Chapter 7

The days ticked by as Yang's job search continued. Winter also had her first private session with Glynda. She thought it had gone well, but Glynda was less enthusiastic. The doctor felt it was more like a business meeting than therapy and pointed out the need for Winter to better engage her emotions and reveal her true feelings. Still, it was a start, and Winter felt she had made at least a little improvement. Before long it was time for another group meeting.

"There's no one new this week, so does anyone have anything specific to discuss?" Glynda asked. It was the more typical style of meeting where someone would mention a specific topic and there would be a little discussion.

"Well, still no new job but at least I have a new place." Yang said. "I moved in with Winter, just until I find a job."

"That's good." Sun said. "At least you're not living in that dump of an apartment anymore."

"That dump was my home!" Yang shouted indignantly. Then a smile spread across her face. "Yeah, it sucked. I'm so happy to be out of there." She turned to Glynda. "That's it for me. Just didn't want anyone showing up at my old place looking for me."

"Anyone else?" Glynda asked.

"I suppose we should tell them." Blake said. Velvet nodded in agreement. "Well, I guess I should start with some background. You guys know Velvet and I share an apartment. Well, for a few weeks now we've been sleeping in separate beds in the same room. We both have nightmares and it's nice to not be alone when we wake up from them."

"You have nightmares too?" Yang asked.

"Yeah." Blake admitted. "It's a little embarrassing so I never talked about it here." She sighed. "I guess I should go over the details."

"Only if you're comfortable doing so." Glynda said.

"My recurring nightmare has to do with something I witnessed, back when I was dating Adam." Blake explained. "A little after I found out he was in a gang, he took me to one of the meetings. Well, they talked business and I was just kind of there, not really knowing what was going on. Suddenly Adam gets up and says 'one of us is a traitor.' Another gang member handed him a big envelope and he opened it, pulling out a picture. He held it up for everyone to see. It showed a female member of the gang making out with a tattooed guy I didn't recognize.

"Adam slapped the photo down on the table in front of her. 'You've been fraternizing with the enemy.' She looked terrified. She tried to speak but could only stammer out something unintelligible. Then Adam said 'you know what we do with traitors.' She got up and tried to run but Adam grabbed her by the hair and pulled her to the ground. While she was down the other gang members jumped in and started beating on her. She screamed for a while, then the only thing I could hear was the sound of flesh pounding on flesh." Tears started running down Blake's cheeks as she continued the story.

"Adam said 'that's enough' after a few minutes and everyone backed off. He gestured toward the door and two of the guys dragged her out. She was all bruised and covered in blood, not moving at all. I think she might have been dead. That was the last I ever saw of her. I asked Adam why he brought me there and he wouldn't say. It was right after I quit the drugs, and maybe I was getting too independent for his liking. I realize now that he did it to scare me into never defying him.

"Well, ever since I've had a nightmare where I see it all happening again, except I'm the traitor. Adam condemns me and everyone crowds around, ready to pounce. Then he punches me in the face and I wake up. I know he's dead and gone but I'm still afraid of him." By now her crying was making it difficult for her to speak.

"I'll take over." Velvet said, giving Blake the opportunity to compose herself. "I told you about my nightmare last week and how I wasn't having it as much. Well, it came back this week, every night. Something was different though. Instead of Coco lying there, dead, it was Blake. The first time I sort of wrote it off, but the second time it scared me so much...I had to wake her up to make sure she was okay."

"She was crying and shaking." Blake said. "I could see how scared she was, so I walked her back over to her bed and just held her there for a bit."

"It made me realize how much I care about Blake." Velvet said. "We've been good friends for a while, but I felt like we could be more than that, and I confessed as much."

"I sort of felt the same way, so we decided to try dating." Blake said. "It's not much of a stretch from the way things were between us, so why not give it a shot?"

"Congrats you two." Yang said. "If you ever need a third for a little fun, you know where to find me."

"Thanks for the offer but I think it's a little early to be thinking about that." Blake laughed. Velvet just looked embarrassed.

"Congratulations." Glynda said. "It's always nice to hear some good news here. Does anyone have anything to add?" There were no takers. "Alright, that's it for me. Pyrrha, are you sticking around tonight?"

"Yes." Pyrrha replied.

"Woohoo!" Nora exclaimed. "I get to hang out with Sun!" Nora rushed over to him and excitedly began describing some things she had done in one of the games they played online. Sun seemed a bit off-guard at first, but was soon telling his own stories. While those two went on and on, the rest of the group talked about this and that. It was almost an hour before things finally broke up and everyone headed home.

Winter headed out to take care of some business. Some bills from back in Atlas needed to be paid so Winter headed to the bank to work out the details. When she arrived back at the house she had food for her and Yang, along with a bag from an electronics store. After eating Yang could no longer contain her curiosity. "So, what did you buy?" Yang asked. "I thought this place had everything."

"Not quite everything." Winter said. "You said you were interested in playing video games with Sun and Nora, so I asked Sun what they usually played and got it for you."

"Oh wow." Yang gasped as Winter extracted the pricey video game console and games from the bag. "You didn't have to."

"I thought I might have fun playing too." Winter said. "I've never really played video games before, father thought they were too juvenile, but Sun and Nora seem like they have a great time."

"Oh, this'll be so awesome." Yang enthused. "I can't wait to crush those two." Winter kept pulling more and more from the large bag. "You got headsets too? Nice! Now I can trash-talk them."

"I'll leave setting it all up to you." Winter said. "Electronics have never been my thing."

After an hour or so Yang had everything ready. The system was connected, profiles created, wireless controllers synced, and game updates installed. She texted Sun and Nora what she and Winter's usernames were - Raging_Dragon and Frosty_Nips respectively - so they could add them as friends. They all joined a party and it was time to play. "Winter, it's ready!" Yang announced.

Yang handed Winter a controller as she sat on the couch. Winter looked at the list of names on the screen, reading them aloud. "Raging_Dragon, Donkey_Wukong, Hammertimer and Frosty_Nips?" Winter said. "Who's Frosty_Nips?"

"That's the username I gave you." Yang said. After a few moments she burst out laughing as Winter gave her a blank stare.

"I guess that makes Nora Hammertimer." Winter said, trying not to feed into Yang's childish joke.

"Yep." Yang said. She put on her headset. "Alright guys, let's race!"

The screen changed to a selection of characters. Yang and the other quickly picked theirs while Winter slowly examined each one, finally selecting one she thought looked fancy. Then up came a selection of vehicles, and Winter predictably picked one that looked like a luxury car. After a brief loading screen the view shifted to the starting grid for a goofy racing game. "Which button is go?" Winter asked.

"The green one." Yang said.

Winter looked down at the controller and found it. "And what's the brakes?" Winter asked.

"If you're using the brakes you're doing it wrong." Yang laughed. "The yellow one is to use items."

"Items?" Winter asked. But there was no time. The countdown reached zero and the race was on. Winter kept up for a few seconds, only to be bombarded but various brightly colored implements of doom. Before she knew it she was in last. At least no one was trying to kill her anymore. Then she took a turn too wide and went flying off the course. After another delay she was placed back on the track, only to go off again shortly thereafter. Then hazards started popping up on the course and it seemed Winter hit every single one.

The group ran several races but they all ended the same way for Winter, dead last. It was a bit disheartening but hardly surprising. The others battled back and forth for the top, Nora winning and trash-talking with a level of vulgarity that shocked Winter. "How about we change the game?" Yang suggested. "Maybe fighting is more your style."

"I think not video games are more my style, but I'll give it a shot." Winter laughed. "I may be terrible but I'm having fun, and that's what matters."

"Keep telling yourself that." Sun taunted.

Yang loaded up a new game and Winter was once again met with a screen for character selection. This time there were many more characters to choose from. Again Winter chose a particularly dapper looking one. "Okay, green is normal attacks, red is specials, yellow jumps, left trigger dodges and right trigger grabs." Yang explained.

Winter looked down at her controller. She could see all the buttons there, but it took some time to get her fingers to recognize them without the help of her eyes. After walking off the edge...twice, she was finally getting the hang of it when Nora's character came flying across the screen, slammed into her character, and sent it flying into oblivion. Out of lives. The other three continued to battle it out in the colorful fighting game. Nora eventually outlasted the others to win.

"Not great." Yang said to Winter.

"No, but I think I was just getting the hang of it." Winter said. "Let's give it another shot."

The game began with Nora, Sun and Yang battling it out. Winter kept her character off to the side, still practicing some moves and getting the hang of the way it moved. In the melee she was forgotten, and then it was down to just her and Nora. Winter still had all three lives but the battle with Sun and Yang left Nora with just one. Nora's first hit on Winter was a kill as her character zoomed off into space. When her character respawned Nora manhandled it, hardly letting her touch the ground as the beating continued. She managed to get in a few hits, but again her character went sailing off into the sunset. Winter only had one life but Nora's character was dangerously close to death. Still she manhandled Winter, until Winter blocked a shot, hit the red button, and watched as Nora's character launched straight into the air, disappearing off the top of the screen. The other three gasped as Winter sat there mildly confused.

"I don't believe it." Yang said.

"I am victorious!" Winter exclaimed.

"I am shocked and confused." Sun said.

"It's only because you hid in the corner the whole time." Nora complained.

"It's a legitimate strategy!" Winter protested. "Good game everyone."

"You need to work on your trash talk." Yang laughed.

"How did I lose?!" Nora shouted. "I demand a rematch!"

They played a few more rounds and it consistently came down to Winter and Nora, with each coming out on top about the same number of times as Winter steadily improved. Soon Winter was regularly coming out on top, and not even relying on camping to do it. After some good-natured ribbing from Sun and Yang, Nora rage-quit and the others decided to call it a night.

It was time for one of Pyrrha's frequent visits to Nora's house. As was the routine Pyrrha ran the doorbell then opened the door herself as she had a key. Usually Nora would be there and waiting to wrap Pyrrha in one of her way-too-tight hugs. But Nora was not this time. "Nora?" Pyrrha called. No answer. Pyrrha checked the bedroom. "Nora?" Nothing. The same for the bathroom. Pyrrha was starting to get worried. She checked the house's spare bedroom. "Nora?" No one. Then Pyrrha spotted something out the window. In the backyard, in a little gazebo, Nora was sitting on the floor with her eyes closed. Pyrrha rushed out the back door. "Nora, are you okay?!"

Nora opened her eyes and looked up. "Oh, hey Pyrrha." She said, almost in a whisper. "I didn't hear you coming."

"What's going on?" Pyrrha asked as she walked up. "I've never seen you so quiet."

"Just working through some stress Pyrrha." Nora said with a smile. "I'm alright. Thanks for caring though. You're my angel."

Pyrrha smiled and blushed a little. "I'm just doing my job." She said. "What brings you out here?"

"I never told you, did I?" Nora said. "Ren planted this garden." She made a sweep of her hands, gesturing towards the plants and flowers all around. "He taught me how to care for it, then he taught me to appreciate it. He was always so...zen when it came to nature." Nora sniffled and wiped away a stray tear, then looked up and smiled. "When I come out here I feel like I'm close to him again, like this garden was a part of him. When I'm feeling alone I can just sit here and lose myself in the sounds and smells." She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Pyrrha, would you like to join me?"

"I'd love to." Pyrrha said. Nora gestured to the floor beside her and Pyrrha took a seat. "Is there anything special I need to do?"

"No, just relax." Nora replied. "Empty your mind and let all your worries fade away."

The pair sat there for a long while. Pyrrha was impressed by how calm and quiet Nora could be. She was used to dealing with a girl who could not sit still or keep quiet for a minute, yet there they sat in silence for what felt like hours. Pyrrha did find it very relaxing. It was odd. She never really took the opportunity to step back and relax. There was always something else to do, but here with Nora she could just exist with no worries. It was something Pyrrha wished she could do more often.

"Well, that was nice." Nora finally said. She leapt to her feet and stretched. "I feel much better now!" Pyrrha stood as well, also feeling refreshed. "So, want to help out with some gardening?"

"I'm not sure how useful I'll be but I'll do what I can." Pyrrha agreed.

"Great!" Nora exclaimed. Her boundless energy had returned. "I'll start watering and you can get rid of the weeds."

"Um...which ones are the weeds?" Pyrrha asked, a little embarrassed that she did not know.

"You see how all the flowers are in neat rows and arranged by type." Nora said, pointing at the garden. "Ren was big on keeping it neat and tidy, so I am too. Anything out of place is probably a weed. Just ask if you're not sure."

"Oh, okay." Pyrrha said. From what she could see there were not very many weeds. She started yanking out one particularly obvious specimen.

"Be sure to get all the roots too." Nora advised. "Otherwise it'll just grow back. Hold on." Nora rushed to a small shed behind the gazebo and ducked inside. She returned with a pair of gloves and some tools. "Use these. It'll make it easier."

Pyrrha went to work on the weeds while Nora turned on the hose to start watering. Pyrrha expected she would drench the plants, but Nora very carefully sprayed them with a gentle mist, careful not to miss any spots or overwater. On Pyrrha's end the weeds turned out to be rather more stubborn than anticipated. Many were also dangerously close to the flowers and Pyrrha was afraid she would harm them. After watering Nora donned gloves of her own and joined Pyrrha in plucking out the weeds. Pyrrha left the more difficult spots to her.

"Do you mind telling me why you were stressed?" Pyrrha asked.

"Oh, it's not that big a deal." Nora said. "I was playing video games with Sun last night, then Yang and Winter got on and played with us. At the end Winter kept beating me."

"All that stress was over a game?" Pyrrha asked. "I thought playing those games usually calms you down."

"It does, it's just that…" Nora started. "It wasn't so much losing...I mean, Sun beats me enough. It's just I couldn't stand losing to her."

"Because she's a beginner?" Pyrrha said. "I can see how that would be annoying."

"Yeah...that's it." Nora sighed. "Yang and Sun made fun of me a little. It wasn't that bad, the stuff I say is usually worse. But all of it together was too much. I didn't sleep too well and I was still kind of angry this morning, so I decided to meditate. I haven't done that in a long time. It felt good, even better because you joined me."

"I'm glad you found such a healthy way to work through stress." Pyrrha said. "I could probably use some work on that. Crying and overeating isn't the best solution after all."

They worked in the garden for another hour or so, finishing up with the weeds, then spreading some fertilizer all around it. "I'm tired." Nora yawned, wobbling as she walked into her house. "I'm going to bed."

"Oh no you're not." Pyrrha said. "You're filthy! You need to take a shower first." Both Nora and Pyrrha were covered in dirt, not to mention sweat.

"Fine." Nora sighed. She stumbled into the bathroom while Pyrrha waited in the living room. She had a change of clothes in her car and would shower before leaving. After a few seconds Nora poked her head out the door. She was mostly hidden by the door but it was obvious that she was stark naked. "You want in on this? Two's a party!"

Pyrrha blushed brightly. "N...Nora...I…" She spluttered. "I don't think that's appropriate, but thank you. I can wait."

"Suit yourself." Nora shrugged before closing the door again.