Jaune spurred on the horses pulling the stolen turnip cart, silently cursing that they couldn't seem to go any faster. He was a "lab assistant," though really more a personal servant who sometimes helped the Doctor in the lab, but none of his experiences had taught Jaune how to manage horses. He snapped the reins, praying that, this time, it'd make them go. He knew that it wouldn't be long before they would have pursuers after them, and he knew that if he couldn't put enough distance between them now he wouldn't have enough space to hide in where they wouldn't find them.

And worse, Jaune knew that it wouldn't be the Doctor pursuing them. No, at this point, the whole village would be after them, with pitchforks and torches, and while he'd sooner die than return to the Doctor, he knew the village would be worse. The villagers wouldn't know what she was. They wouldn't see a person, and in their cruelty… no, he had to get away, had to get as far away as he could.

He glanced back into the bed of the cart, seeing Nora silently seated, staring straight to the side, lost in her thoughts. There wasn't a trace of cheer on her face. He couldn't imagine what she was considering, but… he had an inkling. She'd said as much earlier.

Leave me behind and save yourself, I'm only going to get you hurt.

Jaune had refused to accept that before, and he refused to accept it now, but he could, even just glimpsing her in the moonlit darkness, still see the guilt traced over her face.

In the pale moonlight, though, he couldn't see her scars. Couldn't see anything other than the girl, the sweet, cheerful, innocent girl who deserved a life better than the isolated loneliness of the Doctor's castle, or the inescapable fear of what the ignorant and cruel townsfolk might do to her. He saw the Nora that he always saw, from the first moment she sat up from the slab, where the Doctor recoiled in fright, but Jaune had reached out and taken her hand in his own. He had told her she was okay, that she was safe now. He'd been the one to talk to her, he taught her to read, he answered as many of her endless questions as he could, but when she asked him… asked him why the Doctor hated her… he had no answer.

And the look on her face told him that she did not deserve to be locked in the castle of a heartless egomaniac. She needed to go free and-

A bolt of lightning broke the sky and time froze as the flash in the darkness immediately revealed that the bridge ahead had collapsed into the river, only to restart as a nearby tree exploded from the inside. But as Jaune was about to pull back the reins, the crash of thunder practically threw him backwards, knocking the reins from his hand as the terrified horses bolted and the momentum of the horses, cart, and all tumbled forward into the river.

The water was icy cold and smashed into him like a sheet of ice. He heard the horses scream above the roar of the water, his fingers desperately curling around what passed for a handhold on the cart, the water swirling around him as he choked and sputtered.

"NORA!" he screamed as the swift current pried his grip loose from the cart, "SAVE YOURSE-"

Her hand caught his. With an effortless strength, Nora grabbed Jaune in one hand, the cart and horses with the other, and dragged them to the far bank. The horses, freed from their reins, swiftly bolted, and Jaune wasn't able to stop them. Coughing and gasping, shivering in the cold, he looked up to Nora, endless, amazed gratitude in his heart, but his teeth chattering too much to speak.

Another crack of lightning. The clouds overtook the moon, and a great wind swept in. A thunderstorm would slow their pursuers, but now they were caught out in the open, with a downpour about to start any second.

Out of the frying pan…

But, wherever they were now, Nora had still saved his life. He still owed her his thanks. "Nora..." he gasped, "You- you saved my life! You just-"

"Please," her words silenced him, "please don't thank me. Please."

"B-but Nora," he stammered, "You did! If it wasn't for you, I'd have drowned for sure!"

"If it wasn't for me!" she sobbed, "You would still be in the castle! You would be safe! Why can't you- why can't you just leave me behind? Why can't you just let me-"

Jaune wrapped his arms tightly around her, silencing her words in his embrace. This wasn't the first time he had to walk Nora through her fears and self-loathing. It wouldn't be the last. He held her, silently, not arguing with her, but just letting her shake and sob as she gripped him, desperately. She was not a creature, not a monster. She had as much claim to life as anyone and deserved a long one, full of life and love. And he might not be able to make the world fair, but he couldn't leave her behind.

But another bolt of lightning signaled the beginning of the downpour, and a torrent of rain came upon them. Jaune was already wet and chilled from the October air, he knew the rain might be enough to finish him off. Nora seemed to have the same idea.

"There's a cabin!" she yelled, her vision being far superior to his, "Over there, come on!"

Not waiting for him to follow, Nora simply picked him up and carried him over her shoulder as she bolted to where there was, indeed, a cabin. But Jaune could see a light in the window, and while the promise of a warm fire should console him, he instead felt a pit of fear. Because it meant that the cabin was occupied, and when they saw Nora…

"Wait, Nora!" he cried, "You can't let him-"

"You can't survive out here! I'm not letting you die, Jaune!"

"But you'll-"

"If you die," she quietly retorted, "I die too. There's nothing in this world for me if you're not there. You need to get inside." With that, she slammed him down in front of the door and pounded on it.

Before he could stop her, she slunk away, just as the door opened.

"If you're here to rob me," the man explained, "I'm a hermit, so you're probably going to put in more effort than you'll get out of it. But with that out of the way, would you care to join me for my evening pottage?"

Jaune stared at the man incredulously. His eyes were a milky white, in contrast with his dark skin, and his arms were as scarred up as Nora's were, and- Nora! He was clearly blind! He couldn't see her scars! "M-my friend and I," he said a little too loudly, so Nora could hear, "Need shelter from the storm! Would you mind letting us stay the night here, oh blind sir?"

"Oh? I'm blind? Why thank you, thank you for pointing that out—I hadn't noticed! But yes, you and your hopefully less-rude friend are welcome to spend the night in my humble abode. Not that I could probably stop you, considering there's two of you, and one of me. Oh! And, as you so kindly noted, I am blind, and would be that much easier to overpower or rob me as such. Now, does your friend talk, or…?"

"I- I talk," Nora hesitantly answered, approaching the door, "I- I'm a person, as much as any other."

"...I wasn't suggesting that the inability to talk meant otherwise." He turned to Jaune, "You two have some fairly problematic assumptions about what an abled body suggests about what makes a person, and you should probably spend some time examining that. I'm a blind man; I've guilted people ten times less socially conscious than you are until they broke, so best keep that in mind."

But with that, he led them into his hut, out of the rain and the cold. And Jaune looked to Nora, her eyes meeting his and surely mirroring the look in his own—did they dare to hope?

Jaune was used to waking up before the sunrise, taking care of the chores the Doctor had for him. So it was unusual when he woke up to the feel of warm sunlight on his skin… and the sound of their host speaking.

"Have I seen anyone? Would you like to run that by me again? Do you think I've seen anyone recently? Perhaps if recently means before I lost my eyesight at the tender age of-"

"I am sorry, sir," came a gruff voice that Jaune immediately recognized as Constable Winchester! "But there are two fugitives at large, and they need to be found, urgently." Terror lanced through his heart as he spun to where Nora was sleeping, and he quietly shook her to wakefulness.

"Jaune?" she murmured before he could shush her.

Too late. He could hear the constable's voice. "Was that a-"

"Please do not attempt to enter my house," their hosts voice suddenly got serious, "I am a blind hermit—you do not know what strange and arcane and holy practices I might be undertaking here."

There was a brief silence. "I… do not think I wish to know what you're doing with your time. But if two people matching the description I've given you… happen to pass by, they are dangerous fugitives. Please alert us if you see- if you have any information."

"If they happen to let me feel their faces enough for me to tell who they are, I'll be sure to notify you. Now, about fixing that bridge, it is the only-"

"I do not have time to waste, good sir, there are fugitives on the loose!"

And with that, Jaune heard as the constable turned from the door and their host shut it behind him. He turned to them, and cracked a smirk. "Well, good news, the jackass who was after you is probably gonna take a while to realize that he's searching where you're not, so… take a breather."

"How… how did you know..." Nora looked at the man incredulously.

"That you were nervous? Context clues, mostly. A man was after you, and even a blind man, in this case, literally, could tell that-"

"N-no," Jaune clarified, "You… you knew we were the fugitives, and yet..."

"And yet I didn't turn you over to the constable? Eh..." their host merely shrugged, "I'm a blind hermit of the woods. I respect no law but guest right."

"Really?" Nora asked.

"No. That 'constable' is a jackass and you seem like nice kids on the wrong side of an angry and judgmental mob. And you two were good sports when I made fun of you for commenting on my blindness, which is all I really ask of people. And you haven't robbed me. So we're good. You can call me Fox, by the way."

"Fox..." Nora sounded it out, "Fox..." her voice took on that dreamlike quality, a kind that Jaune recognized. Something from her… past, from before she—or one of the bodies that constituted her—died. A memory, a gentle one. Perhaps she was a trapper or hunter, or perhaps she just saw a fox in the wilderness, or a fox fur hat, or-

"Yes, I'm called Fox. It is because of, as people tell me, my red hair. Or an ironic joke at my expense."

"Your… hair is red, good sir," Jaune politely informed him.

"It was a joke, but I appreciate the courtesy of telling me what color my hair is."

He turned to the cookpot over the kitchen fire. "I do have breakfast ready—you should probably stay here for another day or so, until the idiot in the uniform gives up his search."

"Fox..." Nora continued, the hermit giving her a skeptical glance, "You knew… you knew a Coco Adel once, did you not?"

That got the man's attention. He whirled to face her, "How do you- how do you know that name!"

"You were friends."

"We-" he swallowed nervously, "h-how did you know Coco?"

And Jaune realized he knew how Nora knew. And he didn't know how he could explain this, or what Nora was about to say.

"It was… it's a hard story to tell," she answered, clasping a hand to her breast, "But… you were a dear friend to her. You and your friendship meant the world to her. With Velvet and Yatsuhashi, you gave her so much joy in the-"

"Please!" the man looked away, but Jaune could see the tears now running down his face, "I… thank you… I… won't ask how you knew her, but… it does my heart good to know… I'm sorry… I need- I need to tend to my garden."

He exited the cabin in a rush. Jaune was about to go after him, but… what could he say? What was there to be said? So instead, he turned to Nora.

"How are you doing?" he asked, nervously.

"Strange," she answered.

"Good strange, or..."

"Strange."

He waited to hear more, but with no answer coming, he decided to change tack. "Do you want breakfast? There's food over the fire, and we need to keep our strength up."

"I'm not hungry."

Jaune smiled at her. "Nora..." he said, gently, "Are you sure you're not hungry? Taking time to eat will help you feel better."

She paused a moment. "Okay..." she decided, "I'll eat."

The rest of the day was mostly spent in Fox's hut, doing what small chores they could do to try to repay him for his hospitality. But he'd insisted that they owed him nothing, Jaune demanded that he get the chance to repay him, Fox threatening to strike him with his walking stick, Jaune doing the chores anyway, and Fox ultimately did strike him with his stick. Nora also helped with chores, but Fox, out of gratitude for her kind words, declined to strike her as well.

So they spent the day, sharing another meal and talking about the ways of the world. Nora's inquisitiveness was, for once, rewarded by someone other than Jaune—and though Fox insisted he was not the wise man people assumed him to be for his blindness, he was a man of keen insights—keen enough to realize that Nora was not a normal person, but wise enough to let her be.

Then they slept, and, in the morning, they took their leave of their host. Taking what Fox offered them for their journey, Jaune and Nora packed up and prepared to leave. Outside his door, Fox gave them one last piece of advice. "What I have learned..." he started slowly, "Is that I have no good advice. I do not know your situation; I do not know what you are looking for. But I think you do know—and I ask you, where you are going: will you get what you're seeking? Or is what you're seeking not a place, but something else? This is a cryptic riddle from a blind hermit—it is the only entertainment I get in this world, so you must attempt to parse it, or all will judge you."

Jaune had to chuckle at that. "Thank you, Fox."

"No, thank you, sighted sir. And your friend," he turned to Nora, "I don't… know much of you, but I know you've got a lot more to you than most people see. Even those who should see what they're looking at. So don't be afraid to be a little blunter."

Nora gave him a quizzical look, "But I thought… should I start hitting people more? Who don't understand? I… Jaune, you told me to-"

Jaune looked to Fox for some desperate way to explain it to Nora, but Fox just shrugged, "Eh, blind wisdom. Don't gotta take it, but you feel bad for me despite my demonstrable ability to function without sight, so you have to listen to it."

Nora nodded at that, evidently, some part of his words going deeper than Jaune could follow. "Thank you… Fox."

"And take care you two. The world's a dangerous place, but… we find our way."

At that he waved and sent them off, the two travelers walking through the woods, not sure what they'd find. Not sure what they were hoping to find.

They walked in silence. In the castle, Jaune had learned that Nora sometimes needed time inside herself, time to wrestle with whatever thoughts were passing through her, to figure them out on her own terms. She was intelligent and capable, no matter what the Doctor said. He couldn't see the real Nora, couldn't realize that her cheerful, electrical enthusiasm was a ray of light in the gloom, not "manic psychosis" as he labeled it. He gave a woman the strength of a dozen people and animated her with lightning, brought her to life with no guidance, and had the cheek to act like she was a mistake that needed to be disposed of when she had more energy than he knew how to handle.

And because he wouldn't take responsibility… when was the last time he'd seen Nora's cheerful smile? The way her happiness and optimism could make Jaune feel like, even though he was just a lab assistant for a mad doctor who practiced awful necromancy and grave robbing, there was light in their world.

Instead, he walked besides her in glum, morose silence. He knew she needed the time. But rarely did she need so long. They walked without stopping, without breaks, as morning turned to afternoon and as the sun began to sink below the branches. Jaune realized they'd have to stop soon, to camp for the night, but… what was there worth stopping for?

As they walked, Jaune realized… where were they going? Nora's patchwork of scars and thin, almost translucent skin made her a target of scorn wherever she went. And if they fled one town of ignorant villagers only to stumble on another… what hope did they have?

Where you are going: will you get what you're seeking?

But what was he seeking? Safety? Where in the world could they find that? Could they become hermits like Fox, living in the woods… or was their hopes doomed?

"Coco loved Fox."

Nora's sudden words jolted Jaune out of his contemplation as he turned to his companion, her words sending a dear and sudden pain to his heart. "I… I'm sorry. In life..." how do you explain this? That life is cruel? That it's unfair? That, sometimes, things don't get better? And who was he to explain it to her? He was a castoff, an orphan. But she was the reanimated body of a dozen different corpses—she knew death. He was only a novice in the tragedies of life. But still, he needed to answer. "Some loves are… never requited, not in the way-"

"No, that's not it."

He looked to her in surprise. But Nora seemed confident in whatever it was she was exploring of herself, so he did not interrupt.

"Coco… loved Fox. But she was not… they weren't… they weren't 'in love,' they… loved. But I don't understand..."

Jaune placed a comforting arm on her shoulder, feeling the sharp static ping that always accompanied touching her. She looked up into his eyes. "I don't understand why I… right now, that's not what I feel. What Coco felt, it's not… enough. Not enough to be what I'm feeling. Jaune, my heart, what is- what is happening to me?"

And Jaune looked to Nora, his dear, sweet Nora, and realized…

What he had felt, all this time, from the moment she first took his hand… he felt the same way for her.

"Love," he answered, "what you're feeling is love, Nora."

"B-but it's so- I'm so- I'm scared Jaune, I don't want to-"

"Love is scary sometimes." Nora looked up at him in horror and fright, but Jaune laid another hand on her shoulder. "But… it's worth it. Because… because we want to love. Even if it's so powerful, it scares us what it might mean. Because it's better to love than to be afraid."

"Do..." she looked at him and Jaune realized how pure, how beautiful, her crystal blue eyes were as they gazed into him, alight with the fires of an undeniable soul, "Do you… love? Like… like I love? Do you-"

Words failed him. But his lips didn't. Swooping in, he kissed her on the lips, where her eyes went wide with shock… then closed as she drew him further into the kiss, matching his desire with her own.

"I love you, Nora," he said as words flooded back to his tongue, "I love you, and I want to keep you safe and I want you to live as full and loving a life as anyone else!"

There were tears streaming down Nora's face, beautiful and perfect, as marked and scarred as it was, as she looked back to him. "I… love you, Jaune. And the only… the only way I could live a life as full… as full and loving as I wanted, the only way I could truly be safe… Jaune, it's with you. I love you, and I don't-"

She kissed him. And again. And another time. Soon the two of them were enraptured in one another, and, suddenly, he realized Nora was smiling again, smiling so brilliantly that even in the long afternoon shadows of the woods, he felt like there was a blazing torch before him, so brightly did she shine. And she laughed. And Jaune laughed. And they kissed and laughed and realized that everything they were looking for was in each other.

"I hate to interrupt such a romantic moment..."

Jaune whirled in surprise, briefly attempting to place himself between Nora and the interloper, only for Nora, being far stronger than him, to easily push herself in front of him, protectively.

But the woman who'd stopped them merely raised her hand in a disarming gesture. Still, Jaune could tell that Nora didn't trust her. And it made sense. She didn't look… right.

She wore a wide brimmed hat and a long dress and, despite the setting sun, carried a parasol. She was pale, not like Nora where the skin revealed its patchwork of veins and muscles beneath, but an almost pure white, offset only by her hair and lips, both a striking blood red. And her green eyes glittered in the shadowy darkness.

But she also seemed to have a kindness to her, even atop her predatory demeanor, and she gave them both a gentle and reassuring smile. "You know… I had planned to meet you in the castle, but the two of you took your own initiative in freeing yourself from that man. I'm Pyrrha Nikos," an odd, foreign name, something about it carrying the ring of history to Jaune's ears, "and I am… not so dissimilar to you, Ms. Frankenstein. You see-"

Nora bristled at that. "That is not," she growled through her teeth, "my name."

Pyrrha, though, did not look frightened by Nora's sudden and terrible anger. Instead she looked... apologetic. She gave a slight bow. "My apologies. I did not mean to cause any harm, but I see that I still did so. How should I refer to you?"

"Nora." she said.

"Just Nora?" Pyrrha replied.

"Nora..." and then her voice took on the faraway quality that always accompanied her searching her memories, piecing together the bits and pieces of her old lives, "I… I am… yes, I have a name. Not a family name, but a… a name for me. A name I give myself." She turned to Jaune, tears sparkling in her eyes as she realized she had a name for herself, something new, something breaking the chains of her past, to the doctor, to the lives that came before her. "I am the strength of those passed. I am made from the slain. I am… I am Valkyrie," and she said the word with the reverence of a religious title. "Nora Valkyrie. That is my name."

Pyrrha smiled. "Thank you, Ms. Valkyrie. And I apologize, again, for my misspeaking. But you see, you are not alone in this world. Though I know very few quite like you, there is a world for those of us who… let's say, have an alternative relationship with the balance of life and death. If the two of you would follow me, I'm certain I can find someplace… more suitable for the two of you. Someplace where you might live more freely, might be able to build your own future. All you have to do..." she smiled again, a smile that revealed a pair of long fangs among her teeth, "is follow me."

She turned away, stepped off the path, and began to walk deeper into the woods.

Jaune and Nora both stood, watching her. Jaune turned to Nora, feeling the trepidation of the unknown before him.

"Do we..." he sighed, trying to think of a way to articulate all he was feeling, "Do we trust her?"

Nora just looked out into the darkness. "I don't… I don't know."

"Do we have a choice?"

"Maybe?"

Watching as the woman started to disappear into the darkness, Jaune realized that if they were to make a decision, they had to make one now.

"What do you… what do you want, Nora? I just want… I just want to find somewhere where you can be safe."

Nora took his hand and, with a smile, said, "I don't… I don't think anywhere's safe, but...As long as you're there..." Nora murmured, "it's where I want to be."

And so the two of them stepped off the trail and set off into the woods.