December 30th
City Of Atlas; Atlas
Downtown

Cold. The wind bites her ears and every other part of her not covered by her uniform and coat. Though some would be bothered by this, she is not one of them. As she walks, the freshly laid snow crunches some beneath her boots. Her report had gone well; There were only minor surprises in what she found to be causes leading up to the fall of Beacon Academy. She was aware that General Ironwood was now concerned about the threat of war and, in all honesty, she could hardly blame him. Many people blamed the kingdom of Atlas directly for what happened to Vale, never mind all the evidence to suggest otherwise. Of course, that didn't mean some members of the council weren't grasping at straws for a fight. Regardless, as Glynda had reminded the council earlier, the woman behind all of it, or at least the woman who had been pulling the strings, was now vanished but the scars she had left were there to haunt. Looking at her familiar surroundings with a sigh, another car began to pass by but then it stopped unexpectedly on the curb next to her. Placing her hand on her sword, she prepared herself to fight if need be. Quickly, the window rolled down and the man inside leaned over to poke his head out of it.

"Hey, Ice Queen, you lost or something?" Qrow asked her with an infuriating grin. "Because I -"

"If you think this is the best way to pick up women, then I can assure you that it's not." Hostility edged her voice; The last thing she wanted to deal with right now was him, especially given that she was stopping by the manor to see Weiss. Not to mention the fact that he had been one of the people at the forefront of her thoughts of late. A faint attraction for him spread through her, but she shook it off quickly as she maintained her indifferent composure.

"Okay, listen, Winter," Qrow attempted to act serious though his face betrayed him. "I know we're not great friends or anything, but I'm trying to help you out."

"The last time we saw each other, you destroyed Atlas military property and then coerced me into a fight -"

"Nah, you chose to fight me."

"Did not!" Winter declared indignantly. "And I'll have you know that I was lucky that I was able to convince General Ironwood to let me off for that! I could have been in serious trouble because of you!"

Qrow scoffed as he looked at her. "Jimmy only let you off because you are ridiculously loyal to -"

"I'm starting to feel the need to make good on my threat to remove your tongue." Winter remarked dryly as she cut him off.

"Where are you headed?" Qrow asked, desperately trying to change the subject.

"Doesn't matter."

"Ice Queen, you may act as if your heart is made of ice but it will actually be made of ice if you stay out here much longer like this. Lemme give you a ride. I swear I won't try anything funny." This time, she could tell that he was serious and she grudgingly gave out a sigh of agreement.

"Fine," She said as she got in the car. "But I swear Branwen, if you try anything I'll kill you."

"Wouldn't dream of dying today," Pulling away from the curb, Qrow turned to look at her just a little. "So, where are you headed?"

"The manor, I was going to see Weiss and then go back to my apartment downtown." Her reply was short and to the point, while she crossed her arms and tried to avoid confrontation. Now, of all times, was not a good time for her to get into a fight. Of all the people capable of provoking her, he was towards the top of the list.

"Isn't your father going to be there?" Qrow's voice had taken an uncharacteristically soft edge to it, something that she hadn't been expecting.

"What does it matter?"

"Why don't you explain that scar then?" Glancing at a spot just under her left cheek that had a faintly visible line, Qrow sighed. "I mean -"

"I was twenty-one and had just joined the military. My father got angry at me for my choice and slapped me when I brought up what Weiss and I heard him say to our mother through the door of his study just a few weeks before on Weiss's tenth birthday. The ring hit my cheek and it didn't quite heal right." Trying to stop the heavy anger that was bubbling beneath the surface, Winter took to brushing her bangs to steady her hands.

"And you still go back to that place?" Bewilderment and slight awe laced his voice. "Why?"

"Because, like it or not, my family is my family. Things aren't just black and white, especially not for us." Her tone was schooled and devoid of the heavy emotions that lay beneath it. "What is it to you?"

"Nothing," He responded far too quickly, causing her eyebrows to raise. "Okay, so maybe I care about you just a little. But it's only a little. Don't get the wrong idea."

"It better be just a little," Winter muttered as he pulled up onto the Schnee's long, winding driveway. "Thanks for the ride."

"I'll wait for you." Qrow promised as she got out. "It's not exactly a short walk back to the city."

"Branwen, I swear to -"

"Like I said, just trying to help you out."

"Fine," Winter responded with a harsh glare, masking her true emotions with her safe fall back. Anger. "I'll be back in an hour."

"I can wait."

As she slammed the door and stalked off into the manor, Qrow couldn't help but notice how beautiful she was despite her surface loathing of him. It was true that she had a tendency to get on his nerves with her burying herself in her work and her common hiding of whatever she may be feeling. At the same time, it was also true that he thought she was strong, fierce, beautiful, and much deeper than she was content with having the world believe. There were a few scarce moments that he could remember himself having real feelings for her that felt returned, but then he recalled moments like when they tore apart Beacon's courtyard - and that was just scratching the surface of the fights they'd had in the last few years. Thinking of Beacon pulled him back down from his thoughts of her; It sobered him to remember the state of the academy after Fall was done with it. Ozpin was dead, the academy in disrepair, James and Glynda flipping out... not that he didn't know that their flipping out involved more than just what happened to Beacon or even Ozpin. Despite his dislike of the man, Qrow admitted that he was glad that Glynda and James were happy. Seeing them come late to the meeting with Pyrrha Nikos, another name that caused his heart to drop, so obviously because they had lost track of time while alone was something that hit him harder than he cared to admit. He wanted something like that in his life even though he knew that their relationship wasn't always easy.

It didn't have to be easy, though. He wanted something real.