Jaune had fulfilled his promise.

JNPR was being led through the streets in a grand procession. A huntsman was accompanying the group of students for their first team mission.

Jaune did his best to emulate the self-assured posture and gait of the huntsman. Pyrrha smiled and waved, her tournament history shining through in her graceful poise. Nora bounced around, wanting to run ahead or lag behind and talk with someone, but remained in line with Ren's hand on her shoulder. "Patience" he had said, his face solemn. Yes, they were home, but only because a job had been requested, because their services were needed. Even the most gallant tales of fairies and heroes possess the sadness of those who need to be rescued; this homecoming too was marred with that same sensation of melancholy that leaked into the lavish welcome. The students were here for a recovery mission, time sensitive, a child had be taken by a grimm the villagers were unequipped to find and defeat. again

They had arrived in late afternoon, too late to accomplish more than collecting the full story of the situation, so they would allow the celebrations to persist today, but tomorrow it would be time for work. The night was spent in the great room of Nora's family, who had been eager to host the group.

Jaune proposed that each of the students lead a team of village hunters to scout out for the lair of the nevermore, approved by their chaperone who would rotate between the groups checking in and relaying any finds. It was Nora's group that found the injured trees with snapped tops. The others converged quickly, finding more evidence for it being the common ground of a nesting grimm. Upon discovery of a hill-born cave, the large group returned to the village, the hunters dining with Ren's family joined by Nora's parents. Ren smiled at a short table beneath a wall of family photos, upon which were three photos of children and a lone candle. Nora touched his arm, and smiled up at him, the gesture mirrored in return.

A young boy of six years had been taken, similar to an incident ten years prior, and ten before that. Despite speculation that the children lived for a little time after being taken, it was best not to dally. The hunters sat alone at the table, the parents having retired to drink coffee and tea outside, reaching the conclusion that they would go out shortly and attempt to have the child back by nightfall. They would mostly stick together, first checking that the child was taken by the grimm whose nest they had discovered before attempting to recover him, preferably with the grimm away. They had the remainder of the week to eliminate the problem permanently but that would require more preparation as the beast was described as old, learned, and powerful - not the weak grimm students could defeat on their own.

Outside the carved hole in the rocky hill the hunters had finished their examination; there was no sign of the grimm, not even as they spoke outside the opening, not even when they threw in dust light sticks.

"It appears to be gone, although with a nevermore the tighter space would be to our advantage. I would hate for it to trap us though." Jaune concluded of their findings. "Ren, as the fastest among us, would you be willing to scout the cave and try to get the boy out before the nevermore returns? We will guard the entrance and if anything seems off just get out or shout for us."

The plan was considered acceptable by the experienced huntsman, and Ren agreed to go. His weapons were drawn, light sticks attached to them and his coat lit the way along with those resting on the floor. At the end of the tunnel there was a room; sticks, moss, bark, and straw lined the floor, a bed fit for a grimm. Off the padding, against the wall, was a small bundled form with soft, struggling breaths. Ren knelt beside the boy and placed a hand upon him, the child did not stir but Ren could feel shivers vibrate through his arm. A sound from the nest caught his attention, and with his weapons held ready Ren saw four eggs in the nest. One egg twitched again. Ren took a step into the nest, closer to the egg. It rolled a quarter turn. Another step.

Suddenly a heavy black mass fell from the ceiling.

Ren jumped back to the wall to dodge.

Eyes glowed through the low light, red glass the size and shape of a hand.

Ren fired a volley of shots.

The other four came running.

The nevermore dove its beak at Ren, it hit the wall.

Ren slashed at the head, but focused on running along the wall away from the child.

Feathers threatened to pin him but merely slashed through his clothes.

Ren fired upward, aiming for the back of the wings but unwilling to shoot toward the hostage.

The bird was distracted, losing a chance to retaliate.

Using the wall, Ren pushed his body up and over the head of the bird, landing with the blades attempting to pierce its plumage. He slashed and slashed, using alternating strikes so one blade held him to his foe despite its attempts to shake him off.

The huntsman arrived first, a silhouette against the lantern held by Jaune behind him.

The nevermore suddenly stood high and pushed once with her wings, talons against the wall assisting the maneuver.

Ren understood what was next. He flattened himself against the grimm, his weapons embedded in its hide no longer held.

"Ren!" cried Nora, arriving with Pyrrha just in time to foresee the attack.

The huntsman lunged forward, having assessed the situation, but could not slow the upward momentum of the bird.

It fell.

Ren landed atop it and rolled off to the far side of the cave.

The nevermore twitched, but blood flowed from two wounds on its head.

The huntsman pulled out the blades, the blood flowed freely, evaporating before it would drip onto the nest.

Jaune, Nora, and Pyrrha ran to Ren.

A child whimpered softly, the skirmish finally bring him around to stir.

A breeze tousled Pyrrha's hair, she stood between Nora and Jaune hours before they would leave the village. They stood before the fresh grave, from just two days earlier of the boy they could not protect and save. He had held on for a while, surrounded by his family, but his injuries were too much. It was a long time before any of them spoke, with no one else around to interrupt or hear.

Nora broke the silence. "I guess you did it Ren. You found her. You got her killer too."

Pyrrha looked to her teammate without a sound, but readied her arm when Jaune leaned forward in case he began to do something tactless. She waited, her eyes searching Nora for an explanation, almost ready to speak if only she could pick the words. "No-" she began the other girl's name, stopping abruptly when Nora resumed.

"You saved the taken child. Nevermore shall another be lost."

Nora let the silence retake the air, her pause uncharacteristic, words slow to form and surface instead of bubbling out. Yet, these were not words spoken to drown out silence, these words wanted to be out as much as any other, they were just worse at finding the way.

"The last child taken was a girl. She had short pink hair and black eyes that shone with mischief."

Nora felt her eyelashes grow heavy with dampness each time she blinked.

"His sister was my best friend, he was my brother too."

Jaune struggled to make the connection, but Pyrrha waited, assuming that with more he would understand.

"We were relentless. He could never quite catch us, although I wonder if he let us get away on purpose." Nora smiled, looking up at the sky, at a cloud drifting by, her cheeks wet despite the shift.

"You did it Ren. You found her."

Nora looked back down to the new stone with a black lotus, placed beside another engraved with a pink flower and the words "Lie Fen Hong".

It was time to go. Jaune and Pyrrha were at the door holding bags, the huntsman standing outside. They were at the threshold of the Lie residence. Nora was kneeling before the small table. Two of the photos had been swapped, the one of just the girl had been moved from the middle to the left side. Now framed with two candles were two children: a girl with messy, bright pink hair just past her shoulders, the color Ren's streak was always dyed, shining a smile as energetic as any Nora typically sported, hanging off the shoulder of a boy with all-black hair not much older smiling with resignation and amusement. Nora passed her hand through the flame of the taller candle as she stood, the one between the siblings and a third photograph, that of three grinning children, a sharp contrast to the expression of the now-aged orange-haired child.

This was written as part of the February 2015 /r/RWBY monthly contest. The prompt was Ren and Recovery. I took the "recovery" part more literally than most but the story changed course somewhat with real life events.

Fen translates to dust. Fen Hong translates to pale pink.

I listened to the song "Ue o Muite Arukou" while writing parts of this short story

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