First of all, this is not a chapter, this is just a short that I thought I'd publish to celebrate 1000 reads! Thank you all so much for reading this story, I really appreciate it!
Anyway, as I said this is just a short and therefore not canon to the WNTR storyline, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. If you like this, I'll consider publishing more leading up to Volume 2 of WNTR.
Also the song referenced is Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars. (Please don't sue me)
Enjoy! :)
***
The Grimm were everywhere, covering the horizon in shadows every direction she turned.
Teal held Fulgur defensively out in front of her as she backed into Wynter, her blonde teammate shaking as much as she was. She risked turning away from the Grimm to see the girl behind her, their eyes met and Wynter gave the blue haired girl a tentative nod.
After returning her focus to the Grimm, she pulled an arrow from its quiver and held it in place on Fulgur, the tremors from her body travelling down her arm and into the bow, making it jitter as she held her breath.
A Taijitu stalked closer, a Deathstalker tapped across the rough ground, the scratch of claws on concrete echoed around them. Any one of them was a potential target, but no matter which one she aimed at, there would always be countless others waiting for their chance to strike.
The circle slowly grew smaller until it was claustrophobic, Teal had to act now.
She raised Fulgur to shoulder height and let the arrow fly, it hadn't gone far before it struck, wedging itself into the eye socket of an Ursa. The beast roared and Teal was readying another arrow when the black mass closed in.
The two of them fought as best they could against the wall, and eventually it caved, allowing them to press forward and reclaim their small circle. The perimeter of Grimm surrounding them thinned until it became sparse, and Teal could see the world beyond through gaps left by disintegrating carcasses.
The last creature had been swiftly dealt with before there was the sound of tearing flesh.
Teal whirled to face the same direction as Wynter and gasped. Less than a second later she had left her partner's side and was sprinting across the ruined courtyard with whatever energy reserve she had left.
Once at her destination she collapsed onto her knees beside Rain. To say the girl looked worse for wear would have been an understatement.
She lay awkwardly on the cracked flagstones, her hair matted with filth and her clothes in ruins, she was struggling to breathe.
Teal clamped her hands over the deep gash in the girl's side, doing whatever she could to stop the bleeding. "Don't do this to me, you're not allowed to leave me alone, Rain?" She pressed harder as salty tears left clear patches in the blood pooling at her knees.
"Teal?" Rain's eyes could barely open, as the girl whispered to Teal in a rasping voice. "Teal, you're, never going to be alone, look at the sunset, look at the sunset and remember me, promise you'll do that?"
- Just close your eyes -
"Rain?!" But the girls eyes had closed now, never to open again. "Rain you can't do this to me I can't be the last one, I can't be the only one left, Rain!" She pressed harder into the wound, but the blood had already stopped.
- You'll be alright -
Teal looked to Wynter and Navi in despair, pleading for them to do something, to bring Rain back, but the thought pushed to the back of her mind told her that there was nothing they could do.
Rain was gone.
Teal couldn't hear the snarls of the Grimm, or the sound of blades slicing through flesh as her teammates held back the flood.
She couldn't move, her arms hung limply by her side, as droplets fell onto her knees.
Over the rooftops of Vale, the sun was sinking, shadows stretched from the edges of the courtyard, reaching for Teal.
The last of the light faded as the roar of the final Grimm was cut short.
The shadows caught Teal, the darkness swallowing her up as she wept uncontrollably.
- Just close your eyes, the sun is going down
You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now
Come morning light, you and I'll be safe
And
Sound -
YOU ARE READING
WNTR: A RWBY Fanfiction
FanfictionWynter Thyme, Navi Skie, Teal Drop, Rain Fall. A Faunus, two soldiers and one determined to uphold her family name. You've heard of the others, now it's time to see Beacon through someone else's eyes. This is an idea that I just had to scribble do...
