Pyrrha was woken up by the air being pushed out of her lungs.

Naturally, the tall redhead tried to pry the offending arms off her torso. Or would have, had Ruby not been gripping onto her as if her life depended on it. As Pyrrha calmed down and focused, it became very clear that she wasn't actually being suffocated by her smaller half but that didn't make it any less worrisome.

The rapid breathing on the nape of neck, the small tremors racking Ruby's body as she was pressed from behind was all indications of a nightmare. Pyrrha frowned as she went about waking up Ruby, to save her from the nightly terrors.

They'd been getting more and more frequent in the past few weeks; Pyrrha didn't know why still. Ruby's grades have been fine and we haven't had any drama going on with our friends… even our date last night was spectacular, Pyrrha felt a blush start to form as Ruby was roused out of her thrashing.

The moment Ruby's silver eyes focused on Pyrrha she only latched onto her tighter. Pyrrha was already hugging back before the silent sobs started to wrack Ruby's small form. "Shh, I'm here Ruby, I'm here." Pyrrha's quiet reassurances only got Ruby to bury her head deeper against the crook of the tall redhead's neck.

"I hate this." Ruby mumbled after a few minutes much to Pyrrha's surprise. "I hate that every time I fall asleep, I have these stupid nightmares. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!"

Pyrrha paused before replying softly. "Is there anything I can do? It hurts to see you like this…"

"Just don't go." Ruby's voice sounded childlike, the tone worming into Pyrrha and breaking her heart. "Please don't go."

"I promise I won't go Ruby, I promise." There was no hesitation in Pyrrha's voice. "I would never abandon you." Ruby numbly nodded as she continued to cling to Pyrrha as if the taller girl was her only lifeline.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Ruby, and I always will." The two stayed there, clinging together. When the sobs finally started to subside Pyrrha did something she seldom did.

Pyrrha started to sing.

It wasn't a lively tune or particularly loud and nowhere near as beautiful as Weiss' voice, but it did its trick. The flowing words of her native tongue had an almost palpable effect on Ruby; the younger redhead relaxing immensely in Pyrrha's embrace, the tension evaporating from her form.

Before Pyrrha knew it, Ruby was snoozing quietly against her, the younger girl's arms still wrapped around her even through sleep. That'd didn't mean Pyrrha was going to sleep however.

Pushing the pillows from the bed against the head wall, Pyrrha leaned into a half recline position, Ruby still cradled against her as she continued to gently hum the tune. Ruby wasn't going to like the fact that Pyrrha was about to spend the rest of the night up to make sure her smaller half got restful sleep… but then again, Pyrrha would do anything for her redhead.

I promise I'll always be here for you Ruby. Pyrrha was never going to abandon the one she loved.

I love you.

AU: There is a reason this chapter is short. You may not to want to read further if you haven't seen the volume 3 finale. Spoilers. This is your only warning.

Right so I am a total and utter mess right now. I've been on the verge of breaking down into tears for the better part of two days now since I saw the episode yesterday. So forgive me if the quality of the writing is done since I'm doing this mostly through tears and lack of sleep from emotional turmoil.

My muse is dead and I feel lost.

A bit of back story from me:

Back in October of 2014, I realized that I legitimately had nothing that made me happy in my life and that I needed SOMETHING. The only thing that I really liked and watch at the time (having gotten into the series right after the dance episode from volume 2 premiered) was RWBY.

I delved headfirst into the fandom and through fanfiction I felt… happy. Pyrrha made me the happiest. Whenever I felt down I could think of her and it was like a little ray of sunshine to brighten me up. Now whenever I think about her, I just feel sad. Sadder then when my ex dumped me.

I understand and can say this with little exaggeration that I'm one of the most well-known Pyrrha-centric authors in the fandom. I know if I just stopped writing people would be sad. I know that it's not something that Pyrrha wouldn't have wanted (even if she is a fictional character). She just means… a lot to me. Like a lot a lot. And now she is dead.

Throughout this volume I always stated that if Pyrrha died, I'd finish up my writing and leave the fandom. At present that seems to be the case, although I may continue on much more irregularly schedule after the big stories are completed with Spoon Equality. At least then Pyrrha continues to live on in some small way.

It just… hurts so much now. I feel really sad inside and just… empty. I'm sorry that most of this chapter was author's note, I really REALLY needed to get this off my chest.

My emotional tether to the series has been cut after this episode. Sure I like some of the characters, but when you've written about two Harry Potter books of words from a character's POV and she dies… it hurts. It hurts a lot. Pyrrha is a character in which it is the easiest for me to write. If my outward actions are how Ruby acts, my inner thoughts are how Pyrrha thinks. And now she is gone.

Sorry, just emotional over here and… I needed to speak up.

Acceptance is going to be postponed for a little bit as work on Wrath will be picking up as I'm in that mindset. I don't know when Acceptance Chapter 19 will be released but I'd like to do its one year anniversary.

Thank you for all the people have been messaging me, I really REALL appreciate it. Leaving me messages means a lot because I really am an emotional wreck after this episode.

I just decided some fluff could be done and it's not very good and I'm really sorry but this is all I got today. I have more planned for a Valentine's day special which will be next week if I can motivate myself to do it. I'm really sorry for the inconvenience.

I hope everyone has a better Valentine's day then me.