"Hey, does that tree look familiar to anyone?"

The group quickly fell to a halt, as all eye landed on Ruby after her astute observation.

"Oh, hey yeah, it's the duck tree," Nora chirped, "Oh, wait, it's the duck tree…" As the realisation began to dawn on her, Jaune was staring intently at the map.

"Don't be silly, doesn't it look more like a rabbit? Y'know, like the one from the Pumpkin Paul commercials," Ruby responded, a little bit more force in her voice, whilst Jaune mumbled to himself that it was Pumpkin Pete as he shifted the map ninety degrees.

"Come on, Ruby, you know that's a duck. See, it's got a beak and everything."

"Nora, that's a rabbit. Those are the ears. Rabbit Ears. A Rabbit Tree."

"Duck Tree."

"Rabbit Tree!"

"Duck Tree!"

"Rabbit Tree!"

"Rabbit Tree!"

"Duck Tree!"

"Rabbit Tree!"

"I say it's a Duck Tree and I say, that's final!" shouted Ruby, unaware of Nora's cunning.

"Perhaps, this would be the best time to take a break to find our bearings before we set off" Ren chimed in, tired of both the redundancy of the argument and the weight of the stretcher and injured man he and Nora were currently carrying.

Despite pouts from both girls, they seemed fine to stop their petty bickering. As Nora and Ren set Qrow's stretcher off to the side, Ruby helped prop the man up against a tree. The long journey had surely taken a lot out of all of them, and the fight with Tyrian the scorpion dude hadn't done them any favours. Especially now that they'd gained extra weight.

Letting out a small yawn of exhaustion, Ruby dropped down next to her Uncle, leaning against his shoulder as she used to do so often what seemed like a lifetime ago. Qrow had been far from a stranger to Ruby and Yang in their younger years, being the type to drop in unannounced every few weeks, much to their dad's chagrin.

"You both look terrible," Jaune chuckled, having let Ren and Nora take over map duty for the moment. Ruby wanted to look mock-offended, play a little with Jaune, and a few weeks ago, if they were still at Beacon, she probably would have. But for now, she mustered a small smirk.

"Thanks. You too." She laughed a lit, and Jaune did too. But it soon died down, both wanting to save energy over needless small talk. Jaune too quickly lowered himself next to Ruby. The silence between them, as Nora giggled and Ren sighed in the background, was not an uncomfortable one, but Ruby couldn't help but feel like there was something she should mention.

She'd seen Jaune watching that video, following Pyrrha's steps. She'd heard it, and memories came flooding back. Watching Pyrrha disappear, the clatter of the tiara on the ground, recognising Cinder the transfer student. Ruby recognised her from the fight during the dance; she knew that she should have recognised her when she bumped into Mercury and Emerald in the dorms. She could of… Should have been able to recognise her, and because she didn't…

"Pyrrha…."

"H-huh?" Jaune stuttered, snapping to attention as he heard the name, "R-Ruby, I…" Peering over at Ruby, he could see that she was angry. Sad. Frustrated. He'd heard what happened on the tower, he knew Ruby had seen something. It had to be something bad if she managed to unleash a secret power and freeze a Grimm at the top of the tower. He wanted to bring it up, to talk to her about it but she just seemed too affected by everything. She couldn't have save Pyrrha, no matter what she might have though. He'd seen that woman once the maiden's power had been transferred. Even Ozpin had lost. But he'd had plenty of opportunities to save her: maybe if he hadn't opened his big mouth when they met outside the canteen, maybe if he'd been more focused on watching the door when she was in the pod, maybe if he'd just been stronger for Pyrrha. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't have pushed him away then…

"I know, Ruby. I miss her too."

Perhaps the small talk wouldn't have been as heavy as the silence had, but the tension was cut, albeit briefly as their hands found each other. Each seemed hesitant to make contact, but equally, neither wanted to break apart from the other, as their grip tightened, as if afraid to lose another friend if they let go.

"Ugh… who… who's there…?"

Both Jaune and Ruby jumped as the drowsy voice mumbled the question. Instantly, the contact was broken and Ruby was aside her uncle, staring at him, as Jaune moved behind her. The man's head slowly tilted upwards to see the smiling woman in front of him. Although his vision was blurred, and his hearing slightly dull, there was no mistaking her.

"…cle Qrow…?"

Suddenly, the man embraced the girl in front of him very tightly, with Ruby letting out a small squeak of surprise.

"…you came back."

"Huh? Came… back?" Ruby mumbled, confused.

"…I'm so sorry."

"…Qrow, what are you apologising for?"

"Sorry for… for everything. For my bad luck. For my alcoholism. I ran. I had to run and…. I couldn't even save them. Yang… Ruby…"

"Ruby, who is he talking to?" Jaune whispered to the girl, just as puzzled by the older man's words as she was, but it fell on deaf ears. The older man began tearing up, his eyes looking off into the distance.

"But I'm here now…. and I want you to know… I love you, Summer."

"Summer? Ruby, who is he tal-"

"Ok, Unc… Qrow, it's time for a little nap. Just rest…"

"Okay, but when I wake up, I'd like to… see… your cookies…"

"C-count on it" Ruby whimpered through her tears, shifting her uncle's sleeping frame back against the tree, before turning to Jaune as she wiped her tears on the back of her sleeve.

"Ruby, what's going on? Who-?"

"It's my mom. Summer is… my dead mom."

"Oh." The noise was all Jaune could manage at the revelation. Ruby smiled. He didn't need to say anything.

The lull in voices seemed to be the queue for Nora to come bounding over with Ren, but both seemed to stop short of the pair. "Hey, are you two okay? You look rough…" Ruby giggled a little, bringing a smile to Jaune's face.

"Thanks. You too."

Giggles turned to snorts of laughter, with Jaune quickly joining in. With a brief exchange of looks between the two who had obviously missed something funny, they smiled too.

Jaune was the first to rise to his feet, offering Ruby a hand as she looked back over to him. With a small yank, the duo was standing, as Nora and Ren helped shift the injured figure back onto the stretcher.

With a brief moment to catch their breath, the group was back on their journey with a spring in their step once again. As they passed the familiar tree, and disappeared out of sight, the white-hooded figure smiled as she faded.