362This idea was not mine alone. It was started by a good friend of mine named SilverFang88 over a year ago. We talked about it and started writing it. But he got busy with life and I was focused on other projects. When Ice Queendom came out, I thought, maybe I'll have time to finish the chapter. It still got pushed to the back burner. Then, Coeur Al'Aran posted his own. I literally said 'DAMN IT' when I saw it on my phone. I was too late. He posted first, but it gave me the drive I needed to finish. He was definitely focused more on the comedic aspect and this one will be different for sure. The original idea was to be more psychological with humorous dreams mixed in.
Dreams are not always what they appear and sometimes, you have to look beneath the surface.
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Aura.
The manifestation of one's soul.
One of key abilities that Huntsman and Huntresses possess in their endless war for survival against the creatures of Grimm.
Whilst the specific attributes of Aura differ from person to person, and are dependent on a number of factors, such as experience, training, and innate talent and skill, what remains universal are its primary effects: To shield the person from harm as well as enhance their physical capabilities, augmenting their strength, speed, durability, reactionary, and recovery times. Those who are skilled enough can learn to harness Aura in a plethora of unique ways, and if they are lucky, even discover their Semblance.
Semblances are the further manifestation of one's innate and personal power, and are almost always a one-of-a-kind ability belonging to and representative of that individual. They can also vary in effect drastically, from allowing one to move at super speeds, to creating clones, or even telekinesis. While normally unique and different from person to person, there have been several recorded cases of Semblances that are hereditary, passing on from parent to child.
Why this occurs, no one knows for certain.
Despite how important Aura and Semblances are in regards to the continued protection and survival of Humans and Faunus all across Remnant, there are still many unknowns involving these abilities. The basics are understood, but a large amount of information is merely accepted without any greater understanding of the reasoning behind it.
Take, for example, the size of one's Aura reserve. Those who specialize in front line combat, the ones who take and receive the most blows, tend to develop larger pools of Aura, whilst those that rely on or act as support in the back or focus more on dodging attacks tend to have smaller pools of Aura. Like a muscle, Aura and Semblances grow stronger with usage.
But what factors affect innate Aura pools, or the creation of Semblances?
It may never be known. Fate and luck may be playing a key role in this. Some people are born with less, while others are gifted with amounts that far dwarf those of their peers. Even those without any sort of combat training, who dream of becoming a hero.
"Argh!"
One such boy was Jaune Arc, a tall boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, currently raising a shield against his opponent. His sword, Crocea Mors, gripped tightly in his other hand, as he desperately tried to fix his stance and footing. Aside from his aura, his armor was limited, consisting mostly of a chest plate and white spaulders.
"Just give up already, Arc!"
His opponent, a known bully who went by the name Cardin Winchester, was currently trying to break Jaune's defenses with a large mace. Cardin had burnt-orange hair combed backwards and highlighted by his indigo eyes, while wearing fancy silver-gray armor with gold trim. He and Jaune had never seen eye to eye, and the larger boy used to bully the poor blond quite a bit before as well.
"I'm actually getting kinda tired of smacking you around!"
The screech of metal upon metal rang throughout the room as Cardin's mace came crashing down upon Jaune's shield, forcing the blonde backwards. Jaune didn't fall yet, as he managed to maintain his footing.
"Never," Jaune growled, managing to push back and taking a swing with his sword. Cardin easily knocked the blade away with the mace's hilt and swung another downward blow against Jaune's shield. The shockwave ran across the blond's arm, threatening to numb it. "Damn it…!"
"Useless!" Cardin swung his weapon once more, forcing Jaune to take yet another few steps back. Thankfully, the shield was still holding firm. "All those blows to the head must have rattled your—…"
Before he could finish, the orange-haired teen was cut off by the loud cries of a buzzer.
"Time is up!" Shouted a tall, busty woman with lengthy, tied-up light gold-blond hair, thin glasses, and an elegant long-sleeved pleated top over a black high-waist pencil skirt. She was Glynda Goodwitch, Deputy Headmistress and combat class teacher of Beacon Academy, the premier school within the Kingdom of Vale for raising Huntsmen and Huntresses. "Victory goes to Mr. Winchester due to time!"
Jaune sighed and looked up at the monitor over the ring. His Aura had fallen to a healthy 58 percent of his maximum, while Cardin's was only at 92 percent. Honestly, a part of him was surprised Cardin's Aura had gone down at all, considering he never managed to land a real blow against the other boy. Defense was Jaune's strength, though he was working with his partner to help overcome his weaknesses.
…One such weakness was he never actually went to a combat school and cheated his way into Beacon with fake transcripts, but that was a story for another time.
"Ha!" Cardin raised his mace triumphantly to scattered applause. "Easy win."
"Quiet, Mr. Winchester. You still need to work on diversifying your attack strategies," Glynda warned him. "You never actually managed to break through Mr. Arc's defenses today."
"So?" The more muscular boy shrugged off indifferently. "He's too weak to attack, so why does it matter?"
"You lost nearly 10 percent of your Aura reserves from tiring yourself out against his shield," Glynda answered, a slight glare to her gaze. "If Mr. Arc had managed to take advantage of any of your openings, you may very well have lost instead."
Cardin said nothing. With an unsatisfied grumble, he turned away from the woman and went back to his seat.
"Mr. Arc!" The professor turned her sights onto him. "Both your stancing and your defense have certainly improved, but you need to learn how to switch to offense. I tell you this nearly every class. You cannot rely on others to be there and attack for you."
"Right…" The boy mumbled, deflated from the stern words and his loss moments prior.
"However… Your aura reserves are as impressive, as always," Glynda encouraged with a slightly softer, kinder expression. "Once you master control over it, it will be an invaluable asset."
"...thank you?"
It had been a while since he had last gotten a compliment from her. Usually, it was criticism or advice on what he needed to work on that came from her mouth. What she said was true though. When Jaune's partner, Pyrrha Nikos, unlocked his aura, she had mentioned he had a lot. It wasn't until later he discovered how much.
It turned out he dwarfed most people his age…by three fold.
The blond-haired boy had nearly three times as much aura as the rest of his classmates did.
One would be pressed to find an adult Huntsman with that much Aura. Take into account that Jaune had only recently unlocked his aura, and it was still growing. Add in the constant abuse it received during regular sparring matches in combat class, and it was bound to soar to impressive heights. Still, as his other teammate Lie Ren once mentioned, that much Aura could be a curse. The more Aura one had, the harder it was to control.
That fact was of little comfort to him when he hadn't won a single spar in combat class, even with Pyrrha helping him train.
"You'll get him next time," His aforementioned crimson-haired partner assured the moment he took his place next to her. Her emerald green eyes were full of optimism. "Your defense is solid, and every match you're forcing Cardin to lose more and more Aura."
"You just got to charge forward and break his legs!" The slightly violent encouragement came from a bubbly orange-haired girl named Nora Valkyrie, the fourth and final member of Jaune's team, Team JNPR.
"I know, I know, but like Miss Goodwitch pointed out, my offense sucks." Jaune sighed at his own depressing words.
"And that's what we've started to work on recently," Pyrrha reminded him, referencing their routine late night training sessions atop their dorm's roof.
"Nothing worth having is easy to obtain," Ren added. "You can't just expect to gain all the skills needed overnight. It's constant repetition and experience that give you those."
"Sometimes I wish I had a cool Semblance to help out," Jaune sighed, listlessly leaning back against the cold stone bleachers of the combat classroom. "It'd be so cool to zip around like Ruby does or summon glyphs like Weiss…"
"But, neither of those really suit your fighting style either," Pyrrha pointed out gently. "Semblances are representative of ourselves. You'll need to learn more about yourself first before worrying about unlocking your Semblance."
"But you got sooooo much Aura!" Nora playfully punched Jaune's arm, accidentally leaving a bruise thanks to her practically inhuman natural strength. "I bet when you unlock your Semblance, it's going to be amazing. Ooo— Like super strength, or flying, or like… shooting lightning from your fingers!"
"Jaune…"The normally quiet, stoic boy that was Lie Ren spoke up, a surprising hint of emotion, of determined desperation, layered underneath his normally calm and neutral voice. "If you ever learn to shoot lightning, do not, I repeat, do not let Nora talk you into shooting her."
It took a moment, but then Jaune realized the meaning behind Ren's cautionary words. Nora's Semblance, from what he could remember, allowed her to absorb electricity into her body, manipulate it, and convert it into super strength.
Overcharging her with lightning…?
It was probably a terrible idea, the kind you figured was best not to think about, for your own safety.
"If you want, we could practice some techniques I learned back home to help control Aura," Pyrrha offered helpfully, leaning a little closer to her partner as she spoke, her hand subtly inching closer to his. "They could help you put more strength behind your blows and defense."
"Oh! Hey, Ren!" Nora suddenly grabbed the arm of her partner, best friend, 'possibly-more-than-friends' friend, a look on her face like a lightbulb had just lit and then promptly exploded from excess energy. "You should totally teach Jaune-Jaune how to do that Aura punch thing you can do! You know, that can make Grimms heads explode? Jaune's got so much Aura, I bet he could send an Ursa flying over a mountain if he did it right!"
"That… It's a rather advanced technique," Ren started reluctantly, trying not to look his partner in the eyes. "Some simple exercises might be better…"
He trailed off as he saw the hopeful look Jaune was giving him. Against his better judgment, Ren knew what he had to do.
"If you're interested, Jaune," Ren caved in, not even needing his leader to ask. "I suppose I could give you a couple of pointers."
"Really?! You're the best, Ren!" Jaune almost shouted earnestly from under his breath, only to cover his mouth right after. There was still another match going on, even if not everyone was paying attention to the fight below, and he didn't want to attract any unwanted attention. Trying again, more quietly this time, he sheepishly continued, "Thanks. I really appreciate it."
Pyrrha looked a little depressed at the fact Jaune went to Ren instead of her. One quick headshake later and she dispelled those thoughts. It wasn't like Jaune was abandoning her, and she did have to admit that Ren probably was the best out of the four of them when it came to controlling Aura.
Once classes for the day were done, Team JNPR went straight to their dorm room. Almost immediately after everyone changed out of their school uniforms, Ren could feel himself being watched. Before he could turn around to find the source of the feeling, his leader spoke up from behind him.
"So?" Jaune asked eagerly. "When can we start?"
"You want to start already?" Ren was a little surprised. "I thought you liked to unwind after classes?"
"Yeah… I've been thinking… and I really need to get better," Jaune rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "And the longer I put it off, the harder it's going to be to catch up to everyone else."
Nora grinned and tugged on Pyrrha's arm.
"Let's let them have a guy's night," Nora whispered. "We can go have a girls' night out."
"Are you sure?" The crimson-haired girl whispered back. "I kind of want to watch—…"
"Renny!" Nora called out, taking Pyrrha by the hand and interrupting the girl. "Pyrrha and I are going to go have a girls' night. The room's yours!"
"Hold on—... Nora?" Ren tried to interject but the excitable girl had already whisked Pyrrha away and out of their shared room. A long sigh followed. "She really does march to the beat of her own drum. "
"She wouldn't be Nora otherwise." Jaune pointed out.
"True." Ren didn't have any real reason to hold off on teaching his team leader. "So, Aura training…"
Ren took in a deep breath and sat on his bed, gesturing for Jaune to take a seat on the bed across from him.
"The first thing my teacher taught me was you need to be able to feel your Aura and move it on command." He closed his eyes and a light pink glow appeared around his body as he activated his Aura. "Watch my right hand."
Jaune watched carefully as instructed, eyes laser focused on his friend's right hand. Suddenly, it began to glow brighter than the rest of his Aura. Then, the light began to move. First going up the hand to the arm, then going from arm to shoulder, then to the otherside, down the other arm, and finally settling within Ren's left hand before fading. It was almost mesmerizing, in a way.
"What was that?" Jaune almost blurted out.
He couldn't help but ask. Jaune had never seen anything like that before outside of movies and video games.
"Normally Aura covers our body equally," Ren explained. "So we can guard against all attacks, even ones we can't see. With practice, you can focus additional aura to specific parts of your body."
Jaune nodded along in understanding. To Ren's credit, he decided to elaborate further.
"For example," He started. "If you manage to predict an attack you could fortify that location to act like a wall, or if you found an opening, you could empower your arm when swinging your weapon to increase your strength and the amount of power behind it. The applications are many."
"So you put extra Aura into your hand and moved it through your body to your other hand?"
"Precisely."
"How do I do that?"
"Focus." Ren answered, only to let out a small sigh at the expression on his leader's face. "I want you to do exactly as I say for a moment."
"Uh… Sure thing," Jaune hesitated before agreeing. "Whatever it takes."
"Close your eyes and try to feel your Aura."
Jaune did as told.
"Imagine you're looking for a warm light. This is the very first step. You have to be able to detect it." Ren paused for a moment before continuing with a faint smile. "You might actually have an easier time with this. With how much Aura you have, it should feel very bright."
Jaune took a deep breath and focused. At first, he felt nothing. Minutes passed, and still nothing. A few minutes past that, and he opened his eyes. Ren was meditating himself, but must have heard Jaune move, because he opened an eye.
"It's not easy. I told you. It takes time."
"Right…" Jaune muttered and went back to work.
Thirty minutes passed before he felt it. The same warmth he experienced when Pyrrha first unlocked his Aura. Activating his Aura wasn't hard, since that was the first thing he learned. It was trying to feel deeper into his vast Aura reserves, to understand the power, that was tough. Next was trying to control it according to his will. He tried to move it around but the constant warm feeling remained around his body, like a shield or a warm blanket. Instead of trying to shift it, he focused on it. Willing it to solidify. The warmth grew in temperature and he opened his eyes.
His body was glowing. By unleashing more Aura, it was easier to detect and feel.
"It's a good start," Ren complimented. "Are you able to move it?"
"Umm…" Jaune focused some more. This time on his hand. As he focused, his right hand glowed brighter than the rest of his body. Despite his best efforts, trying to move it seemed as though it was impossible, and eventually Jaune collapsed back on the bed. "This is tough. I don't feel like I'm moving anything, just solidifying my aura."
"That might be exactly what you're doing," Ren conceded. "You have a lot of Aura, far more than me. It's easier to move a little Aura than a lot. Like how diverting a small creek is easier than a roaring river. This might be hard for you because of that. It's going to take a lot of practice."
"I can tell," Jaune admitted. "At least this is something I can do lying in bed. Maybe I'll practice more after training with Pyrrha, when I'm tired and my Aura is recharging. Not like I can really move much to do anything else."
"That might make things easier," Ren agreed. The Aura drained from training would mean he would be working with less during practice, and consequently might be easier than it was now.
"How long until I can do that Aura punch thing of yours Nora mentioned?" Jaune asked, changing the topic.
"It should take months of diligent practice for someone to be able to expel their Aura," Ren explained. "Once you can freely control your Aura, you can work on ejecting it from your body. The hands and feet are the easiest parts to expel from. You can use this technique to jump higher and, as Nora stated, 'Aura punch'."
"So do you just picture your Aura coming out of your hand or something?"
"Something like that." Ren admitted. "Though, it's a little more complicated."
"Starting to seem like everything is, isn't it?"
Ren actually gave a light chuckle as he answered.
"Nothing worth having is easy." And so Jaune sat there with Ren for hours, training on the basics of Aura manipulation, stopping only to grab a quick dinner.
After a bit of thought, Jaune eventually realized that he actually did some of these exercises, albeit unintentionally, in the middle of fights and spars, like during combat class. Aura would instinctively be pushed to his legs or arms to absorb blows or increase his striking power. The first time he cut an Ursa Grimm in half, he must have increased the amount in his arm and feet.
Weirdly, even though he and Ren were just meditating, time passed quickly. It was already late when the door to their dorm room opened up again.
"Still going at it?" Nora asked, bouncing inside. Pyrrha followed her slowly, looking worn out and very sweaty.
"You're back already?" Jaune blinked before looking at the time on his Scroll. "What the heck?! Where did all the time go?"
"You see why I can meditate for a long time without any trouble now?" Ren smiled. "It's easy to lose track of time."
"How did he do?" Pyrrha asked her fellow teammate as she collapsed onto her bed.
"Not bad," Ren said matter-of-factly rubbing his chin. "Since he has some experience in combat, we were able to progress to the next steps pretty quickly. Though, due to his Aura reserves, it's more challenging for him than it was for someone like me."
"Because our Fearless Leader is so powerful," Nora giggled. "Knew you could do it!"
"Thanks, Nora." Jaune stood up and fist bumped her. "Pyrrha? Are you okay? You seemed exhausted.
"I'm fine. Just ready for bed is all," Pyrrha answered with a genuine smile aimed towards her partner. "Nora had plans and they were very… stimulating."
"What did you two do?" Jaune wondered aloud, curious. He really did want to know, as Pyrrha could train for hours and still come back with the spare energy to hang out with them and do whatever they wanted. Nora was very energetic and hanging out with her was tiring, but even still they must have done a lot.
"We-..."
Pyrrha tried to answer but Nora covered her mouth.
"Nuh uh!" The ginger girl shook her head. "Private girl time. Super secret! No boys allowed."
"What she said," Pyrrha relinquished with a vaguely apologetic look on her face once she was free to speak again.
"Say no more." Jaune held up a hand. "My sisters were the same way. There are things you can't discuss with boys, just like we have guy time." Ren nodded in agreement from behind him. "Well, feel free to use the shower. I think I'm going to call it an early night too. Even if we're just sitting here, I'm exhausted… It almost feels like I've been running laps or something."
"Think of Aura as a muscle," Ren chimed in. "Exercising it in different ways, like trying to pedal a bike after only running, uses them differently and tires you out. Just keep practicing and soon it will become second nature."
"And then you can use Aura fists!" Nora finished, making a few air jabs as she did.
"When I can shoot Aura from my fists, I promise I'll tell you first," Jaune told her.
"You better!"
"An Arc always keeps his promise."
At those words, Jaune received a rib breaking hug from the girl. At the time, a small spark seemed to jump from his body into her. Practically unnoticeable even if one was looking close. Not a single member of Team JNPR noticed, that was for certain. Completely unaware of this event, they all started to prepare for bed. It had been a long day for each of them. Once the lights were out, they all fell asleep almost immediately.
Except Jaune.
'I'm so tired, but… I can't sleep at all.'
Turning over, the boy stared at his friends. Pyrrha was the closest to him, snoring loudly. It surprised him when he first noticed. It was the kind of thing you would never expect from the girl, and something she vehemently denied ever happening regardless of any proof. That didn't bother him though. If he was being honest with himself, he found it kind of cute. The small imperfections that differentiated Pyrrha from the 'flawless ideal' of the Invincible Girl that everyone viewed her as.
Rolling over onto his back and staring at the ceiling, Jaune chuckled lightly.
He felt like he was lucky to have such a great team. Pyrrha, who was willing to help him even after finding out about his forged transcripts to get into Beacon. Ren, who was always there to lend an ear and listen. Nora, for making every day interesting, even if sometimes too interesting. They got into all sorts of trouble because of some of her antics, but Jaune wouldn't trade her, or any of the others, for anything.
Reminiscing for a moment, Jaune made a fist towards Nora, pretending like he was going to let off an 'Aura punch'.
It was his promise to her. A promise that he swore as an Arc to fulfill.
With the idea of that promise in his mind, Jaune finally settled into a comfortable enough position that he felt sleep begin to overtake him.
BANG!
At the sudden noise, Jaune's eyes flew open. The first thing he registered as his senses came to him was that he was standing upright. The second was that he wasn't in his room anymore. In fact, he wasn't in Beacon anymore— He was outside somewhere, the pale light of the moon illuminating the buildings around him. Spinning around, taking in the sights, Jaune realized this couldn't even be Vale. The houses were of a more oriental style, more colorful and spaced differently than Valean architecture typically was.
Furthermore, there was no one else in sight.
"Where… am I?" Jaune wondered aloud for a moment before hearing another loud bang. His head turned towards the noise and he realized there was some kind of commotion nearby, just down the street he found himself on. "Okay, maybe there's a clue somewhere—… OH SHIT!"
A large bear-like Grimm lumbered into his line of sight. Pitch black fur covered its entire body. Ivory white spikes could be seen across its back and arms, and it wore an incredibly detailed bone-mask, made of the same material as the spikes. Jaune instantly reached for his sword on his hip, only to find nothing.
He was face to face with a Grimm, an Ursa… without his weapon!
"Crap!" Jaune fell backwards and quickly started scooting back. This was it. This was how he was going to die… Only, this Grimm just ignored him.
The Ursa raised its head and ran right past him.
"What the…?" Jaune blinked for a moment in disbelief, staring after it as it continued down the street. This made no sense to him. Grimm normally killed defenseless people without a care in the world… So why did it ignore him? Jaune stood from the ground, curiosity overwhelming him. Once more, a loud bang rang out from in the distance where the Ursa was heading.
"Well now I have to check this out," Jaune convinced himself. He was pretty much a goner anyways, so what was the harm? Lost, in the middle of a deserted area, Grimm ignoring him? Yeah, either he was dead meat or he was suddenly invisible to Grimm. Either way, he might as well risk it all investigating the weirdness. The boy started running down the street and turned the corner.
"Take this! And that! You'll all end up being rugs!"
Jaune's mouth fell open, completely speechless.
There, surrounded by countless Ursa, spinning around and knocking back Grimm after Grimm, each with but a single hit, was his friend and teammate, Nora Valkyrie.
He almost couldn't believe it. Nora was strong, there was no denying that. Fighting like this though?
Nora was bouncing around in ways he had never seen before. Every single Grimm was felled in a single blow, and the orange-haired girl didn't seem to be breaking a sweat. Still, Jaune instinctively looked around for a sword to help. Any weapon would do. He couldn't leave his teammate alone when he could do something.
Nora suddenly dropped her hammer right atop the head of an especially large Ursa. A puff of smoke followed, before it disappeared. In its place was a flat bear-skinned rug, eerily similar in size and appearance to the defeated monster.
At the new piece of information Jaune's brain just shut down, no longer able to process what he was seeing.
"Oh yeah! Another one for the store!" Nora laughed. "Who's next?!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
It was as though she was playing a new variation of Whack-a-mole with the dark bear-like creatures. Jaune could do nothing but gape at her as he watched her finish, turning at least two dozen Ursa into fancy Ursai-skin rugs. Smiling, she dusted her hands together before Jaune's brain finally rebooted.
"Nora!" The boy let out. "What the hell is going on?!"
"So you finally showed up!" Nora yelled excitedly. "About time!"
"What?!" Jaune was totally lost. "I just woke up! Where are Pyrrha and Ren?"
"You won't get away this time!" Nora shouted, completely ignoring his question.
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Jaune yelled in exasperation.
"You're going to be my next rug!" Nora declared with a big smile, hammer pointing right past him.
Suddenly, it became obvious she hadn't been talking to Jaune.
In fact, she didn't even seem to register his appearance. Instead, her gaze was focused on something behind him. Something big, if the shadow that Jaune now realized towered over him was any indication. The moon was blocked. Turning around slowly, Jaune's eyes nearly burst out of his sockets.
A huge elephant Grimm was stampeding toward them.
A Goliath.
Like the Ursa, its body was pitch black, with some bone-plates acting as protection for its legs. Its ivory white mask etched with glowing red lines was massive. The creature towered over Jaune as it continued to step forward. The ground shook with each step, and the buildings on either side of it only reached its stomach. Jaune dove out of the way as the Goliath stepped forward and the boy found cover down a side alley. The Goliath didn't seem to care about him in the slightest, instead continuing its way toward Nora.
"HAHA!" Nora laughed. "You might be big, but there's one thing I know that you don't— You can't defeat the Queen of the Castle!"
Jaune peeked out from behind his hiding place as Nora leaped into the air and brought her hammer down on the mask of the Grimm. Jaune expected some kind of loud impact. Some level of resistance. A large crack making its way down the bone-mask, or a bang crying out at the collision between it and Nora's hammer.
Anything, really.
Squeak!
But not that.
With a sound entirely reminiscent of a doggy chew-toy, the Goliath wobbled and deflated, turning into a very large rug in the middle of the street.
"Okay… I'm dead, right? I think I'm dead, because this makes no freaking sense," Jaune muttered to himself.
Night suddenly turned to day and a thick fog rolled in, obscuring everything for a second. The next moment the streets were full of people shopping, laughing, and running around.
It was like the Grimm attack from mere moments before had never happened.
At the end of the street, Ren and Nora were standing by a shop. Taking a closer look, it became clear they were currently selling the Ursa and Goliath skin rugs he'd just seen Nora make.
"Has the entire world lost its mind?!" Jaune demanded, beginning his march toward Nora. "Someone needs to tell me what the heck just happened before I go insane! Please!"
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Jaune's eyes shot open once more. Blinking a few times to gather his thoughts. He was finally awake.
Taking in a slow, deep breath, Jaune sat up and turned off his alarm. That dream had felt so vivid, so weirdly detailed. Sure, he had dreamed before, but nothing like this. Everything had been so clear and defined. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Jaune yawned and tried to push it from his mind.
"Jaune?" Pyrrha called out to him, noticing something was wrong by his expression. "Are you alright? Did you sleep well?"
The concern in her voice was clear.
"Just had a weird dream," He admitted. "It was so detailed it almost felt real, and it didn't make sense at all."
"What was it about?" Pyrrha tilted her head curiously.
"Ah, just a weird fight with a Grimm." Jaune made up on the spot.
"Oh, oh!" Nora waved her hand eagerly. "I had a dream like that too! It was the middle of the night…"
"It was day," Corrected Ren, who had heard about this dream many, many times before. She had been having the same dream for nearly a month. The way she told it changed constantly, but he knew the story it originated from.
"…We were surrounded by Ursai."
"They were Beowolves."
"Dozens of them!"
"Two of them."
"But they were no match, and in the end Ren and I took them down, then made a boatload of Lien selling Ursa skin rugs!"
"What about the Goliath?" The words slipped from Jaune's mouth before he even realized what he had said.
"Goliath?" Pyrrha and Ren turned towards him with a questioning look. Nora had never mentioned a Goliath in the story before.
"Oh, right!" Nora thought about what he said for a moment before nodding in agreement. "He was, like, the final boss… but I took him down with a single swing from my mighty hammer—... How did you know?"
"Er…" Jaune paused for a second, unsure of what to say. "It just seemed like the logical conclusion?" He lied.
The rest of his team seemed to accept this without any argument. While the term 'logic' wasn't used very often when it came to Nora, it did seem like something she would have said next. Jaune, meanwhile, started to think deeper about it all.
'Did Nora and I have the same dream…? Nah, couldn't have been. I probably just heard the story enough times. I bet she just added the Goliath after I mentioned it. Her imagination is always overactive like that.'
Chuckling to himself, Jaune thought nothing else of it as he went to take a quick shower before class.
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
Some dreams may not be what they appear. Jaune might have to dive deeper when he learns to control his power.
Editor's Note: Yo. BenFang322 here. Came out of the woodworks to do this emergency edit for Dark, since I know he's been working on this for the past year or so with another friend of ours, only to get sniped by Coeur (even though Coeur and Dark have no contact with each other and this is all a complete coincidence, lol). One big difference between this and Coeur's version, if I had to bet, will be the smut. I don't think Coeur plans to write as much of that as Dark and Ferret did back in the day. Anyway, until next time—
Dark: I really don't know if smut will be in here honestly. Certain characters like Blake and others will have rather… erotic dreams. Next will be Ruby and a special mystery person no one will expect.