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They were a team of four.
They had each other’s backs, and fought by each other’s side.
So it was hard to adjust to being a team of three when Pyrrha died.
It took time, and there were ups and downs.
Jaune took it the hardest. It was obvious that he felt like he was partially to blame, even though no one blamed him.
But they talked it out, and were learning to move onwards.
It was working too, the three of them were finally able to accept what happened. Sure, it wasn’t the same, and it still hurt sometimes, but they were better.
...
And now they’re a team of two.
“Where’s...” Nora looked up at Winter, tears starting to brim in her eyes. “Where’s Jaune? And the others?”
And Winter, who was already crying, just shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
And that’s when the tears truly fall.
Sure, it hurt seeing Winter come through instead of Penny, and the implication that team RWBY was gone too didn’t ease any pain, but...
They’d already lost Pyrrha. And it took so long to heal after that. How could they handle without Jaune as well? Hadn’t they told him they they loved him just as much? That he was their teammate too?
And gods, now he was...
Now he was gone too.
And so in the sandstorm, the remaining teammates held each other in a tight grasp, and they cried.
They were a team of four. Now they were a team of two.