Who: Pyrrha and Ren What: Ren dreams about what happens to Pyrrha and goes to check on her. When: About two weeks ago Where: Pyrrha's place Ratings/Warnings: Low/none Status: Complete
Ren had been warned that during the Vytal festival, the dreams took a serious downward spiral, but he hadn’t really expected things to get as bad as they had. His dreams so far had been mostly pleasant, even when they had gotten mixed up with the Grimm, and such a sudden shift had been unexpected. He had known Pyrrha would have gotten hurt. He didn’t know…
He’d woken up just when him, the remaining members of JNPR, and Ruby, had left, setting out for Haven. He’d laid in bed for longer than he usually did before he finally got up and made his way to the kitchen. After her ordeal, Pyrrha would no doubt need some food to help her recover.
Which is how, a little over an hour later, he showed up at her doorstep with an blueberry, acai and pineapple smoothie made with kefir milk, and a salad made up mostly of sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts.
Diana had gone into work early, leaving Pyrrha alone. She wasn’t usually alone, not lately, Jaune staying a lot lately, once she was out of the hospital. Part of her wanted to ask Diana if he could stay on a more permanent basis.
She heard the door, and forced herself off of the couch. She probably shouldn’t be up and around but she was impatient. “..Ren!”
It had been ridiculous to think that Pyrrha would be any worse off than the last time he’d seen her in the hospital. Ren knew that. He knew that both she and Jaune had already dreamed of her death, and she had made it out the other side, if not completely okay than at least alive.
But there was no denying the flood of relief that passed through him at the sight of her, standing there before him. He normally was opposed to physical affection, but without thinking of it he stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug.
She hadn’t expected the hug, but she returned it, squeezing as tightly as she had the strength for. Even with her Aura helping her heal a little faster, she was still a long way off from recovery. “...I hate to ask you this, but I might need help back to the couch. I forgot to grab my crutch.”
Ren nodded. He shouldn’t be keeping Pyrrha on her feet for too long after all. He moved his bag of food from hands to his left shoulder, and then slipped under Pyrrha’s arm, his right shoulder under her arm so he could help guide her back to the couch.
Once she was settled again, she propped her foot up on the table and sighed, “The worse part is feeling so helpless.”
It wasn’t actually the worse part, but it was still a bad part.
Ren almost asked if she meant in the dreams or in real life, but he supposed that it was probably both. He had known what was coming in the dreams, at least to some extent, but he had been helpless to stop it, and that had been a terrible feeling. But Pyrrha could barely walk to the front door without help now.
“Lucky for you, I brought some food to help you heal faster,” Ren said, unloading the bag. “I made sure to use a lot of foods high in vitamin A, antioxidants, and protein to help aid muscle repair, as well as a lot to help boost your immune system,” he said proudly, as he laid the smoothie and the salad on the table.
She was genuinely grateful for the food. While the others might find it tasteless (and okay it was) she’d never had the heart to say it outloud. Besides, it really did help and he really did mean well. “I’ve been craving a good salad, Ren. Thank you. Do you have anything for yourself?”
Ren would argue that his health food had plenty of taste, though there were some (namely Nora) who would claim that it was all the worst tastes. He was glad that Pyrrha seemed grateful for it though. “I made some pancakes before I came over,” he responded. “I wouldn’t want to take any of this nutrition away from you.”
“I can’t wait to have your pancakes again,” Pyrrha ruminated, reaching for the smoothie because it was genuinely easier. “Sit. You don’t have to stand.”
“When you’re better, I’ll make them for you,” Ren said, as he smoothed out his pants and took a seat on the sofa. Not that he thought that pancakes would have a negative effect on her healing, but more he thought it would be a nice treat for when she was able to move more than 15 feet without needing a hand.
“Make two batches,” Pyrrha warned, smiling. “One for Nora, and one for the rest of us.” She swore Nora ate like she’d never eaten in her life, and she still wondered where the hell it all went. She sipped her smoothie, her thoughts darkening.
“I’m sorry. For not being strong enough. Or good enough.”
Ren smiled at Pyrrha’s warning. “That’s good advice,” he said, though once Pyrrha apologized again, he’s expression grew more somber. He took a moment to gather his thoughts so that he could put them into words. “Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how good or strong you are. Sometimes people just lose, even when there’s no reason for it. But don’t apologize, Pyrrha. You were - are - always going to be good enough and strong enough for JNPR.” Sometimes more than the team really deserved.
She’d gone through that fight a thousand times. What she should have done, what she could have done differently. So many if’s. If she’d been less exhausted from the tournament. If she hadn’t felt so drained after the machine and manipulating the elevator. If she’d gone in sooner, with enough time for the procedure to work.
If if if… she could have beaten Cinder. Pyrrha was sure of that. Any one of those things would have been enough to beat Cinder, or at least buy enough time for someone else to help.
“Thank you. It’s hard to see that sometimes, after everything.”
Ren reached over to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Just remember that no matter what you do, we all care about you. Don’t do anything foolish here, okay?”
“I won’t push myself too hard, I promise.” As long as her aura helped her get back to her feet sooner rather than later, she’d be okay. Pyrrha didn’t want her Dreams to ruin her dream. Sure, she’d been to the Olympics before, but she was still in her prime. She could still compete.