#arkosweek 2018

[real-jaune-isms]

Arkos Week Day 8: Free Day

Jaune: Um... Pyrrha?

Pyrrha: Yes, Jaune?

Jaune: I um... I just wanted to say... I love you. I understand if you don't feel the same way, but I just wanted to say it.

Pyrrha: *currently breastfeeding their second child while the first plays with building blocks* ... I love you too.

Jaune: You really mean it???

Pyrrha: We've been married 5 years... Yes, I think I mean it~

Jaune: *kisses her* Just wanted to make sure.

[real-jaune-isms]

Arkos Week Day 5: AU

We all know and love these characters in their natural environment, but what if the world was a little different? What if the world was completely safe from grimm, and these two just met at age... 4?

Pyrrha really didn’t want to be here. She was very happy playing at home with her own toys. Okay, maybe she was very lonely from how much time her parents had spent trying to keep her from getting bad habits from playing with other kids. But that was what made this even worse!! She didn’t know how to talk to anyone that wasn’t her mommy and daddy, so it was really scary to try and make new friends. But here she was, at Beacon preschool. And she had no idea what to do. 

A girl with orange hair was running around smashing Lego sets with a stuffed sloth while a black haired boy kept patiently rebuilding them for her. Her parents had tried to tell her there would be another little girl from a very nice family here, but the white haired girl the had pointed was trying to make a castle out of blocks, and Pyrrha didn’t wanna interrupt her. She kept looking. The teacher, Mr. Xiao Long, was talking to a little blonde girl about watching her sister, and she seemed to be nodding eagerly. She seemed friendly, and she had really pretty hair~ The teacher put down a baby in a red blanket, and she started crawling around and then played with her sister’s hair. Maybe she would let them play instead... There was a bookshelf on one wall, and a little black bow could be seen over the top of an opened book. One of the things Pyrrha’s parents had instilled in her at an early age was how to read, so it was a welcome sight to have a potential friend who could do the same. She walked over and saw the girl behind the book had black hair and pretty yellow eyes focused on every little thing on the page. “H-hi! My name’s Pyrrha!” She gave a little wave. “Blake.” the other girl responded, not once looking up from her book. This talking to people thing was tough... “Um... what are you reading?” “Not reading. Picture book. Animals. I like kitties.” the little girl responded as monotone as a toddler could sound. “Oh. can I...” “No. I like being alone.” ‘Oh...” 

Pyrrha felt like she wanted to cry. Nobody seemed to be interested in playing with her... But maybe that girl with the pretty hair? Nope. When she looked for her, she saw her playing with the other teacher Mr. Branwen. And the baby sister had crawled over to the white haired girl. Maybe she should do something? But what would she say to two strangers? Before she could do anything, the baby girl reached the blocks and started waving one around and giggling. The older one started yelling at her. “No! These are my blocks! I’m making a pretty princess castle, you can’t take any! I need them for castle Weiss!” The baby didn’t seem to understand any of that and just laughed, dropping the block and trying to give the girl, apparently named Weiss, a hug. “Wah-ss!!!” That was really cute, she was trying to say her new “friend”‘s name! And Weiss didn’t complain either, she just sat there quietly, probably realizing she made a new friend whether she liked it or not. Guess they would be fine playing together.

But what was Pyrrha gonna do??? She sat down in the middle of the room and tried not to panic. Seven other people here, and nobody she could... wait. Seven? there were the sisters, Weiss, Blake, the sloth girl and her lego building friend... and a little boy crying in the corner. The teachers must not have noticed, but Pyrrha’s parents always said she had very sharp eyes, whatever that meant. She may have been nervous, but her mommy and daddy did teach her to help people who are sad or hurting. So she went over and tapped him on the shoulder. “Are you okay?” The blond boy stopped sobbing look enough to look at her with bright blue eyes. “Nuh-uh! M-mommy and daddy left me here!!” He started crying again, and Pyrrha did the only thing she could think of. She gave him a big hug. “I bet they just had to go to work. Is this your first day here?” A nod against her shoulder. “Me too. I’m Pyrrha.” “J-Jaune. I think they took my big sisters to school, but I’ve never been alone like this before!” He continued to sniffle against her. “That’s okay! I’m sure they’re gonna be back later. Until then, you can by my boyfriend!” She had let him out of the hug and he looked really confused. “What’s that?” She smiled. “I dunno! But I’ve seen tv shows where girls have boyfriends, and then the girl is the boy’s girlfriend. I think it just means we hold hands and play together. And they do stuff like this!” She gave him a kiss on the lips. 

Before he even had a chance to recover from that surprise affection, she was pulling him by the hand toward the toy box. “c’mon! You’re my boyfriend, so let’s play pretend with the dolls! I can be the mommy and you’re the daddy, and they can be our kids!” He nodded. That DID sound like fun! They played together all day, and the next day, and the next. Pyrrha and Jaune became bestest friends, and never forgot that first promise, even if as they got older some other feelings started to affect how Pyrrha thought about her best buddy. And one day, when they were old enough to understand what boyfriends and girlfriends really were, Jaune was the one to renew the offer. Pyrrha accepted.

[real-jaune-isms]

Arkos Week Day 1: Pyrrha Lives

This could NOT be happening. It was like a dream come true and a living nightmare rolled into one. He came to this school to fight monsters, but he had been defeated by a beautiful girl and a locked metal box.

It was a nightmare because Grimm, including a Dragon, had swarmed the school with the help of White Fang members who somehow turned all the Atlesian robot soldiers evil. And before that Ruby’s friend Penny was revealed to be a robot... when she was torn apart during a tournament fight by Pyrrha. Speaking of whom, she and Professor Ozpin had brought him to some secret chamber under the CCT where Pyrrha had gotten in some kind of machine to take... he wasn’t sure what, maybe her soul? out of a comatose woman in another pod. Then a woman in a red dress shot the coma lady with an arrow and got whatever Pyrrha had been going for. Ozpin had told both of them to leave and he would fight this woman.... her name was Cinder, he remembered that from the Vytal Festival. They had made it out and gotten outside in time to see Cinder flying up the elevator shaft to the top of the tower. So clearly Ozpin failed. And then the worst part; Pyrrha had pushed him into a locker and sent him away “to safety” and gone to fight Cinder on her own.

But it was a dream come true because she had distracted him long enough to do so by giving him a kiss. His first kiss... And even if it lasted maybe 5 seconds, it felt like an eternity of joy, and was certainly long enough for some self-reflection. She was truly perfect, this partner of his. Kind, helpful to anyone regardless of who they were or if they deserved it (he learned that long ago when she started training him even after learning he faked his way into Beacon), a badass fighter, and beautiful beyond compare. Most of all, she loved him. He could tell by the passion she put into it, how much her tensed body had relaxed into his, like months of pent up emotions were being poured out. She had been into him a long time... and he had been asking her how to win over Weiss. He was an idiot. Weiss didn’t care about him, at least not THIS much. He had been a fool for not seeing the golden opportunity that was right before him. Because he knew deep down, he loved her too. Ever since seeing her in that beautiful red dress at the dance, standing all alone, he wanted to be the love she was missing. After that, the idea of a romance with her had been blossoming and he started to fall more and more for her charms and sweet demeanor. It had taken her kiss to realize she felt the same, and that there could be something beautiful that could rise from the ashes of this tragedy.

Yet all of that was meaningless now. He was flying through the skies of Vale in a rocket locker, getting farther away from the girl he only just knew he was in love with. All that work tampering with electronic transcripts to even get to this school and he was losing... “Wait... electronics!” he said as he realized just what he was riding in. These lockers were designed to be summoned and opened by students with Scrolls. And he had seen Ruby call her locker from Sun’s scroll back in the arena! So maybe... He pulled out his scroll and searched the inside of his prison for a number. There it was! Locker 241-10. He opened the locker calling feature on his scroll, “so glad I downloaded this now”, and brought up control of this locker. He overwrote the destination on it to instead go to the CCT Tower, then felt a sudden jolt as the rocket changed course. 

He had no idea how he was going to get to the top of the tower, but if Pyrrha had done it then he would too. Pyrrha... she would be fighting Cinder right now. As strong as she was, and he knew she was VERY strong, she wouldn’t stand a chance against whatever this villain had that let her beat Ozpin in a matter of minutes. So why did Jaune think he would even the odds? In truth, he didn’t. Better make a quick call...

Weiss and Ruby were on their way to find Jaune and Pyrrha. Nora had told them they had gone into the CCT tower earlier and hadn’t come back, which was cause for great concern what with the two literal armies attacking the school. So they were very surprised when Weiss got a call from Jaune himself. She of course answered it. “Jaune, where ARE you?” “Don’t worry about me, I’m on my way to the top of the Tower. You, or Ruby, or whoever is with you, need to get up there as soon as possible. Pyrrha went on ahead to fight the one behind all this, but even she will be no match for this level of power! We need to help her, quick!” “Alright Jaune, we’ll get there as soon as we can. But where are you? It sounds really windy?” “I’m doing whatever it takes to make sure I get there. You do whatever you need to. NOW GO!” with that, he hung up. The girls nodded at each other. This just got way more serious.

Jaune was nearly back to the tower when he heard a huge crashing sound. He looked through the slates in the door to see the Dragon had flown through the top of the tower and demolished it. But he could start to see movement on top of what remained, so clearly both women were alive. His heart was starting to race and adrenaline was pumping now. This was happening, he was going to be in  that fight. Just as he was about to descend and start worrying about how he would get back up once he landed, he felt a pull that was all too familiar. Pyrrha was using her Polarity to draw in as much nearby metal as possible. But if he got stuck in that, he might be crushed. Since he very much didn’t want to do that, he worked on using his scroll to unlock the door and get out. Just as he caught sight of Cinder, surrounded by other floating debris, the lock popped and he jumped out. Just in time, as all the metal flew in to hopefully bury Cinder. Before even stopping to see if she was truly down, he knew she wouldn’t be, he ran over to his partner. “Pyrrha!!” The look of rage and concentration on her face was broken as she looked over and saw him coming to her side, replaced with a LOT of confusion. “J-Jaune?? But I...” She didn’t have time to finish the thought as Cinder burst out of the pile, sending a gear headed right for the two. Jaune acted on the months of instinct Pyrrha had instilled in him and braced his shield with both arms to block it. He was pushed back a bit, and his shield visibly dented, but his Aura was still pretty fresh, so he took it well. 

“I don’t care if you feel like you have to atone or whatever, I’m not leaving! Not when I just found out how much I need you~” He hoped the confirmation of mutual attraction would be enough to convince her he should stay. Meanwhile Cinder had notched another arrow. ‘So, now there are two little ants trying to bring me down~ Well, I hope you’re both ready to face the magnifying glass?~” The woman taunted them, clearly an egotist high on her seeming power advantage. Cardin had gotten boasty like this when he was picking on someone physically weaker, Jaune knew the type. Jaune charged her down, knowing if she pulled anything funky with the shot his aura would likely hold, and Pyrrha still had Akouo to protect her if it somehow got past him. Sure enough, she took the bait and fired at him, and he parried with his shield to deflect the... disintegrating fragments... away. She forged another, but Jaune was close enough now to give an upward diagonal swipe with his sword and knock her hands back and get her to drop the bow. On pure adrenaline now, he spun his blade back around to horizontally slice aross her torso. Her Aura took it, but he did not relent. She had been caught off guard, and he would take every moment to... she had gotten her bearings back enough to hit him in the chest with a fireball. “JAUNE!!” He went tumbling back, his aura a bit dented and clothes a little singed but otherwise fine. “I’m *cough* okay. Any plan of attack, Pyr?” He asked his partner, who was clearly weak from all that she had done before he arrived and seemingly unarmed, Milo was nowhere to be found. ‘Well... she’s powerful beyond anything we’ve ever faced, but she’s prideful about it, so she doesn’t expect us to be able to handle her.” “Can we handle her?” “Oh, goodness no. So, what’s your plan, Mr. Team Attack names?” This banter was quite nice, if they hadn’t both been dodging fire getting tossed at them. It seemed harder for Cinder to hit two moving targets than just one. 

Eventually she just blasted a wave of fire in all directions and knocked them both backwards. Pyrrha hit a wall pretty hard and her aura broke, but Jaune landed in a heap of debris and got his lower body buried, only able to see what was happening. Cinder went for the easier target and shot Pyrrha through the wrist, pinning her arm where it was, before kicking Akouo off the edge of the building. Jaune knew he HAD to get out of here and save her, but if he tried to move the pressure would break his leg. The raven haired wench then drew a new bow and arrow and prepared to fire right at Pyrrha’’s heart. It was a split second decision. A piercing howl rippled through the air as Jaune stumbled to a stand and lunged in the way. His Aura had been occupied tending to the mangled leg he had escaped on, so there was nothing to keep the shaft of obsidian from piercing his lower abdomen and poking back out the other end. He lay there, between the woman he loved and the one they both hated, and waited for his death, knowing he had at least delayed Pyrrha’s. But it never came. About the time he hit the ground, a high pitched scream sounded from the opposite side of the tower, and a blinding light suddenly came. The last thing he heard was Ruby cry out “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!” and Cinder more quietly shriek “WHAT?!” before he pulled his shield close and moved over to hold Pyrrha as they both passed out from exhaustion and overwhelming stimuli.

When he came to again, he thought he was right where he had been before, surrounded by blinding white light. Eventually he realized this was just a hospital. ‘huh... guess they took us in for all our injuries. wait... PYRRHA!” He suddenly sat up, instantly regretting it as a sharp pain rippled through his abs. But that didn’t matter if... he looked around and saw her lying in the bed next to him. She was covered in bandages, but looking pretty okay otherwise. But she wasn’t awake. He needed to check on her. He got up out bed and... nearly collapsed from the pain in his leg. “Oh yeah, broke that.” He hopped over to Pyrrha’s bed and leaned over, looking at her. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you. I love you, Pyrrha.” She seemed to stir a little, turning her head slightly and muttering out “Mmh, I love you too, Jaune~” That decided it, he was gonna lie down next to her if he could. He tried to climb into her bed, and managed to fall in next to her. Jaune pulled her a little closer and the two fell asleep in each other’s arms. If Jaune Arc had anything to say about it, that’s how they would stay. Forever.

[real-jaune-isms]

Arkos Week Day 7: Partners

Since I love that timeline so much, this will be in the “Pyrrha Lives” timeline and again take place in the gap between the Fall of Beacon and Team RNJR, (now JNPRR?) leaving for Mistral. There’s still gonna be some doubts Pyrrha would have about if she was really strong enough to handle the challenges ahead. And what’s a partner for if not to support each other?

The day had finally come. Team JNPR was meeting back up to journey with Ruby to Mistral. Even if she had been texting Nora every day since they last parted and couldn’t complain about getting to spend every day with Jaune, Pyrrha was still excited to get to see so many of her friends again. It had been a shame that Weiss was seemingly taken back to Altas, where from what Pyrrha had heard her family life left much to be desired, and it was surely a harsh blow for Blake to have run off after Yang had crippled herself to save her. That news had also hit the amazon pretty hard, that such a powerful and boisterous fighter as Yang had been reduced to such a pitiful state. And... Pyrrha honestly felt guilty, knowing she had fought just as hard as Yang ever did and only got a few scars, while Yang was incapacitated after one move. 

Maybe that was why the redhead had been noticeably slower putting on her armor that morning. Jaune took notice. “Pyr... You okay?” “Hm? Um, of course, absolutely fine.” He gave her a hard look. “Pyrrha, I’ve known you for all of a year, and I can still tell when you’re lying to make someone else feel better. Tell me what’s bugging you. Helping each other is what partners do, right?” She smiled appreciatively and nodded. “I just... After everything that happened: the tournament, Cinder, the Tower... I’m just not sure if I’m going to be able to handle the evil we’re facing.” Jaune nodded grimly. “Yeah, we’re probably gonna be facing foes tougher than any Grimm we’ve ever seen. But you know what? You don’t have to shoulder the weight of the world by yourself. There is no Ozpin to swear us to secrecy, we’ll have each other’s backs whatever happens. Because we’re partners. In combat and in life. I’ll always be here to help.” 

Pyrrha smiled now, a broad smile full of joy and love. “Pining you to that tree really was the best decision of my life, huh?” He leaned in close and smirked. “I should hope so. Gods know I’m thankful to have you~” The two had no more words to express their love that wouldn’t be better expressed through a kiss, so that’s what they did. It was a good thing Ren and Nora ran a little late, because they spent a good long while doing this ‘partner bonding’.

[real-jaune-isms]

Arkos Week Day 6: Movie Night

When a blizzard hits Beacon, classes are canceled and training is impossible. What’re Teams RWBY and JNPR gonna do? Have a movie marathon of course! This is part of the same “Love During Beacon” timeline as Days 2 and 4

Jaune was so excited!! He finally had an excuse to show his friends his favorite movie trilogy of all time! “A Fistful of Lien”, “For a Few Lien More”, and his personal favorite, “The Good the Bad and the Nasty”!!! It came as a shock to him that only Yang and Ruby had seen any of the movies before, but considering everyone else’s backgrounds, from Pyrrha’s sheltered life of constantly fighting in tournaments and not getting to have much free time, to Weiss’ high class upbringing, and even Blake likely not seeing human movies when books would suffice, and especially Nora and Ren being orphans... Well, hopefully they would like these movies.

Ruby and Nora were in charge of making popcorn, and Weiss and Ren were in charge of making sure Ruby and Nora didn’t eat all the popcorn. Yang and Pyrrha were trying to bargain with their dorm floor’s supervisor to let them bring a couch and TV from the rec room into Team RWBY’s room, since the bunk beds in there made for optimal extra seating while watching. They were also in charge of carrying said furniture and hardware. Blake didn’t want to get up from her bed, claiming she was getting in as much reading as possible before having to participate in this all day team bonding. And Jaune was getting the movies.

Once everyone had met back up and everything was in place, it was finally time to start! Weiss reluctantly sat up on Ruby’s bunk with her, and Blake shared a spot on Yang’s. The Arkos and Renora pairs, as they had been dubbed by everyone who knew about the couples, sat together in between the beds on the couch. The TV was put on a table that had been placed in front of the door. No one was going to come in and disturb them...

It was about halfway through the second movie that Pyrrha lay her head on Jaune’s shoulder. He looked over to make sure she hadn’t fallen asleep, they were just getting to the bank heist scene, but she was watching intently. Of course she would just want to get comfy with her bf. He kissed her on the head and went back to bantering with Weiss about Colonel Tortimer’s use of a pistol with an outlandishly long barrel. 

By the time “Sandy” was being forced to wander the desert by “Trico”, it had escalating to the two of them full on cuddling. Everyone was betting on how soon Trico would be killed off, with those having seen the film obviously not participating. And by the final notes of the last film’s amazing score, the pair had fallen asleep in each other’s arms. Nobody dared rouse them, and everyone decided to try and follow suit, considering how late it had gotten. The couple dreamed of gunfights and snappy quips, and of a love to make it all worth it.

[real-jaune-isms]

Arkos Week Day 2: Aura

It is a little know fact that when you use your aura to unlock another person’s, a portion of your soul remains connected to theirs. In this way, it is possible for them to read your thoughts and feelings if your auras are both active and able to resonate with one another. Pyrrha did not know this before helping and then falling in love with Jaune.

*CLANG!* A loud clash rang out through the air as broadsword blade met xiphos blade. The combatants grinned at each other as they swung again and again, each time their blades meeting each other, neither able to make contact with the other’s body. Jaune was really getting good at swordplay, Pyrrha thought. He tilted his head as if expecting to hear something, and she told him as much. “Oh, thanks! I mean, it’s all thanks to you and your help. I just sometimes wish there was a way I could properly thank you for all the work you’ve put in.” Pyrrha smiles her same helpful smile. “There’s really no need, just as long as you keep getting stronger and remembering what I’ve taught you~” In her mind, a different answer came about.

‘Or we could put these swords away and I could show you how proud I really am at how much you’ve progressed~ It’d be nice to finally get your attention like… she does.’

Jaune looked very confused and distracted, so she took the opportunity to catch him off guard and disarm him, sending him tumbling onto his back on the ground. 

‘Gods, I wish I could just climb on top of him and kiss him senseless~’ 

Pyrrha wasn’t sure why she was thinking such overly romantic thoughts, but the thrill of combat with Jaune seemed to bring out her more wild romantic desires. “Are you alright Jaune?” He rubbed his back and looked up at her. “Yeah, I’m fine. You just really distracted me there.” “What? How did I distract you?” “Oh come on, you know what happened! You started flirting with me to try and confuse me!” “Jaune… I didn’t say anything.”

‘If I had, I’d be mortified. Who knows what would happen if he heard me say how much I want to make him mine.’

“What does that mean?” Oh gods no. “Nothing! I didn’t… wait, I actually didn’t say anything…”

‘Oh no, what if he can read my mind? How would he even be able to do that? It doesn’t matter! He might be able to see how much I…’

“How much you what?” Okay, he really could. “Jaune… I think you’ve been reading my mind just now.” “I what?” “What am I thinking right now?”

‘Don’t think I love you, think…’

“You’re thinking how much you love me??” This was surely hell. The embarrassment Pyrrha felt in this moment was unbearable. But… maybe she could turn it to something sweet? “Yes. I do so much. I’ve wanted to say so for months, but… whatever is happening, I guess you know now.”

‘Please don’t hate me…’ she thought, screwing her eyes closed in preparation for whatever scorn she would receive.

“I would never hate you.” Her eyes flew open and her whole body relaxed, dropping the aura she had been keeping up this whole time. “Really?” “Of course. You’re amazing, and it feels great to know you feel that way.” “But…” “Weiss?” Okay, this was getting spooky. “No, I didn’t hear you think that. I actually can’t hear anything you’re thinking anymore. But I know that would be your big concern. She’s pretty and all, but you’re better than her, to me at least, in about a million different ways. Plus, she’s not the one who’s in love with me~”

This was better than she could have imagined. But he kept on talking. “And, putting it all in perspective, I love you too.” She was glad he couldn’t read her thoughts anymore, she wanted this part to be a surprise. Pyrrha jumped into his arms and kissed him.

[real-jaune-isms]

Arkos Week Day 3: On the Road

This story takes place in the same timeline as Day 1, so they know how much the other cares about them, and are very much a couple.

It was supposed to be an easy mission. Something to help Pyrrha get back up to speed after her injuries at Beacon, and to make sure Jaune’s leg had mended right. They were going to meet up with Ren, Nora, and Ruby in Patch in a couple of weeks to start their journey to Mistral... to find answers about Cinder and all she had been planning.

Instead they were hiding in a cave as a dozen more Ursa Major and Beowolves than they had been told about roamed around outside. So what to do? Make conversation!

“Y’know Pyr, this reminds me of day we met actually...” “Really? How so?” “Well, the two of us in a cave and out of our depth with more Grimm than we can handle? I don’t know about you, but this feels pretty familiar.” They both had to laugh at that. “Maybe so, but you’re much stronger than you were then.” “Yeah... I was like a twig when I came to Beacon. Now I’m actually kinda ripped.” he flexes an arm to demonstrate and Pyrrha blushes a little. “Yes, your muscles certainly are bigger now. And you’re certainly more perceptive~” “Yeah, like I’m starting to realize how often you stare at me whenever I show some skin or muscles. I think you might’ve had an ulterior motive to all that one on one training~” Pyrrha laughed nervously. “Alright, maybe a little...” 

Jaune smirked. “That’s fine with me, I got to see some flattering angles of you during our spars too, Miss ‘I wear a skirt around the guy who’s constantly falling to the floor’~” Pyrrha looked very flustered now. “I... you... I love you, but you are making it very difficult to keep our negative emotions hidden right now.” Jaune only grins wider and brings her in for a kiss. They had done this a couple times since she woke up to find him snuggled up to her in her hospital bed. The confusion about their current predicament and relief that neither of them were dead, as well as the joy and comfort when she realized he had told her those 3 important words and she had said them back, had made it very easy to broach the subject of a future together. He made it very clear he wanted to be in a relationship, and she eagerly accepted. Yet even after weeks of getting used to these feelings and openly expressing them to each other, each kiss felt as new and exciting as the very first. There was still the same passion and enthusiasm that came with expressing their love in this physical way. 

As this kiss broke off, they thought about the events that had brought them there. And Jaune realized he still had an unanswered question. “Hey Pyrrha?” “Yes Jaune?” “What... exactly was all that in the Vault under Beacon?”  “Well, we’ve got some time to kill... what’s your favorite fairy tale?”