Summer Rose.
She had been assigned a top-tier search and destroy mission by Ozpin. What remained of team STRQ was his go-to when he needed a "delicate" situation handled. He would have given the assignment to Qrow if he wasn't already on a mission of his own, and Raven had been out of communication since she left Tai and Yang more than four years ago. Tai and Summer were busy raising Yang and Ruby in their quiet home in Patch, so that meant one of them had to stay with the kids while the other took Ozpin's mission. It was the only option left, Summer had insisted. After arguing though the whole night (while at the same time trying not to wake the girls), Tai conceded and let Summer go.
She had packed light the next morning, said her good-byes to her family, and left. The last that any of them saw of Summer was her stark white cloak flutter around her and her hood pulled over her beaming face as she waved to them.
This was supposed to be normal for a family of huntsmen. They trained for years, graduated Beacon Academy and were Ozpin's pride and joy, Tai had kept reminding himself. Not to mention, Summer was the team's leader, she knew what she was doing and if anyone could have handled it, it would have been her. But all the reassurance he could offer to himself still didn't make Tai less anxious. Maybe it was the fact that he had two daughters to look after that made this situation different, he had thought. Or perhaps he just didn't want to lose another wife. Raven leaving him and Yang had understandably made him more cautious with Summer, constantly making sure she was happy and that she wanted for nothing. Summer would just laugh every time he worried about her.
Her laugh.
It was the most mesmerizing sound Tai had ever heard. It was what made him find her in the forest their first day at Beacon. He'd been wandering for half an hour, beginning to wonder if he would ever find a partner while face-palming at how embarrassing it would be to return to his classmates alone, meanwhile everyone else was paired up. That is, until he heard the most melodious laughter coming from a nearby clearing. As he approached, he saw Summer sitting on the grass, her white cloak sprawled around her like a fan and her hood framed her red-tipped shoulder length hair. She had a rather large toad sitting on her knee as she carefully placed a small wild flower on its head (needless to say, the toad was thoroughly displeased with its new adornment). Her silver eyes seemed to reflect a light that wasn't even shining on her and her smile could have made the coldest day seem warm. As soon as Tai came into view, she jumped from the surprise, which made the toad bound from her knee and spring away into the brush, leaving its new hat behind. Of course, this had only made her laugh harder and Tai joined in, relieved to have found his partner for the next four years.
Tai felt a small warm hand tug at his fingers, "Daddy?" He blinked away the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes and looked down at his youngest daughter. "When is Mommy coming back?"
Tai didn't know the answer to that question himself. Regardless, he hoisted her up, rested her on his hip and smiled, "She'll be back before you know it, rosebud." That answer seemed good enough for Ruby and she gave him a smile. What he didn't see was Yang as she narrowed her lavender eyes, not buying that answer as easily as her sister had. But she kept quiet for now, making a mental note to grill her dad about it later when Ruby wasn't around.
Qrow stumbled into the Xiao Long residence, unceremoniously tossing his weapon on the coffee table in the living room. He expected Tai to be sitting on the couch with a mug of tea, watching the news and grumbling at the occasional report of recent bandit activity.
But he wasn't there.
Qrow took note of the unusually unkempt state of the house. There were toys and colored pencils strewn across one corner of the room and shoes in the walk ways that seemed to have been kicked off and immediately forgotten. The usually bright house had most of its lights off and there was the unmistakable burnt smell of Tai's cooking. He looked to his right, noticing the kitchen light was on, so he made his way over while preparing himself for at least one cooking pot to be on fire. But what he found was his nieces and his brother-in-law eating quietly at the kitchen table. Qrow smirked to himself as he noticed minor scorch marks on the wall where the stove was.
"Qrow!" Tai said with surprise when he looked up from his plate. "We weren't expecting you to come back for another day." Tai's face twisted into a taunting expression, one eyebrow raised mischievously, "Did your favorite bar close again?"
Qrow rolled his eyes, shrugged and took a seat facing Tai at the other end of the table, saying nothing as he knew answering would only encourage Tai to tease him further. Instead, he changed the subject, "What's the deal with the mess in the other room? It's not like Summer to leave the house looking like that."
The girls' heads turned sharply to face Qrow at the mention of their Mom's name. Meanwhile, Tai put his fork down and sighed.
"Summer took a mission from Oz," Tai said, his tone darkening only slightly. Qrow frowned and leaned on the table, prompting Tai to continue. "There was a lead on one of…Her followers," Tai lowered his voice as if his daughters couldn't hear him. "There has been some sort of activity in a small town south west of Vale. She was sent to 'sort things out', as Oz put it."
"Any idea when she'll be back?" Qrow asked as he leaned back in his chair, pulling his flask from his pocket.
"She sent an update a couple days ago," Tai continued, "and she said it shouldn't take her more than a week. She sounded rather confident, so that relieves some stress, I guess."
Ruby piped up with her usual cheery tone, "Then we make cookies when she comes home next week!" She danced in her seat and Yang punched the air in excitement with an enthusiastic "Yeah!", her fork still clenched in her fist.
Qrow smiled at them, and then threw a cautious sideways glance at Tai, who gave a worried shrug in reply. Both of them knew that missions like these don't always go as planned, so it would be best to not get the girls too excited.
For days, Tai had been trying to push away the panic slowly bubbling up inside him. Summer was supposed to have reported in three days ago and should have come home two days after that. Ruby had waited for an entire day on the front porch with a plate of cookies that she had helped to make, trying her best to not bounce in place out of excitement lest she drop some. When the afternoon began to sink into twilight, Tai finally shepherded his crestfallen daughter back into the house for dinner. The next day, Ruby set up a chair in front of the window that faced the road into the woods; where Summer should be arriving from.
Any minute now.
It was that night when Ozpin called. The girls had been put to bed an hour ago, and the two men were quietly emptying a bottle of some bottom-shelf liquor Qrow had stashed away the last time he came back from a mission. The air was thick with dread and unspoken worries. Qrow was afraid that if he said anything, Tai would break down completely. Tai on the other hand was in his head, busy fighting off the doubts and what-if's that leaped at him from every angle.
The ringtone from Qrow's scroll shattered the scene and the two stared warily at the screen for a few seconds before Qrow answered the call on speaker.
"Oz, this had better be-" Qrow began before Tai cut him off.
"Where is Summer?" he demanded in an ominous tone that even put fear into Qrow.
There was silence before Ozpin answered, "I don't know." There was defeat in his voice, which told them he had been just as worried.
"You don't know." Tai repeated, daring Ozpin to continue.
"I have reason to believe she is still near the town I sent her to-" With this, Qrow stood abruptly as if to leave, "-but I cannot be certain." There was a heavy sigh from the other end of the line, then, "There are very few reasons as to why she would not report in or send some sort of sign."
"Send me the coordinates, I'll go find her," Qrow offered. Despite having had nearly half a bottle of liquor, his words were clear and his body's posture didn't give any hints about its inebriated state. Clearly, he was a practiced drinker who could have gone a few glasses more before showing any sign of being drunk.
"If anyone is going, it's me," Tai stood now, his voice raised and his chair flying back a few feet. He, on the other hand, didn't drink as much as Qrow and his control over his actions was lacking.
"Tai," Qrow said, giving the man a hard glare as he crossed his arms, "Out of the two of us, who can cover greater distances in a short time?" He asked, but didn't expect a reply. They all knew the answer, and after a moment Tai reclaimed his seat and held his head in his hands.
"I am sending you her supposed location now, Qrow," Ozpin said calmly. The tension in the room could be felt even from where Ozpin was. He kept his voice level for this reason so as not to cause much more panic. "Tai," he added softly, but Tai did not move. "There is still hope. And if there is anyone in Remnant who can find Miss Rose, it's Qrow. Your duty is here, to your daughters."
With this, Qrow scooped up his scroll and put it to his ear as he walked toward the door. "How far is this place?" he asked, walking out the door, attaching Harbinger to his back.
The door shut, leaving Tai to stew in silence.
A pair of silver eyes looked on intently from the base of the staircase.
Qrow could see a blazing fire through the trees of a thick forest surrounding a small mining town. His eyes grew wide as a Grimm, the likes he had never seen before, came into view. A flurry of white rose petals darted around its head, causing it to roar and send out a new volley of flames to billow from its mane. As Qrow flew closer, he could see that the Grimm was in the shape of a lion, its scull mask set into a perpetual menacing glare and flames dancing across its body. A giant paw swatted at the white form that was hitting the beast with everything it could muster. The form hit the ground, but didn't get up. That was when Qrow flew as hard as he could, scooping as much air under his wings as possible.
Get up, Summer… he pleaded to himself. But the form didn't move.
The Grimm loomed over the limp body, preparing to snap up its prey, when Qrow's scythe gouged deeply into its neck. The beast roared, turning furiously to face its new opponent. It didn't have time to get a good look before another blow sliced its left front leg clean from its body as soon as Qrow hit the ground. The Grimm's cry shook every bone in Qrow's body as the monster fell forward, collecting itself.
"You will not touch her again," Qrow growled, preparing for his final blow. Summer had done a number on the beast already. Qrow could see deep wounds along its length and underbelly. Its mask was cracked in multiple places and its tail had been severed clean off at some point. Judging by the reaction time from his first hit, the Grimm was already worn out, which meant that Summer was more than spent as well.
The lion Grimm began to stand on its surviving front leg and Qrow's mouth twisted into a dark grin, the surrounding flames casting deep shadows across his face. He jumped upward, hooking Harbinger's blade under the beast's throat. Pulling the trigger on the handle of his weapon, a round from the double barrels at the base of the scythe shot into the ground. The resulting force from the gunfire was just enough to help him pull his scythe up through the lion's neck. There was one final and desperate roar before the Grimm went limp and there was a resonating thud as the head fell away from the rest of the body. Qrow landed in the midst of the now disintegrating Grimm and took a few breaths, compacting and clipping his weapon to his back before bolting to Summer's side.
He looked her over as he gathered her into his arms. Deep claw marks gouged into her side and front like jagged ribbons. Blood poured freely from every wound that riddled her body. There were even claw marks across her face. She shuddered with every breath she struggled to take. Opening her eyes, she saw Qrow with just the slightest hint of tears beginning to form under his crimson eyes. True to form, Summer smiled weakly.
"I totally had him," She breathed, her voice grating in her throat. Qrow smiled sadly and shook his head.
"You really had him on the ropes for sure," he teased back softly. This made Summer cough up what was meant to be a laugh, but the resulting pain made her involuntarily grimace. Qrow looked at her wounds again, watching the rivers of blood stain her cloak red. "I'm gonna get you out of here, get you fixed up, just hold on," He urged. One look into her pained silver eyes told him that was not going to be the case. She tried to speak again but couldn't through the blood beginning to well in her throat. She feebly grabbed at his shirt and urged him to get closer instead.
As she spoke quietly into his ear with every bit of strength left in her, Qrow squeezed his eyes shut, a single tear falling to the blood stained ground. He looked back into her eyes and nodded wordlessly, unable to find his voice. He held her close and tight then as her shallow breaths slowed. Her hand found his and gave it one final squeeze, which he returned desperately. She took another breath and he held his, waiting for her to take another.
She never did.
He held her there in his arms for a long time, burying his face in her hood and letting himself cry longer than he had in years. He couldn't hear the flames from the trees roar around them. He barely registered a blazing tree trunk crash to the ground just a foot behind him. The heat didn't reach him.
And he didn't care.
He had to bring her home. The thought echoed in his blank mind, drawing him out to the world beyond him and Summer. Rousing up his strength, he stood with her in his arms and walked in between the flaming trees and brush before being enveloped into the darkness of the forest.
Tai crumpled to the ground, all feeling leaving him, his blazing blue eyes grew dark as the news hit him. Qrow had taken him to the small training circle in the backyard to tell him what happened to Summer. He spared as much detail as possible in a futile attempt to soften the blow on Tai, who was on his knees now, curling into himself, forearms blocking his face as his nails dug into his scalp. Qrow stood a few feet back, flask turned upward as the alcohol burned his throat. But no amount of nail digging or drinking could ease the pain either of the men were feeling.
Summer was gone.
And Qrow couldn't help but blame himself. He got there too late, he wasn't fast enough, or maybe she was on the edge of life and death, and his bad luck just pushed her toward the latter. Either way, according to Qrow, all were valid reasons to blame himself for her death. But this wasn't even the worst part; seeing Tai fall apart didn't hurt as much as it will when they tell the girls. Qrow shuddered at the thought as he capped his flask and tried to block mental images of Yang and Ruby the second their world shatters.
Later, when Tai had calmed down enough, they decided to tell the girls that night.
The small broken family was gathered silently on a hill near the house. Summer's grave had a fresh patch of sod over where she was buried on which Yang and Ruby sat. Yang hadn't said a word since the previous night, although she didn't cry. Certainly a trait she got from the Branwen side, Qrow thought darkly. Ruby had broken down after comprehending what "passed away" meant, after which she vehemently refused to believe Tai or Qrow. Now she was hugging her legs to her chest, her head resting on her knees. Her shoulders began to shake as small sobs trickled from her mouth. Tai knelt down to scoop her into his arms, to which she clasped her arms around him tightly and dug her nose solidly into his neck.
Qrow stood at the edge of the hill, beyond the grave, as he listened to his niece's cry. The bitter wind of late fall went right through his shirt and played with his tattered cape. He took another swig from his flask, then slammed his eyes shut, trying to block out the images of Summer from that night. There was just…so much blood. And fire. He wanted to tell Tai and the girls what she had said to him with her final breaths, but he couldn't bring himself to even think about her words. None of them were ready for any of this.
He didn't hear Tai walk up beside him until he placed a hand on Qrow's shoulder. He didn't look up, but instead just took a deep breath to prepare himself for what was about to come next.
"I…" Qrow began, but forgot how he planned on finishing what he wanted to say. He took a smaller breath before looking Tai in the face. "I need to get away for a while."
Tai gave a confused look which turned into anger. Qrow thought he was going to get the brunt of Tai's frustration, but was surprised when Tai closed his eyes and sighed, his face softening. They had been close friends for years and knew how the other dealt with their feelings. Tai was quiet, thinking his problems through but not letting anyone in to help while Qrow tended to drink his problems away, which was paired with restlessness that could only be sated by flying for hours on end to nowhere in particular. Qrow was just surprised that Tai took it as well as he did.
"Just don't drink yourself to death, got it?" Tai sighed again. "I could really use your help around here, and you ending up in a ditch somewhere isn't doing anyone any favors."
"Yeah, yeah," Qrow waved him off absently. "I just need to clear my head. I'll be back in a couple of days."
Tai tried not to think about how familiar that sounded and simply nodded. After a moment, he gave a gentle squeeze to Qrow's shoulder. "The girls really look up to you, especially Ruby. "
"I know," Qrow answered softly, a smile just starting to tug at the corner of his mouth. Even though Yang was the one related to him by blood, Ruby was always the first to greet him when he visited. She stayed glued to his side as long as she could and was happy to banter back and forth with him. Yang had her own way of showing her affection, and Qrow had plenty of bruises to prove it. Tai was too afraid to hurt his own daughter when she was in a "sparring" mood, which left it up to Qrow to engage in the playful wrestling. He loved his nieces like he never thought he could, and now that they didn't have a mother he wanted to be there for them more than he had before. But the gnawing ache of needing to fuel his alcoholic tendencies was a strong and constant force. He didn't want to be that bad of an influence on them. Staying around them now would only disappoint them. He could just imagine their betrayed faces as they watched their favorite uncle make a fool of himself, blacked out on the ground somewhere, the stench of hard liquor stinging their senses. He just couldn't do that to them.
Their lives were in shambles already.
Tai and the girls had long since gone back to the house, but Qrow still stood in front of Summer's grave. The air had a biting chill now as the sun began to set but he didn't pay attention to it. He was in too deep now with his self-destructive thoughts, tacking Summer's death onto the mile-long list of things he believed that he caused. Speculation became fact for him as he kept telling himself that it was all his fault.
He believed it now with every fiber of his being.
He had begun to replay that night's tragedy for the millionth time when he heard the unmistakable raven's call behind him. He balled up his fists, nails digging into his palms, and clenched his teeth. How dare she even think of showing up here, he thought. Another echoing call came from the bird before he turned his head ever so slightly, crimson eyes narrowing into a glare.
"Go away." He growled deeply. "This is your only warning." His tone was dangerous now and he put a hand on Harbinger's hilt, his knuckles turning white.
"I'm not allowed to say any final words to my own teammate?"
With this, Qrow wheeled around furiously. "That's awfully thoughtful of you." Qrow forced himself to keep his voice level, his efforts failing almost immediately. "While you're in such a sentimental mood," he continued, "why don't you go down and offer your messed up condolences to your other teammate? Oh, and maybe you could even see your own daughter while you're at it, Raven." He spat the last few words at her, hoping they stung.
His sister narrowed her bright red eyes. "I didn't come here for a fight."
"Don't kid yourself," Qrow scoffed in reply, "you live off of starting fights. And your being here is an act of war." Raven opened her mouth to argue back, but Qrow didn't let her. "Don't act like you care about Summer, because everyone knows you don't. If you had any sort of heart, you wouldn't have left Tai. You would have stayed to watch your own daughter grow up."
"I did what I knew to be right," Raven crossed her arms defensively. "The tribe was family and they needed me more."
"You had a family here!" Qrow threw a hand out, motioning to the small house below. "You had a daughter that needed her mother! And you have no idea what you did to Tai when you left."
"He was happier with Summer!" Raven shouted back, failing to hide the brokenness in her voice.
"Careful, Raven," Qrow sneered, "your feelings are showing." He stepped closer to her now, his eyes narrowing.
With that comment, Raven turned and Qrow thought she had given up until she spun around with fury in her eyes. She took a step and with her other foot, planted a swift kick square on Qrow's chest. He flew back a few feet and landed on top of the fresh grave. He was just getting up when she slashed at his face with her blood red sword, leaving a stinging cut on his jaw.
"You forget that you were the first to abandon family, brother." Raven lowered her voice now as she loomed over Qrow. "You left our tribe to be one of Ozpin's pawns."
Qrow wiped the blood that was now dripping down his neck and looked at the stain it left on his palm. "You are not my family." He stood and looked her in the eye, their faces inches apart. "And if you don't leave right now, I'll make you." Raven laughed coldly and looked him up and down, doubting his ability to carry out his threat. She tensed, making to strike him again, but her eye caught Summer's tomb stone. Something in her froze and after a moment, she closed her eyes and stepped back with a sigh.
"She wouldn't want us to fight," she said softly.
"Leave," Qrow insisted, but Raven simply brushed by him and looked down at the engraving on the stone.
"She was the only one out of all of us who didn't deserve this," she spoke so quietly that Qrow was certain she was just talking to herself. Before Qrow could say anything further, Raven walked to the edge of the steep hill and leapt off. Seconds later, he could see a jet black raven weave through the tree tops.
Not too long after, he did the same, heading north.