Somewhere in Minstral…

After a long day of trekking, Team RNJR finally started looking for a place to spend the night. On their map they could see a small cave just off the path, where they decided that it was an ideal spot to set up camp.

Ruby and Ren set about making some dinner, while Jaune and Nora went to collect firewood. About an hour later, the fire was roaring away and the four teenagers had full stomachs. Jaune decided that he would handle guard duty for the night, so Ruby, Ren and Nora curled up in their sleeping bags and dozed off.

After about half an hour, a faint noise woke Ren from his slumber.

"Ren… Reeeeeen…"

He slowly opened his eyes, stretching his feet to the bottom of his sleeping bag. As Ren's eyes began to adjust to the pale light of the campfire, he made out the shape of Nora, sitting about a foot away from him.

"Nora? Why aren't you asleep?"

Nora pouted and wiped her eyes, and Ren could tell she'd been crying. "I couldn't sleep…" she said quietly.

Ren sighed and his expression softened. "Nightmares again?" he asked.

"Uh huh." she replied with a sniffle.

"I miss her too, Nora…" Ren sighed, his mind conjuring up images of their fallen friend; a mental habit that he had struggled to control of late. He pushed the thought out of his mind and turned his attention back to Nora, who had shuffled a little closer to him with her head facing down.

"Can I sleep in your sleeping bag with you tonight?" Nora asked, her sad blue eyes looking up into his. A smile crept over Ren's face and he scooched over, giving Nora room to curl up next to him. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Ren was a sucker for puppy eyes, especially from Nora.

She slipped her feet into the sleeping bag, sliding herself in with her back facing Ren. Ren decided that it would not be gentleman-like to stare at Nora's butt as she wriggled herself under the covers, so he opted for glancing towards the campfire to check if it needed more fuel. It didn't.

Nora snuggled in close to Ren and pulled the covers up. She looked over her shoulder towards Ren. "I know I shouldn't, but I can't help but blame myself for… for… you know." Nora muttered.

"There was nothing more you could do…" Ren replied soothingly. After a few seconds of silence, he piped up again. "Nora, she was proud of you, you know. You were like a little sister to her."

"She was like a mom to me." Nora let out a little giggle. "Remember when I had the flu? You and Pyrrha fought over who would get to play nurse."

Ren was taken aback. "Nora… that's the first time you've said her name since…"

Nora let out a sad sigh. "…since she died…"

Ren and Nora laid in silence for a couple of minutes. Ren was almost asleep when Nora spoke again.

"Ren, will you tell me the story of how we met? You always said you were going to tell me one day."

Ren smiled. "Now's as good a time as any, I suppose." he replied, clearing his throat. Nora rolled over so that she was facing him, their faces only a few inches apart.

"Well… it was a quiet day at the orphanage. We were about six years old. I was eating my lunch outside, as I often did, when I saw you run outside. You'd finished your lunch early, and had come outside to play. I saw you look at me, and when you saw me looking at you, you ran and hid behind a bush." Ren tried to suppress his laughter.

"Why did I do that?" Nora asked quizzically.

Ren chuckled. "I can't imagine why. You used to do it almost every day!"

Nora blushed. "Really? So, what was different about this day?"

"I was getting to that. Anyway… a few seconds later, you came out of the bush at a full sprint, towards the bench in the middle of the playground."

Nora stared at Ren, fascinated by his story. "What happened next!?" she exclaimed.

"You ran at the bench and jumped. It looked like you were trying to do a somersault over it, but instead you landed flat on your face, in the grass."

Nora flinched. "Ouch."

"Correct. Or at least, I think that's what you yelled," he said with a grin.

"Just get on with the story, smarty-pants," Nora laughed.

"So I ran over to see if you were okay. And you were, apart from the grass all over your face and one little graze, right on your forehead."

Nora cackled with laughter. "Did it leave a scar!?" she yelled excitedly.

Ren chuckled softly. "No, Nora, it didn't. And keep your voice down or you'll wake up Ruby."

Unbeknownst to Ren and Nora, Ruby was indeed wide awake and listening to every word of Ren's story, a much-needed smile of her own plastering her face. Even Jaune, who was on guard duty, could hear Nora's laughter.

"Sorry," Nora whispered, "so what happened next?"

Ren thought for a moment. "Where was I up to?"

"You ran over to see if I was okay, which I was, 'cause I'm a big girl." Nora stated matter-of-factly.

"You didn't sound very big at the time!" Ren teased. "You were bawling your eyes out, if I remember correctly. So, I helped you up and led you over to the picnic table where I'd been sitting. I brushed all the grass off of you and offered you a bit of my sandwich. Which was homemade… by the way."

Nora's eyes lit up. "I didn't know your status as a 'master chef' went back that far."

"Anyway, you ate your sandwich and told me it was the bestest thing you'd ever eaten. Then you grabbed me by the hand and dragged me over to the sandpit, where you proceeded to bury up to my neck… And after that, you started eating lunch with me every day. It was truly the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Ren sighed nostalgically.

Nora nodded in agreement and rolled onto her back, looking up towards the ceiling of the cave they were staying in. Ren watched her as she closed her eyes and silently mouthed something. She opened her eyes and sighed.

"What were you just doing?" Ren asked curiously.

Nora looked at him. "Making a wish..." she spoke nervously.

Ren looked confused. "There's no shooting stars up there." he said, pointing at the rocky ceiling.

"But there might be one in the sky, right now! You just never know." Nora said with a smile.

Ren chuckled to himself. No matter what, Nora could always be counted on for her blind optimism.

He turned back towards the ginger girl. "So… what did you wish for?" he asked. "Or can't you tell me?"

Nora looked straight into Ren's eyes. "The same thing I wish for every night."

Ren let out a fake shiver. "That sounds really creepy…" he said playfully.

Nora stuck her tongue out at him. "All you boys are the same. You only think about one thing!" she replied jokingly. All of a sudden, she let out a long yawn. "We should get to sleep. It's gonna be another long day tomorrow."

Ren rolled back over onto his side, facing Nora, while she faced away from him as well. He let out a short gasp as Nora pulled his arm over her and held his hand close to her heart.

"Hey, Ren," Nora began, "the purpose of an orphanage is to help orphans find new families, right?"

Ren nodded. "Yes… why?"

"I just never thought I'd find mine by falling on my head."