Now
Branches slapped my face, leaving stinging read marks as I ran through the underbrush. I didn't care. I didn't even bother activating my aura to heal the welts. I was too focused on the tracks leading through the snow. Besides, the pain helped me sober up. A Beowolf howled in the distance. I was running out of time. I had already lost so many people, I couldn't afford to lose these two as well. The people I had lost… My eyes started to itch as I thought of her face, as face I knew as well as my own. Raven.
Five Years Ago
It had only taken me a few months to track her down. When you've been inseparable ever since you emerge from the womb together, you tend to get a good sense of where the other will go. These, however, we not the circumstances I would have chosen to reunite with my sister. A moldy old ruin of a Vacuo temple was not the nicest of meeting places. The sword at my throat didn't improve the situation, either.
"What are you doing, sis?" I said, staring cross-eyed at the blade tickling my neck.
"Don't 'sis' me. I knew you'd find me eventually. I'm ready to stop you from stopping me by any means necessary."
"Raven…" I looked up from the sword and into her eyes. But it wasn't my sister's face anymore. All there was was an angular white mask with red markings. It was like staring at a Nevermore, soulless and uncaring. "I'm not trying to stop you."
"You're not?" I could imagine the look of surprise on her face.
"I just want to know why you left. Why you're abandoning your family. Your daughter." There was a long silence as she stared at me. Then she lowered her sword and reached up and removed her mask. Her red eyes bored into my own.
"Oh. Well, it wasn't ridiculous to think you were going to try and drag me back home. Remember the time you beat up my date and made me come home to mom?"
"You were only fourteen, Raven. He was already a student in Beac-" I stopped myself short and grinned at her. "I'm never going to live that down, am I?"
"Never." My grin faded.
"Seriously Raven, why? Yang needs a mother. And Tai… Do you think he's going to take this well?" She looked down, refusing to meet my eyes.
"I'm sorry, Qrow, I can't tell you why. I know it's not ideal, but it's something that has to happen."
"Has to happen? Has to happen? Raven, nothing's so important that you have to abandon your family! You don't know a damn thing you're talking about!" I could feel the Branwen temper in me starting to rise as I reached around my back and gripped the hilt of my sword.
"Oh, I don't know what I'm talking about do I? You know what's best for me? What are you going to do now? Beat me up and lock me in my room? You sound like dad." That stopped me dead in my tracks. I felt a cold wave of shame wash over me and I let go of the sword. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought him up. That was going too far." Now I was the one who couldn't meet her eyes.
"No, you're right. I shouldn't let me temper get the better of me." She paused and cocked her head to the side, like she was hearing something I couldn't.
"I have to go." She lifted the mask back up to her face and waved her sword behind her. One of her signature portals appeared, the edges glowing and undulating in an uncertain rhythm. I took a step towards her.
"Raven…" Instantly the sword was back at my throat. "You don't have to do anything."
"Don't try to stop me." I smiled weakly at her.
"I love you, sis. You know that, right?" She backed away into the portal, and I could hear her voice cracking.
"I love you, too."
That was the first night I drunk myself to sleep. It wasn't the last.
Now
A large bramble hedge blocked my path. A small hole had been pulled open at the bottom, too big for a grown man, but just right for a child and a wagon. There was no time to waste. Drawing my sword, I hacked down the hedge, cutting the thorny branches, slicing, slicing, never stopping. How dare this bush stand in my-
I stopped attacking the plant, looking around at what I had done. The thorny hedge had been completely cut to bits by my rage. How long had I been doing that for? Too long. I couldn't waste time with this. I hadn't even noticed it had begun to snow. It might already be too late. No! I couldn't think that. It wasn't going to be too late. Not ever again. Not like it was for her. Summer.
Six months ago
It started when I went to go visit Taiyang. He would get lonely when Summer would go away on missions. I walked in the front door and was immediately hit by a small, blonde missile. "Uncle Qrow!"
"Hey there, little dragon." I lifted up Yang and spun her around. "Oof! You've gotten so big! How old are you now, five?"
"Yep!" She gave me a violet eyed, gap toothed smile. As always, my heart panged as I stared at her face. Even at five, she looked so much like her mother.
"Wow! You're all grown up!"
"Qrow." I looked up and the new voice.
"Hey, Tai." My blond partner stood before me, a toddler perched on his shoulder. Bold as always, she launched herself off Taiyang without a moment's hesitation. Pulling the red haired child out of the air, I held her up to my face. "Careful there, Rubes. Next time I might not catch you." She giggled and pulled my hair.
"Eee-yuck!" she exclaimed suddenly, pulling back from my face.
"What's wrong there, honey?" Tai asked, ruffling Yang's hair playfully.
"Uncah' Q'ow smells yucky!" she exclaimed. "Eee-yuck!" Tai looked at me suspiciously, then leaned forward and sniffed the air. He took Ruby down form my arms and handed her off to Yang.
"Take Ruby and go play somewhere else, alright Yang? Daddy needs to talk to Uncle Qrow alone." Tai straightened up as the two girls ran off around the corner. "You've been drinking again," he said quietly. "I thought you were in a group for that."
"You're not my mother Tai! I can drink if I want to."
"I'm just worried about you, Qrow. You haven't been the same ever since Raven-"
"You're right. I shouldn't have snapped at you. The group…didn't work out."
"It's alright." The two of us looked at each other awkwardly for a moment. 'I'm worried about Summer." Taiyang suddenly burst out. "She's a week later than she was supposed to be."
"I'm sure she's fine, Tai. Some missions are like that. Do you remember the time-"
"I'm serious, Qrow. I've got a bad feeling about this. I want to go there and make sure she's okay."
"You've got two kids. You can't just-"
"Qrow." Tai looked me in the eye, and I understood. After Raven, neither of us wanted to lose another teammate.
"You're certain about going?"
"I am."
"Then I'm coming with you."
Leaving Yang and Ruby with a family friend, Tai and I took the first airship down to the wild reached in the south of Vale. "Where do we start?" I asked as we stepped down onto the ground of a small village. "What exactly was the mission?"
Just then, Taiyang's scroll buzzed. "Hello?... Yes, this is him… Yes, I'm Summer Rose's husband." A sinking feeling appeared somewhere in the pit of my stomach.
"Tai…" All the color drained from his face. Time seemed to slow to a crawl.
"And you're saying that Summer is …"
"Tai…" The scroll slipped from his hand. I'll never forget the look on his face as my partner, winner of the Vytal Festival tournament, and the strongest man I knew, dropped to the ground and let out a wordless cry. It was a cry of sadness, a cry of anger, and a cry of fear. All I could do was wrap my arms around him and try futilely to comfort him. I've never felt more helpless in my life.
Now
My vision was blurry and I tasted salt in my mouth. The snow was falling heavily now, and I blinked the water out of my eyes, as it obscured the trail in the snow. I blinked again. The trail still wasn't there. I rubbed my eyes and looked more closely. Still nothing. I looked up at the vortex of snow falling around me. The tracks had been covered by the fresh snowfall. There was nothing left to follow. This was the end. No. No. NO! This WASN'T the end! There was no way in hell I was going to give up now. The tracks were wandering aimlessly throughout the forest, so there was no way to predict what direction they would take. A Beowolf howled again. All the blood drained form my face. There was only one thing that the Beowolves would be attracted to out here. I was running out of time. But I couldn't give. I couldn't give up like he did. Taiyang
Yesterday
"You're going on another mission? That's eight in the past six months!" Taiyang was standing across from me in his living room. The girls had already gone to bed.
"So what if I am?" he shot back, slurring his words. "Someone needs to kill these damn Grimm. It is my fucking job, after all." I could smell the gin on his breath.
"You also have two daughters to think about. I know you're hurting over Summer, but it won't do them if you keep throwing yourself at Grimm, hoping that one of them will kill you, too." He punched me. I didn't mind.
"Shut up! You don't know anything about me! You don't know what I've been through!"
"You're drunk."
'Ha! Look who's talking. You haven't been sober for a year."
"I don't have a family. I don't have two little girls who are wondering why Daddy is never home anymore."
"Shut the fuck up, Qrow." He swung at me again. I caught his drunken punch and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him close to mine .
"Listen to me you fool! Both of the girls have lost their mothers. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let their father walk out on them too." He pushed me away and stumbled towards the door.
"You can't stop me, Qrow. I'm going. Just take care of the girls while I'm gone."
"Just like always." He ignored me and pulled the door open. He turned and looked at me before he left.
"Just so you know, I told Yang about Raven. She's six years old, I figured she's old enough." The door slammed shut, and I was left alone in my best friend's house.
"Dammit, Tai." I said to the empty room. "Be sure to come back."
Now
The howling was closer now. I had almost made it. The tracks had reappeared, too. These had been laid after the snow started falling. I was gaining on them. I just had to be sure to find them before the Beowolves did. Suddenly the howling was much louder, far louder than it should have been. It seemed to come from all around me now too, instead of just in front of me. That could only mean one thing. I skidded to a halt as a pack of Beowolves emerged from the woods around me.
"I don't have time for this!" I roared, flicking my sword out from behind my back. I triggered the hidden switch on the hilt, and the handle extended and the blade curved into scythe form. I couldn't play around. These Grimm needed to die, now. My nieces were still in danger. Yang. Ruby. I'm coming.
An hour ago
"I'm back!" I called out as I entered the house, two shopping bags clutched to my side. "Sorry, I took so long! There was a lot of people in the city today." My grocery shopping had been interrupted by a White Fang protest. The crowd was large, and I had missed the air shuttle. "Ruby? Yang? It's Uncle Qrow. Daddy's on mission, remember?" Nothing. Normally the little ones couldn't wait to rush in and greet me. Where were they?
Not in the kitchen, trying to steal Ruby some cookies. Not in the playroom, cuddling the stiffed animals Summer had gotten for them. Finally, I looked in their bedroom. On Yang's bed was a note, written in crayon.
Dear Uncle Qrow,
Daddy told me that my mommy isn't Mommy. Ruby and I have different mommies. Did you know that? But my mommy ran away. So I'm going to go find her. Don't worry. I'm not going to leave Ruby alone. I put her in the wagon and took her along. I can protect her. And we're both dressed real warm too. I'll come back soon with my mommy.
Love, Yang and Ruby.
Everything stopped. I was falling down, down through the floor. Somewhere along the line my heart had started pumping ice water instead of blood. "Yang. Ruby." I whispered their names to myself. My eyes were drawn to the window. The sun had set, and there was a layer of snow over the forest out back. This wasn't happening.
I burst into the garage, knocking over several of Tai's motorcycles in my haste. Sure enough, the wagon, usually hanging on the wall, had been pulled down. This couldn't be happening. Not again. Not with these two. Anyone but these two. I burst out into the snow. A set of small wagon tracks through the snow led off into the forest. No. This wasn't going to happen. It. Was. Not. "Yang, Ruby. I'm coming."
Now
Left. Right. Drop. Slash up. Backflip into the air. Slice down. Fire. Drop. Left.
The Grimm couldn't touch me. Nothing could. They were in between me and my family. They didn't stand a chance.
I flicked the last of their blood from my blade. Not bothering to sheathe the weapon, I continued through the trees. I could hear more Beowolves up ahead. And… Was that crying? It was! Ruby was crying not far away. It wasn't too late!
I burst into a clearing between the trees. Across the field, little Yang, clutching tightly to the handle of a bright red wagon with a wailing bundle inside, stared down a trio of Beowolves. For the second time tonight, time stopped. The Grimm launched themselves at my nieces, moving as if through molasses. I had one chance. Scythe in hand, I flew across the clearing, sailing over the ground, praying that I had timed my leap correctly. I flew as the crow flew, straight and sure, directly into the path of the Grimm. With a single slice, three Beowolves fell to the ground, their bodies already breaking apart, turning to ash.
I let the scythe fall from my nerveless fingers as exhaustion finally caught up to me. I dropped to my hands and knees, only vaguely aware of the wetness on my cheeks.
"Uncle Qrow?" came a tentative voice from behind me. "Uncle Qrow, why are you crying?"
"Yang!" I spun around on my knees and pulled her into a tight bear hug. "Yang! I'm here, Yang. Don't worry."
"Don't be sad Uncle Qrow. I'm alright. We both are. You saved us from those big, mean Grimm."
"Yes, Yang. You're alright. I made it in time and you're alright. Everything's okay, Yang. For once, everything's okay."
Author's Note: As always, praise/criticism is appreciated.
So, while I was stuck in writer's block hell on my other story, A Bodyguard or Partner, inspiration for this story smacked me upside the head while in the shower this morning. So, I hope you enjoy this fic that I cranked out in a day.