186

Chapter 186

Notes:

Merry Christmas! Start from Chapter 176!

Chapter Text

The White Huntress doesn't remember me much, if at all, but my name is Little! Or… it was! I think!

The nice lady inside the tree said that I've been there before, and was much smaller before. I don't really remember it, but I said thank you to her anyway, because she seemed very nice and gave really nice hugs! Even if she's made entirely of metal! 

I'm not sure why she's made of metal, actually, but she's nice! 

She also told me that… I should have a name for myself. A name that is who I am. But I'm not really sure! I mean, I'm not very little anymore, and Miss Huntress says that I'm no longer dependent on her, but I'd like to keep going!

Even though the blacksmith lady said that we're not generally supposed to leave the Ever After…

But she said she'd make an exception for me and Juniper! Because we were so polite!

I'm glad!

I wish Miss Huntress remembered me better, but I guess she doesn't really remember all that time she spent wandering around before she kinda got stuck in a tree and forgot and then…

It's complicated, I think?

It's alright, though! I'm still here to be here ever loyal guide! Sorta!

Somewhat!

Oh! That's right, Somewhat! That's my name now! Because I'm a friend, a guide, a protector, and adorable! I'm somewhat of a lot of things!

I don't remember where I heard those words before…

It feels like a long lost happy dream from a different time…

But I'm all those things and more! Miss Huntress said so! And so did Mister Knight and Miss Lady and Mister Rogue and Miss Valkyrie!

Or, um… Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora!

Huh…

Ohhhh, that's why they call themselves that! Cuz when you put their names in the right order, it looks kinda like Juniper, but without the vowels! Cool! Team JNPR… Juniper! And that's why Juniper has her name!

I like it!

I miss Alyx already, though… we've only been gone for a few minutes now, but I think she was really lonely… She seemed really sad too, and she kept saying something about needing to see the Herbalist again? I wonder who that is. It seems important, though. 

I hope things go well for her. She really seemed like she needed the help…

Oh! And I hope Lewis makes it back wherever he's needed too! I know that he's going somewhere else besides us, since he went through a different door, but wherever he goes I hope he does well!

Also, golly! The rest of our adventuring group looks so young now! Jaune and Ren especially now that they don't have beards!

I kinda miss it though, Jaune's beard was sooooo soft and fuzzy and he gave the best hugs like that.

I wonder if I'll ever meet Alyx and Lewis again…

It's okay if I don't- they'll always be my friends and they'll do great no matter where they went! I hope Alyx is safe in the Ever After all alone, though… she might need a protector…

Should I stay?

I don't know…

I might be somewhat of a lot of things, but sometimes I still don't know what I should do or when I should do it.

I think it's a little too late to change where I want to go, though. And… she'll be fine. She's going back to fix the things she broke, right? I don't really know what all she broke, but she can fix it, I know that for sure! She'll do just fine! I believe in her, even if we weren't super great friends at first!

And…

I hope I get to meet that Ruby lady that Miss Huntress and the others mentioned! She seems like she's super nice too! Miss Huntress says that she's Ruby's mom, and I'm not really sure what a mom is but it sounds nice! And Jaune and Pyrrha and Nora and Ren say that Ruby was a really good friend of theirs from before they fell into the Ever After and that I'd really like meeting her and I really hope she's not as spooky as the Ephemeral Wolf…

I don't know why I mentioned the Wolf, actually…

Something about Ruby seems like it's special? Like… the Wolf feels important.

I wonder why. 

Like a weird dream from the distant past…

I don't think I ever met the Wolf… the others said that they saw the Ephemeral Wolf before I was even born and that Miss Huntress only showed up when they started getting close to the tree, and….

I don't really remember how long I've been traveling with Miss Huntress before she got stuck in that tree. I'm not even sure how she got stuck in that tree, just that I got stuck in there with her and then we traveled together with the entire group of our new friends once we got out! Seeing the sun again was nice, but boy was that a really long, nice nap. I'm not entirely sure of how everything went, but I think maybe my first conversation with the Blacksmith was important because she seemed really surprised that I was there so soon.

I wonder why…

Was I not supposed to ascend until later? But I wanted to change my purpose and be a protector more than just a little friend to the White Huntress… It's okay, though. She still said it was fine, just that normally I appeared there because of a different Huntress. A Red Huntress… I wonder if that's Ruby? I think that's what Ruby means, right? Red? That doesn't really explain why Miss Huntress is the White Huntress, then… I thought Summer was more of an orangey kind of vibe, and that Winter was the white name…

Oh! Pyrrha did say something about meeting a lady called Winter too! And all of Ruby's friends and Team JNPR's friends too! Ruby and Weiss and Blake and Yang and Penny and Cinder and Mercury and Neo and Emerald and Coco and Fox and Velvet and Yatsuhashi and all the others! There's so many people to meet! I think it's gonna be amazing! And super fun!

I'm a little worried about the fighting going on, though… They say that Remnant is a dangerous place, but that just means they need a protector more than anything, right? And even if I'm no good at fighting yet, I can still help out- they need all the support they can get, especially if the stories they told me are true! 

I won't let them down!

And neither will Juniper! 

Even if Juniper says she's not much of a fighter against anything bigger than a Jabberwalker!

We're not gonna falter, though! We'll stand fearlessly by our friends' sides until the fighting is done!

Because that's what I am!

Or, at least, one of the things I am!

Because I'm a protector! And a friend! And a guide! And adorable!

I'm very adorable!

Everyone says so!

It's a little weird when they squish my cheeks and hug me super tight but it's also really nice because their hugs are super warm and I kinda like it when they scritch me behind the ears and they pet my head and rub my belly! Nora sometimes picks me up and walks around with me like I'm a baby too, and it's fun! I can walk on my own, but being carried like that is super nice!

… Um…

What was I talking about again?

Oh right! I was talking about how um… right! I used to wander around and guide the White Huntress and Summer is a little weird now but that's okay and I'm not really used to her being just like Jaune and Nora and Pyrrha and Ren and Alyx and Lewis but I don't mind at all! She's much nicer now that she's made of people stuff instead of being made of like… mist and stuff. I'm not really sure what she was made of but she's warm now instead of being all cold and icky! I like it a lot better like this, honestly.

She gives great hugs, and she promised to make me a bunch of cookies when we get back to Remnant! I don't know what cookies are but I'd love some right about now! They sound super delicious!

I wonder what Remnant is like- the others have told me some stories about it, but they say it's so different from the Ever After that I can't even imagine. I mean, it's probably not that different, is it? Sure, there'll be more humans and faunus, but it probably won't be that hard to adapt. 

I think?

Well. We'll see! I'm excited all the same!

I wonder where the door will take us… even the Blacksmith doesn't really know where or when we'll show up, just that we'll go where we're needed… maybe we'll be needed for something fun! 

I hope it's fun.

Well…

Only one way to find out! 

Let's go through that door!

Onwards!