Cerise Arc was a smart kid. Even at the age of six she could understand complex battle strategy, think on the fly and even swing plastic weapons around with the finesse of any starting huntress.
She sat on a hill outside her Patch home. The sun was starting to set, basking the grassy hill in deep orange and red, a light breeze wisped at her short red to black hair. She shivered and tucked her legs under her chin, placing her arms on top.
She always loved watching the sunset, admiring the colors and watching the daylight fade. At this point she would usually be in her room, listening to all the nighttime animals arise from their homes and start to peep but today was special. Today her mother was returning home from an extended mission.
Her mother
She wondered where she was as she stared down the grassy hill.
It had been two months since Ruby left for Vacuo and her return coincided with Beacons annual memorial. So her father, in all his infinite wisdom, decided to throw a last minute welcome home/reunion party for his wife and amazingly, through bribery and some minor begging, managed to get everyone to come even Cerise' Aunt Yang put her travels on hold to be there. The downside was there was a lot of commotion between her father running back and forth trying to make everything perfect, her Aunt making terrible jokes and the general stress of having fifteen people crammed into one area that Cerise had opted to escape the barely controlled chaos to sit and wait for her mother outside.
Her silver eyes drifted up to the bright lights that were starting to dull as the first stars began peeking between the clouds. She sighed and leaned back, sprawling out on the grass. She placed her leg on her knee and her hands behind her head, closing her eyes. The soft mumbles from the house faded away until it nothing but white noise. The wind howled lightly, rustling the grass and blowing multi colored leaves through the air. Cerise breathed in deeply, the crisp clear air tickling her nose and causing her to sneeze. She pulled her short sleeveless hoodie closer to her chest, breathing evenly she let the world around her disappear; the wind stung her skin and played with her dress. She dangled her shoe off the edge of her foot and let her mind drift.
Anyone that met her would say she was the spitting image of her mother and not just in appearance. She lived for weapons and battles, her favorite books and stories included grand fights and even though she knew it was all hyperbole it was like her mother said, it was fun to imagine
Her daydreaming was interrupted by a sharp bark. She opened her eyes and smiled, rolling over to meet the small brown and white corgi that had bounded up to her. She reached up to pet its soft fur.
"Hey Drei" She greeted. The dog licked her hand in response.
From the house Jaune stared out the kitchen window, watching his daughter play with Drei. He had gotten an earful when Zwei had snuck out and gotten a neighbor dog pregnant. He remembered being woken up at three am to an angry face and a basket full of puppies which had been shoved at him and told to do with what he will. He had managed to find homes from most of them but Drei had managed to weasel his way into the household and after a lot of begging, mostly from Ruby, he had decided to keep him. It was nice though, even though Zwei was long gone his son was still here.
He pushed open the window, flinching slightly at the cold rush of air. "Cerise!"
He waited until the girl had looked up, sometimes it was so hard to get her attention "Where's your coat, its cold out!"
Cerise shrugged "I have my hoodie, I'm fine!" She called back.
Jaune opened his mouth to say otherwise but sighed. Once Cerise had made up her mind about something it was impossible to change it.
"Okay, just make sure not to stay outside to long!" He shouted
"Alright!"
Jaune closed the window, shaking his head. Stubborn as always, he often wondered if she got that from him. Looking back he never thought he'd actually fall for Ruby she was completely different than most girls he liked, loud and childish but also determined and kind. After Pyrrha's death she had been right by his side the whole time.
Pyrrha.
He knew he'd never fully get over her death but as Ruby said he couldn't live in the past and Jaune wasn't stupid enough to pass up an opportunity like this twice. Before he knew it they were dating and Ruby was pregnant with their daughter as soon as she turned eighteen. They both wanted a big family but after Cerise Ruby had sworn no more. Not that he blamed her; Cerise had been a... difficult labor to say the least. It was also fortuitous that most of the female members of JNPR and RWBY ended up pregnant at around the same time and by Ruby's request had decided to raise their children together, so weekly visits and playdates were common. Ruby was a good mother but sometimes Jaune swore he were a single parent with how often Ruby went on missions, though they usually only lasted a few weeks, and Cerise was so quiet and in her own head most of the time it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. Luckily Ruby's decree had meant he wasn't alone and always had the other parents to help him out.
He stared out the window again, the sun had set and the navy sky was littered with stars. Cerise was still in the same place, lying down with Drei on her stomach.
He opened the window and called out to her again "Cerise come inside, it's getting late!"
"Okay!"
Jaune watched as she hopped up, sprinting towards the house with Drei trailing behind her and sighed again
It was going to be a long night