's eyes were wide with awe. She had never seen so many buildings. It was truly a sight to behold. She couldn't believe how enormous the city was. While she was staring at the tall buildings, Sarrau said something to Cen about some Mountain Glen or something. She was just too excited to care at this point. Her new home would probably be impressive no matter what. It would certainly be better than sleeping in a tree. She nearly jumped when Sarrau started talking to her. “And Jade, you seem capable. We might as well get you applied for Beacon too.” Jade was surprised at this. She shook her head. “I never went to combat school. I don’t think I’d get accepted.” Her point was completely decimated by his next comments. “You learned your own weapon by yourself. You’ve created your own technique for utilizing it too. And with your knowledge of surviving in dangerous environments, you’ll definitely pass the entrance exams.” At this, Jade smiled. Sarrau certainly knew how to brighten her day considering recent events. It reminded her of her mother, and her smile faded soon after.

They walked into some underground train system. She'd only seen the aboveground trains that extend throughout Vytal. Apparently it was called a "subway". It was such a strange experience for her. They exited the "subway" and arrived at a town not as big as Vale, but still quite a sight. After some quick shopping for essentials (Jade need clothes and they needed food), the group headed for the outskirts to find a house. Sarrau said they were cheaper there, so they decided to start there. It seemed like a bad idea to Jade, though. But she couldn't complain. It was a place to sleep. Sleep. Something that hasn't been a pleasant experience in months.

They passed by a house that made Cen and Sarrau stop for a look. They must have liked it because Sarrau decided to buy it. She didn't really know what to think of it. She couldn't judge a house since she never lived in one before. Naturally, she just looked at it in awe. Cen and Sarrau weren't as impressed as Jade. They just seemed to like it because it was familiar to them. After about an hour of Sarrau talking to someone that they called a "realtor", he left to look for a job while Cen and Jade unpacked.

Setting her bag down, she removed the items that she kept: some cloth bandages, food and water, and her new clothes. After a few seconds of checking her food for freshness (she’d hunted it a few days before arriving in Vale, so it was less-than-edible), Cen suggested that they pick out rooms. There were two bedrooms. One was bigger with a larger bed, and the other one was smaller with a bed to match the size difference. Jade decided to take the smaller one since it wasn’t her house. She stopped when she hear Cen’s voice. “Jade. Take the master bedroom. I’ll sleep in there.” Jade wasn’t quite sure what he meant by “master bedroom” but then it clicked. She smiled and thanked him for the opportunity to sleep in the bigger bed. When she entered her new quarters, she put her clothes in the drawers (lucky guess) and flopped onto the bed. At that exact moment, she fell in love. Not wanting to get up, she nodded off for a while. Her hopes for a peaceful sleep would not come to fruition. She dreamt of her parents walking into a forest ahead of her. She ran after them, but her father faded away. After that, her mother turned around, smiled, and disappeared as well. She was freed from this nightmare by the sounds of some shouting in the adjacent room. Getting up, it sounded like a one-sided discussion between Cen and Sarrau. As she opened the door, she heard Cen yell, “DAD!! What’s wrong with you?!?!?”

As she walked into the hallway, she asked them what was going on. Sarrau responded quickly, “You and Cen are gonna share a room now.” … … … Cen didn’t seem to notice, but their faces turned bright red at the EXACT same time. Startled by this but, at the same time, a little excited to possibly make her feelings known, she looked away before speaking up, “Ok.” At that her face turned even redder. Jade was startled by Sarrau’s loud and sudden response, “Well, that settles it. Son, get out.” Cen was shoved into the hallway and the door was closed. After a moment of awkward silence and some redder faces unable to look at each other, the two entered their room.

Jade was a bit confused when Cen grabbed a pillow from the bed and walked toward the corner. “What are you doing?” Cen scratched the back of his head and put on that same caring smile. “You can have the bed Jade.” Not knowing how two people sleeping in the same bed could be problem, Jade voiced her logic, “But it’s big enough for both of us.” It was a little dark, even for a Faunus, but she could have sworn she saw his face get really, really red. His response seemed to support this suspicion. “O-Ok…” The two climbed into bed and faced away from each other. Thinking for a minute at how nice her life would be now, she sighed. “Hey Cen?” “What is it?” She thought for a short moment, her face reddening. “Thank you.” “For what?” Her face got even redder. “Everything.” “N-no problem…” She sat there just thinking about how much Cen helped her deal with her parents’ demise. But was a bit startled when he started talking again. “I’m glad we found you out there, Jade. Jade?” Cen muttered under his breath, “She must be asleep.” The Faunus’s eyes were closed, but she was smiling and a few tears could be seen rolling across her face. After that, she had the most peaceful, perfect sleep she’d had in her entire life.

Always waking up at the crack of dawn, Jade awoke quite early. She was a little drowsy, but become fully conscious after noticing her position on the bed. She was holding on to Cen. Her face became so red that some would believe she was covered in blood, and she barely suppressed a squeal, preventing Cen from waking up and making the situation even more embarrassing. Carefully getting out of bed so as to keep Cen asleep, Jade walked into the bathroom to try and figure it out. There was a mirror, and in front of it was an oversized shelf with a dip in it. A strange, metallic object hung over it. She had no idea what to do, so she just changed, fixed her hair, and exited the bathroom. Before walking out to the living room, she glanced at the clock. ''Hmm 7:45. A bit later than I’m used to. Oh well. It’s not like I’m in a tree hiding from grimm.''

Jade was surprised to see that Sarrau was already awake. He looked up from the book he was reading and smiled. “You’re up early.” Jade was a bit amused by this. “You’re up even earlier. Did you even sleep last night?” Sarrau raised an eyebrow. “Not as much as I wanted to, but I slept nonetheless. What about you? You seemed pretty comfortable when I check on you two about a half-hour ago.” Jade’s face immediately flushed… A LOT. The sight of this made Sarrau chuckle. “You know, if you would just tell him how you feel, I’m sure you would find that he feels the same way.” Walking over and taking a seat next to Sarrau, Jade sighed. “You really think so?” Her voice was less than confident. Sarrau smiled. “I’m his father. I KNOW so.” Jade still wasn’t convinced. “But what if… he doesn’t accept… what I am?” Sarrau seemed perplexed. “What do you mean?” Jade failed to stop the single tear that ran down her cheek. Removing her hat and revealing her ears, she stated, “We both heard him at the gate. He would hate me just as much as the Faunus of the White Fang.” Sarrau opened his mouth, but couldn’t say anything. “My parents had already told me that it was best to hide my ears because of the White Fang’s way of thinking, but now I’m even more terrified of showing them.” Sarrau sighed. “Then wait.” Jade wasn’t sure what he meant. “When you two get into Beacon, you’ll be exposed to all kinds of different people, Faunus and Human. Cen will eventually see how wrong he is and then you can tell him without worrying about it. Or you can chance it and see if he’ll accept you despite his opinion of the Faunus.” Jade wiped the tears from her eyes and gave Sarrau a hug. “Hey Jade.” The Faunus pulled back from her hug and listened. “How about I teach you how to cook bacon? It’s Cen’s favorite.” She nodded, and the two went into the kitchen.

After an hour of figuring out the stove and being shown how to cook bacon, Sarrau had to leave for work. Jade spent the next 30 minutes cooking bacon. After a few strips nearly caused the smoke detector to go off, she finally cooked some bacon that looked right. A friendly face appeared in the kitchen. “Good morning, sleepy head. Sarrau showed me how to cook bacon.” The sight of Cen drooling over the breakfast was certainly humorous. Cen finally regained control of himself and replied, “You sure got the hand of it fast.” He finally took his eyes off of his favorite delicacy and eyed Jade curiously. “Hey. How come you wear a hat to bed?” At this, Jade nearly panicked. “I, uh, like the feeling of it. It’s nice and soft,” she lied. “Why do you ask?” Cen didn’t seem to believe her. “It’s just… I’ve never seen you without that hat on.” “My mom made this hat for me. I’ve had it since I was a little girl.” While this was true, and she was really attached to the cap, she wore it for an entirely different reason. Noticing that Cen’s eyes moved back to the bacon, she broke the silence. “Let’s eat.”

Moving to the couch in the living room, Jade struggled to keep Cen from diving at the plate of bacon she carried. After they finally reached the couch, Cen managed to grab a strip of bacon and shove it into his mouth. Cen didn’t move or even speak for at least 10 seconds, so Jade was worried. “Aw crap is it that bad?” After that, she noticed Cen was holding back tears. She was startled when Cen shouted, “THIS IS THE BEST BACON I’VE EVER HAD!!!” The boy proceeded to stuff his face. At this, Jade burst into laughter. Her laughing fit was interrupted by a knock at the door. Cen went and answered it. Jade could hear bits and pieces like “Are you insane?!” and “You’re close to the boundaries!”

Jade wanted to know what just happened. “What was that about?” “I don’t know. Some paranoid lady asked me if I was crazy or something. I’m starting to think she was crazy herself.” Jade and Cen continued eating. Jade had to admit, her bacon was pretty good. After they finished, the pair decided to go into the town and check it out.

They looked at some of the stores and bought some stuff. Cen bought himself some cloth strips to replace the tattered ones that were wrapped around his sweatshirt. Jade was thankful when he bought her some dust rounds for her rifle. They explored for hours, and eventually decided to go back to the house.

It looked like someone ransacked the place. Cen ran inside with Jade not far behind. Jade didn’t realize it until it was too late, but a Beowolf was running around the corner from the kitchen toward Cen. She watched in horror as he was slashed in the face. She quickly dispatched the creature and ran over to Cen. His face was covered in blood, and it looked like the claws went through is eyes. Jade was shaking, but she’d be damned if she let someone else important to her die. She picked up the unconscious Cen and threw him over her shoulder. In any other situation, she would buckle under the weight, but Cen was in dire need of medical attention. She ran with Cen still draped over her shoulder and reached the local hospital. They were able to stop the bleeding, but if there was any chance of fixing his eyes, it would be in Vale. After about an hour of treatment, the hospital decided to transport him to Vale via a bullhead. Jade was allowed onto the aircraft as well, and she held his hand the whole time.

Jade was not happy with the fact that they weren’t hurrying to get him a surgeon to fix his eyes. But then again, the grimm attacks were increasing in Mountain Glen, and there were some serious injuries. After Cen was finally assigned a surgeon, they wheeled him into an operating room. Jade sat in the hallway for over 3 hours. She was later joined by Sarrau who heard when the Mountain Glen hospital called him. When the door finally opened, the surgeon came out with a glum look on his face. “What happened? Is he okay?!” The doctor nodded. “He’ll be fine, but there were some… complications… with his eyes.” Sarrau motioned him to continue. “His left eye was… gone. It must have been clawed out of his face. The right was just too damaged to fix.” Jade’s eyes widened at this and she stood up about to scream in his face. Sarrau stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. “Jade, calm down. He did the best he could.” He turned toward the disgruntled doctor. “Thank you for your help.” The surgeon nodded and wheeled Cen out into the hallway. “He still hasn’t woken up yet. We’re unsure of when he will. He suffered some head trauma as well.” As the group walked toward his room, the surgeon asked them to wait in the hallway as they hooked him up to his IV’s.

The doctor later left the room and nodded to the two. They entered and Jade immediately took his hand. She couldn’t contain the tears when she looked at the cuts on his face. Both of his eyes were bandaged over. Her tears were interrupted by a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Sarrau, who pulled her into a tight hug. She wept into his shoulder, and the man just held her tight, knowing that she needed comfort. He pulled back from the hug. Jade listened as he spoke. “I wish I could stay, but my job doesn’t give vacation days. I have to go help out in Mountain Glen.” Jade was stunned. Why would he leave his son here for work? “He’s your son!” “I know. I don’t like this any more than you do, but at least he’s stable. Believe me. I wish I could stay, but someone has to pay for the hospital bills.” Jade couldn’t really argue with that. She just turned back to Cen and held his hand again.

Five days passed and Jade still hadn’t even left the room. One nurse insisted that she leave at one point, but she reached toward her rifle as a warning, and the nurse backed off. Sarrau brought her food every night during his visits. She didn’t eat much though. Jade later noticed that Cen seemed to be waking up. His face was twitching as if he was trapped in a nightmare, but then he shot forward and started panting. Jade’s eyes widened, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly. “Thank God you’re awake!” She couldn’t stop the tears from pouring. Cen sounded exhausted. “What happened?” Jade tried and failed to hide the shakiness in her face. “You got knocked out by a beowolf, but it clawed your face up pretty bad. When I got you back to the hospital, you had lost a lot of blood. You’ve been out of it for a week.” A pang hit her chest when she heard Cen’s words. “Why is it so dark? Turn on the lights.” She stifled her sobs the best she could and grabbed his hand, moving over his face as she explained what happened. “You’re… blind.” It killed her inside to say those words. Cen crying afterwards didn’t help either.

“Wait. What about Dad? Where is he?” Calming herself down, Jade explained the situation with Mountain Glen. “He’s been grabbing some of our stuff whenever he can and moving it here. He’s been storing some of it in a hotel room too.” “Why won’t he stay here?” “Believe me he wants to, but the job he took was emergency work. He has to go out there and help. He’s been here every day though. He hasn’t missed one day.” “When?” “He left about an hour ago. It’s around 10 PM.”

“You should eat, Cen.” He didn’t answer. Jade could tell that he was about to throw up, and she grabbed a bucket for him. After a few of these occurrences, Cen finally spoke. “You should go. Get some sleep.” Jade couldn’t believe that he would make her leave after he had JUST woken up. “I’m not leaving you alone. You didn’t leave me in the forest, and I’m not leaving you here.” Jade was determined to stay with Cen. He had just woken up and she didn’t want to leave with making sure he was okay. “How long have you been here?” Jade couldn’t really answer without her objective being jeopardized. “I never left the building.” “You need to take care of yourself.” Jade could easily hear him, but she didn’t listen to his demands. She was there for Cen. As far as Jade was concerned, her personal health came second. “Go.” After an inexplicably angry sigh, Jade conceded. “Fine!” She didn’t realize she was shouting. “If you don’t want me here then I guess I’ll leave!” After storming out, Jade realized what she just did. But he was right. Although she could sleep comfortably in any position, she needed to rest in an actual bed.

Jade didn’t eat much that night. Her outburst made her feel a little sick. She made her way to Sarrau’s hotel room. He had given her a key card in hopes that she would go get some sleep at some point. After entering the room, she quickly showered off, realizing she was in dire need of one. She dried off and noticed that her clothes didn’t need any less of a cleaning than she did. Jade brought them down to the laundry room and, after asking for some help with the machines, started the process of washing her outfit. She then made her way back up to the room and crawled into bed.

Jade lay awake for longer than she wished she had. She couldn’t stop think about the way she snapped at Cen. ''Why did I do that? Why did I snap at him of all people?'' She gave up on pushing the thoughts away on her own. She found one of the books that didn’t get ripped or bloodied at their previous abode and began to read. Sarrau kept more books than one would expect. After all, he walked from Vacuo to Vale. No matter how much she tried to focus, Jade couldn’t absorb the words that the book held. Her mind remained on the subject of Cen. She let out a frustrated sigh and closed the book, placing it on the nightstand.

''I should go hunting. ''

That thought was nipped in the bud as soon as she remembered her clothes were being washed. She wasn’t going hunting in a tank top and a pair of sweats. They were comfortable, but she felt… bare.

Jade decided to look at Sarrau’s music collection. She noticed a title that caught her eye: Tower of Power. She faintly remembered hearing Tower of Power while she was forging her weapon in one the more developed villages. It took her some time to figure out the DVD player, but she figured it out with the help of the manual. The first song that played had her hooked: Squib Cakes. She sat in bed for a while just listening to Tower of Power.

Jade’s session of much needed funk was interrupted when she remembered that her outfit was still in the laundry room. She hurried downstairs and noticed that the washer wasn’t making any noise. She opened it and grabbed her outfit. The employee showed her how to operate the dryer earlier, so she didn’t have a problem there. She popped her clothes in and returned to the room to continue her journey to Funkytown. She finished the album then returned to the laundry room. Her clothes had finished drying, so she changed in the room, grabbed her rifle and bag, and set out on her hunting trip.

Since she didn’t really know the areas around the kingdom and what type of game she could find, Jade settled for grimm. Jumping from tree to tree, she searched through the woods of Forever Fall for some form of grimm, preferably an ursa. She instantly stopped when she spotted a pack of beowolves. She began to think about the day she lost her parents. At this, her eyes narrowed, and she pointed her rifle at the group. She exhaled, and pulled the trigger. The largest of the pack slumped over with a bullet hole where its eye used to be. She continued to fire, bodies dropping with every shot. When her magazine was empty, which didn’t take long considering she could only hold 5 rounds, she ejected the clip and separated her rifle into Lincah and Ajek. Not one beowolf lasted long enough to land a claw on the girl. Jade’s Kanta kept them from getting anywhere close to harming her. Her Klewang cut them to pieces. She finished off the pack and turned around to leave.

Jade was completely taken off guard by the particularly large beowolf in front of her. She barely moved her shield in front of the beast’s claws, but Ajek was sent flying. Jade regained her composure and dove out of the way of another strike. Just as she regained her footing, another claw made contact with her. Her aura blocked it, but Jade was sent backward into a tree. A pulse of pain shot its way through her back. The beowolf charged her, but Jade activated her semblance and rolled backwards up the tree, dodging another swipe in the process. She jumped off of the tree and bit her thumb to deactivate her Gravitation. Jade brought Lincah into the back of the creature’s spine, and she sliced downward, leaving a gaping hole in its torso.

As the beowolf evaporated, Jade curled herself into a ball against a tree and began to weep. She couldn’t stop thinking about the sight of her mother bleeding out next to her dead father. She clutched the scarf draped around her neck, and continued to sob for nearly ten minutes. She finally pulled herself together, retrieved Ajek, and climbed into a tall tree. With canopy of leaves shielding her eyes from the midday sun, Jade hung her rifle on a branch above her, and she drifted into a much need slumber.

…

Sweat covered Jade’s face as she shot up from her nightmare. “CEN!!!!” She was relieved that it was just a dream. The orb of fire that covered the landscape in light was long gone, and the shattered moon replaced it in the sky. She wiped her face and grabbed Saksama, surveying the area for any creatures of grimm. She saw none, but a noise from her left reached her ear, causing it to turn and face the source. Looking toward the sound, she noticed a rabbit running from her current location, no doubt startled from her scream. Jade grabbed her bag and jumped to the next tree closer to her prey. Hopping tree to tree, she finally landed on one with a perfect shot. She aimed, steadied her breath, and fired. The rabbit slumped over, and Jade grinned, happy with her shot. Jade wasn’t too high off of the ground, so she simply hopped down and rolled to absorb the energy after hitting the ground. She walked over to her kill and examined it. The bullet went clean through the mammal’s neck, severing its spine. She noticed that the poor thing was still squirming from the neck up, so she finished it off with her hunting knife. After tying the rabbit to her bag Jade left for Vale.

…

The hotel door swung open with a force that caused it to slam into the adjacent wall. A figure slowly hobbled inside, sweaty and exhausted. Placing the rabbit on the counter, Jade walked over to the bed, dropped her bag and rifle, and collapsed onto the bed. At that moment, she let out every sob that she had been holding back since she received the scarf hanging around her neck. In the half-hour that her tears soaked the sheets, her mind drifted from her mother, to Cen’s mother, and to Cen. She finally pulled herself together and began to change her clothes. After the sweaty garments were set aside and replaced with pajamas, Jade grabbed her hunting knife and began to tend to the carcass occupying the counter. She worked with precision. The choice cuts of meat were easily identified and placed in a small plastic bag while the rest was discarded in a larger one. Unfortunately, she was unable to prevent the stench. Some quick thinking saved the hotel from having to spray the whole floor. She activated her semblance, and the smell of dead rabbits was replaced by that of a numerous spring flowers and grass.

After placing the future meal in the freezer, Jade threw herself on her bed. ''I’ll go talk to him tomorrow. ''With that, she passed out.

The hotel room that Sarrau had picked out had one major flaw: the window occupied the perfect space for the sun to barrage the bed with its rays. Jade, having slept under the stars for most of her life, experienced little irritation that morning. The bright rays merely woke her from her pleasant sleep.

The cougar faunus hopped out of bed with a stretch, a satisfying crack coming from her spine. Her first action was taking a shower. ''I could get used to these showers.'' After she was clean of grime and sweat, Jade took a look at the clothes that Cen bought for her. She picked out a simple T-shirt and a pair of jeans, hurrying to put them on. The cougar faunus rushed out the door, heading for the hospital that Cen was currently staying at.

As soon as Jade announced her presence to Cen, she was bombarded with apologies. She quickly dismissed them and admitted that she was at fault. “I was really tired and I needed to take care of myself. But I’m here now and I’m not leaving.” She was happy to see Cen smile after that, and he replied, “Thank you, Jade.”

After waiting for hours, the pair never received a visit from Sarrau. Both of them stayed up all night waiting for him, but he didn’t show up. The next day, Jade noticed a man in uniform enter the room. Cen asked if it was his dad, but the man replied, “I’m not your father. I’m your father’s dispatcher.” The man explained that Mountain Glenn had suffered a very large grimm attack and that the inhabitants retreated into the subway tunnels. Sarrau was staying in the tunnels to help those in need while others were taken back to Vale on the trains. Jade couldn’t believe what was happening. Tears began to flow down her face as she digested the information that she received.

Jade didn’t even notice that Cen had grabbed the stranger’s collar and began shouting at him. However, the tears instantly stopped when the dispatcher grabbed her best friend’s arm and threatened to punch him. Jade, without hesitation, flashed across the room and held Lincah to his throat, her face cold and angry. “You let him go! Now!” The man sent a dirty look toward the girl and left the room, fixing his tie. Satisfied that the man was gone, Jade took a seat next to Cen. “I’m sure he’ll make it out of there. He promised, remember?”

The following days consisted mainly of Jade watching news reports about the subway tunnels while Cen listened. One day in particular, a report was broadcasted about the tunnels. They were being sealed. Jade couldn’t believe what was happening. One thought continued to run through her mind. ''Not again. Not again. Please. Not again!'' Jade was jolted back to reality by the sound of Cen stumbling through the doorway. She hurried out door and cried out to him. “Cen! Wait! You don’t know where you’re going!” He stopped, but instead of turning back to Jade, he touched the ground, activating his semblance. “Now I do! Now come on!” Jade was absolutely heartbroken by Cen’s resolve to find someone who was likely dead. “Cen please stop! What do you hope to accomplish?!” He turned around to face Jade, and the sight only broke her down even more. Cen’s left eye was leaking bloody tears, and his face was one of sheer terror, and desperation. “We have to save Dad!” Jade just wanted to curl in a ball and cry, but she couldn’t. Not now. “Cen get a hold of yourself! There’s nothing we can do! You think we’re the only ones who have someone trapped in there?!” Jade felt horrible saying those words. Cen’s speechlessness worried her even more, so she inched forward. After reaching him, she pulled Cen into a tight hug, finally letting tears fall. “He’s gone.” It hurt her so much to tell Cen that. The scarred boy finally spoke, fighting through hiccups and sobs. “He made a promise.” “I know. I’m sorry, Cen.” The pair continued their embrace, letting out pained cries.

A week later, Cen was allowed to leave the hospital, but with Mountain Glenn in ruins, they had nowhere to go. Without a home, Cen and Jade lived on the streets. Jade took it upon herself to look for work around the city, hoping to feed Cen and herself. She worked for long periods of time, doing chores for local businesses. She often took multiple jobs per day, leaving her exhausted, but if it kept Cen alive, it was worth it to her. But one day, she finished a job early and returned to the alley that Cen was supposed to be sitting in. As she rounded the corner, her heart nearly stopped. The boy had cut his wrists with his knife, and she would need to hurry if his life were to be saved. She hurried him into the emergency room. His arms were stitched up and he was later released. Jade met him with a slap to the face and an extremely strong hug, unable to hold back her tears. “Please… don’t ever do that again. I can’t take it! Just promise me.” She was relieved to hear his next words. “I promise! I won’t do it again! I promise!”

Jade decided to have a talk with Cen the next day. She planned to take more small jobs and find a place for them to stay, be it a cheap motel or a previous employer’s building if they would take rent. “Today I’m going to apply us both to Beacon Academy.” Cen was confused. “Why?” Jade gave him a caring look, though he couldn’t see it. “It will take your mind off of all the crap that’s happened. You need this, Cen. We both do.” Cen’s next outburst startled her. “Jade! I’m blind! Combat school is the last place I should be! Without my eyes,” he lowered his head, “I’m useless.” Jade felt terrible for her friend. He’d lost faith in himself. No wonder he tried to end it all. She brought her hand to his shoulder. Then it hit her. “What about your semblance? You used it back at the hospital. Why don’t you try using it now?” Jade stood there, hopeful to see something work for Cen. He complied and touched his fingers to the ground. “Do you see anything?” She could see the focus on his face. Yes, but it get’s fuzzy after a few seconds. I’ve never used it for longer than a short moment.” Jade could barely contain her excitement. “You never tried! If you practice with it over the next few months, you’ll unlock many more possibilities for combat!” Jade took Cen’s hands in her own. “And your entrance exams will be a piece of cake!” Jade’s heart fluttered when she saw Cen smile for the first time in a long time. “Thanks, Jade. I feel a lot better, now.” Jade took him into another embrace, but this one was softer.

Jade asked a shopkeeper that she cleaned up for a few times if she could rent out a room to sleep in. The man was kind enough to let them stay, and in return, all he asked was that Jade sweep up in the morning before she left. She took a lot more work than before, often getting up before the sunrise and coming home late at night. She gave Cen a lot of time to practice his semblance. Even when she was exhausted, she would listen to him excitedly report his “new record”. Eventually, Jade was able to afford some school supplies, including the textbooks they would need to study for the written part of the entrance exams. She started coming home earlier to read the textbooks out loud to Cen to help him study. She was happy to see that he was even using his semblance and helping move boxes around in the back. Their study sessions continued until they took the entrance exams. Cen had no problem with the physical portion, but Jade was worried about the written test. The staff reassured her that someone would read the questions out loud to him and assist him with writing down the answers. When it was over, both of them passed with high grades and were accepted. For once, the future is looking bright.