Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth. I own nothing of it and am only playing in this wonderful world Monty gave us.
Post Vol 3, a story about a father dealing with his wounded and damaged daughter.
Hope you like it. Please be so kind as to leave a review, feedback would be encouraging.
Keep Moving Forward
A long, tired sigh escaped the man's lips as he sat at his kitchen table, his unfocused eyes staring at his scroll as it lay next to his steaming cup of coffee. Taiyang Xiao Long was an accomplished Huntsman, a teacher and a father, but none of those accomplishments were of much help to him right now and he felt so damn helpless. His youngest daughter was off somewhere, trying to save the world he suspected if he knew her, with the remainder of Team JNPR. He worried about her, she was so young. Her own team was scattered to the winds, she had witnessed the death of a friend, two friends actually, and she had to confront the reality of the horrible injury to the sister she loved and looked up to so much. That was a lot of adversity and pressure for someone like Ruby, especially with the difficulties she sometimes had with her confidence.
He'd nearly had a heart attack the day she left and he found the note she left for him on her bed. He strongly suspected that Qrow had something to do with her leaving and while he was pissed at the man, it wouldn't last. How could he stay mad at someone who had done as much to help him as Qrow had over the years? He knew that he would keep an eye on Ruby along the way, he loved the girl like she was his own and he would bring hell down upon anyone who dared to harm her. He just wished there was some word from either of them. Checking his scroll for messages and missed calls had become somewhat of an obsession for him but with the CCTS still down there was only the local network within the kingdom to rely on and if they were beyond it then contact wouldn't be possible. It didn't stop him from checking frequently and worrying though, she was his little Rosebud after all and apparently she had the same outlook on being a Huntress that her mother had possessed. He just prayed that he wouldn't lose her too.
He glanced up at the ceiling when he heard a creak from the floor upstairs. Yang was up and moving around, something that hadn't happened very much over the last three weeks. His little Sun Dragon, the ray of sunshine that never dimmed had done just that and hadn't shone for weeks now. He had known other Huntsmen and Huntresses who had been severely injured, who had lost limbs, and he knew the personal hell and the struggles that many of them had gone through. But it was a whole different matter when the person that was so badly hurt was his own daughter. He had more or less known what to expect but that hadn't made it any easier to deal with. Just seeing her so broken, so...not Yang was heart breaking.
When the attack on Beacon and Vale was over and Qrow had contacted him and told him to meet him at the hospital he had feared the worst. He had lost enough in his life already and the thought of losing his daughters was just too much to bear. As it was he nearly collapsed at the sight of his little girls both lying unconscious and hooked to IV's and monitoring machines, so pale and so still. He did flop bonelessly into a chair when he learned that Yang had lost her right arm and it was Qrow that helped hold him together, again, just like he had done previously when tragedy and misery had come to visit him.
He wasn't someone who believed much in the principals of karma, but he did sometimes wonder what it was that he had done to deserve the traumas and tragedies that seemed to keep occurring in his life. He and Yang had a lot in common personality wise. He liked to be upbeat and have fun and he could admit to being a bit of a goof, and even though she could be a little serious and dark, he and Yang's mother Raven had always gotten along well. He had loved her dearly and she had seemed to love him too...it bothered him that he couldn't say with certainty anymore that she indeed did love him as much as he had loved her. But they did have some good times together and he thought she had been just as proud and excited as he had been when they learned she was pregnant with Yang. She had even seemed really happy when she held her daughter for the first time. But it wasn't long after they all came home that she left. There was no warning or explanation, she was just gone and it felt like she had taken his heart with her. Most certainly she had broken it.
He remembered sitting in a rocking chair in Yang's room, holding his little Sun Dragon as she slept peacefully in his arms, trying to figure out and understand why Raven had left him. Left them. Had she been suffering from some form of post partum depression and he hadn't seen it? Had she been afraid of the prospect of raising a child? He hadn't known of anything that could frighten Raven Branwen, but could that have been the one thing that could? He knew he had certainly had some fears and doubts of his own about being a father, but he would never think of abandoning his child and never thought she ever would either.
Had it been him? Had he done something to drive Raven away? Even Qrow couldn't understand why his sister would leave them the way she did. He had felt so hurt and was completely lost about what he was supposed to do with her gone. But that was where he got lucky. He had support from Qrow and from one of the other most important people in both their lives, their friend and leader when they still operated as a team, Summer Rose. None of them had any experience with children but Summer seemed to be a natural at it and helped him out as much as she could. After a few months, when she wasn't off on missions, she began to occasionally stay over in one of the spare rooms. Sometimes it was for a night, other times for a couple of days. He was always appreciative of the help and it would allow him to have a little time for himself and to catch up on things like errands and to take the odd Huntsman job close to home to keep the bills paid. He always felt like he was imposing on her but Summer just smiled and waved off his concerns. She was happy to help and she was rather fond of the blonde headed, happy little girl.
Somewhere along the way they began to grow closer and Summer stayed around more often. Eventually they realized that they had fallen in love and agreed that she should just move in since she was there so often anyway. Her help with Yang had been invaluable and the long talks they had along the way and the time they spent together had drawn them together and he felt like his heart was finally healing. Soon enough they added to their little family with the arrival of Ruby and they couldn't have been happier. Things were going so well. He had taken a teaching position at Signal Academy and Summer still took on missions around the kingdom. Qrow ended up teaching at Signal as well and never failed to lend a hand if needed, becoming very fond of his nieces in the process.
Then came the day that Summer didn't return from a mission and his heart didn't just break again, it shattered. He was so broken that Yang pretty much had to raise Ruby by herself from that point, as if they had lost both parents. It took him a long time to completely recover himself. Qrow had helped where he was able and if it wasn't for him he would have lost his girls too when Yang found out about her mother and went on her little adventure across the island with Ruby in tow. He had spent most of that evening clinging to his daughters and promising that he would be a better father to them.
It was inevitable that they would both want to become Huntresses and while he worried greatly about them and wanted them to be safe, he also knew that he couldn't keep them from it if that was what they really wanted to do. It was hard knowing that they would always be in danger but he did his best to make sure that he trained Yang as well as he could while Qrow did the same with Ruby. When Yang was accepted into Beacon he was so proud. He was shocked and surprised but no less proud when Ozpin decided to let Ruby in two years early and he was glad that the sisters would be going in together. Ruby wasn't good with other people and still relied on her big sister a lot and Yang would always look out for her.
But when he got that call and saw them in the hospital he knew that things had changed forever. After they came home he could see the innocence that he had hoped would cling to both of his daughters just a little bit longer seemed to be gone now, burned away in an instant by the harsh reality of the world they lived in. A world that they were not yet ready to have to confront and try to set right but they were now in the midst of it and Ruby had already gone off to try and do just that.
He would have to trust that Qrow would keep an eye on her as he looked after Yang. He didn't know if he was winning or losing with her, if he was right or wrong in how he was handling the situation. He made sure that she knew he was there for her if she needed anything. That if she wanted to talk or even just scream and yell he was there to listen. He didn't push because he knew that wasn't going to accomplish anything. She needed time to process what happened to her and to work through her anger and hurt at having her partner run away and leave her. Friends were as close as family to Yang and Blake leaving her without a word had struck a deep wound within her.
She hadn't lashed out or even been overly testy or difficult. She actually had said very little and that worried him more. What little she did say in regards to her partner was definitely awash in anger, but for the most part she was keeping everything inside and letting it fester. She had a kind and generous heart and she wasn't someone who was going to burden others with her problems. But he knew that even as tough as Yang was, if something hurt her emotionally it hurt her badly. He had talked to both Ruby and Qrow after the incident at the tournament during her fight with Mercury Black so he knew how hurt she was then even if he hadn't been there to see it. She was not the type of person who would do something like that and if she said that what everyone else saw that day was not what she saw, he believed her. He knew how much it would hurt her if people wouldn't believe her or if they doubted her. To have her own partner, someone she believed in and had stood by be hesitant to believe her...that had to have hurt her terribly.
Now there was this. She came to her friend and partner's rescue, a person she cared for who was wounded and who she had heard cry out in pain. The price she paid was her arm and the repayment she got was to wake up in the hospital and find that that friend and partner had run away without a word. When she found out he saw all of the different emotions play across her face. Hurt, betrayal, disappointment. Anger. That was the one she seemed to have hung onto and maybe that was good. The anger might keep her from feeling the other three as much because that would lead to despair and she was already feeling enough of that over the loss of her arm.
He had thought about giving her a little push to see if she would vent some of that pressure and poison that was building up inside of her, but it was a touchy thing that could easily backfire and send her in the opposite direction. He didn't even know if he could do something like that to her anyway, purposely goad her just enough to make her crack and erupt. After much thought he just couldn't bring himself to do that to her, even if it might be the best thing for her. He couldn't add to the hurt she was already suffering.
The loss of her arm and the abandonment by a friend and partner weren't the only issues his daughter had to deal with. There was the shattering of the illusion of the invincibility of youth. It was something that every person her age felt, he had himself, and it was always a rude shock when something came along that proved that invincibility to be the false thing that it was. It was something that was only magnified in people who trained to be Huntsmen and Huntresses. Being skilled and having the utmost faith in those skills tended to feed that feeling of youthful invincibility. Sometimes a simple defeat was enough to temper it and make the person think twice. But to be defeated easily and brutally. To be severely injured and lose a piece of yourself, that was a crash landing into hard, cold, mortal reality that could be devastating and while many recovered from it, not all did. Some remained broken and he could only hope that Yang wouldn't be one of them.
He slumped in his chair, rubbing his face tiredly before taking a sip of his coffee. All he could really do was what he had been doing. Bring her meals, try and engage her in conversation a little and hope that he got more than just a couple of words in return. Be there for her if she needed him for anything at all, no matter how small it might be. It sounded easy enough but it was a crushing grind. He tried to act like he always did, acting differently now around her would only make her feel worse, like he was treating her like fragile glass that would shatter at any moment. But it was hard to keep up his usually cheery demeanour when he knew she was hurting and tearing herself apart on the inside and while he made sure she never saw it, it was taking its toll on him too.
It would soon be time for lunch. The dishes were sitting on the tray waiting, a nice hearty stew was simmering on the stove and there was fresh bread still warm from the oven. The usual routine would play out once again he feared. Yang would eat, at least she was doing that, he would act as much like his usual self as he could and try to get her to respond. She wouldn't, or would say little. He would come back later for the tray, try again and get the same response. He would do the dishes then sit at the table staring at his scroll again or sit on the couch and stare at the walls, wondering what he could do to help his daughter.
He was about to get at it when he heard a creaking sound, a familiar sound that he hadn't heard for a while. The sound of someone other than himself coming down the stairs. He felt a bit of hope return to him as Yang, dressed in a pair of black shorts and a yellow tank top, appeared at the bottom of the stairs. She seemed hesitant about venturing further. Tail wagging, Zwei trotted over to her and looked up, uttering a short bark and tilting his head to the side. She just looked at him for a moment before finally bending down to scratch his ears.
"You're just in time for lunch," he said with a smile. "Hungry?"
There was a nod and the very slightest upturn of a lip. It was the closest thing to a smile that he had seen from her in three weeks. He'd take it.
Earlier
The problem with any pattern of behaviour was that the longer you were engaged in it, the harder it was to break out of it. Even more so if it was destructive or negative. Sometimes it was a shock to the system that would be the catalyst for change, other times it may be something more subtle, maybe a series of small things that triggered something to ignite a spark that would begin to lead you out of the darkness. Maybe it was just a matter of time.
For better than two weeks very little of what went on around Yang Xiao Long gained her notice. She had descended into a pit of anger, misery and pain, and was determined to stay there despite anyone's efforts to coax her out of it. She wanted to be alone. She didn't want to see the sorrowful looks or hear the pitying words they would have for her. She just wanted to crawl into that deep black hole and shut out the world. But for a girl who had an open and generous heart there was no respite to be found there, just pain and cold loneliness. Sitting in her bed and staring with unfocused eyes out of her window with everything swirling around in her head had become her way of coping while not coping. Escapism that took her nowhere.
Everything had gone right to hell. She still didn't know how they did it, but at the Vytal Festival tournament she had been made to look like some despicable villain to rest of the world. She knew what she had seen, she had been attacked by Mercury after winning the match but all anyone saw was her breaking the leg of a defenceless opponent. Ruby and Weiss seemed to be the only ones who really believed her when even her own partner wouldn't take her words at face value at first and that had hurt so much.
During the attack she had been trying to do two things at once. Fight the White Fang and the Grimm, while trying to find her sister and Blake. She hadn't heard from Ruby since she had left for the arena earlier in the day and she had been really worried. She hadn't heard from Blake since they had talked just after the attack started and she told the girl that the White Fang were part of it. She didn't know what Blake would do, but she was pretty sure that if any of the Fang recognized her from her past with them she would suddenly become a prime target for them.
An icy cold feeling of dread had rocketed down her spine when she heard Blake scream in pain but it was quickly overwhelmed by the heat of her anger as she saw the man in the black suit and white mask. She didn't know for sure since Blake had never described him, but she was certain that the man that had his sword speared through her guts was her old partner Adam. She had been able to see that Blake's memories of him hurt her. He had been her mentor and taught her to fight, but he also wanted to turn her into the same kind of monster that he was. His hatred and violence was what had driven Blake away, making her run and hide away from the once peaceful group that had been such a big part of her life and now it seemed he was determined to get his pound of flesh for her leaving him and his bloody cause.
She had been so stupid. She attacked him in a rush of blind rage. Every instructor from her father to Professor Goodwitch had told her that her anger was a double edged sword. Harnessed and focused it could sharpen her senses and strengthen her attacks. But if allowed to run wild and uncontrolled it could lead her to just as much harm as she was looking to dish out to her opponents and that was exactly what had happened to her. She didn't know his skills and knew nothing about how he fought. Yet she had charged in recklessly, flying at him like flaming vengeance and he took her down with no effort, like she was nothing more to him than a minor annoyance. He could have just as easily killed her but he chose instead to maim her, to give her a wound she would never be able to forget about.
She hadn't believed that it was real. When she had next been conscious she was in the hospital. Groggy from sleep and medication she could only stare at the bandaged remains of her right arm in confusion. She had dreamed that hadn't she? It was just some perverse nightmare, one of those whacked out things your mind sometimes threw at you that had no link to anything. It was the effects of stress and lack of sleep in the aftermath of the incident at the tournament. Wasn't it?
A feeling of panic overtook her then and she had begun to shake. She threw up, or tried to, dry heaving on an empty stomach and beginning to hyperventilate. Her father held her and she began to cry, then scream. She cried until she exhausted herself and fell asleep again. When she awakened once again a few hours later she was already sliding down into that dark pit. She felt like someone else was speaking as she asked what had happened and was told. Ruby was unconscious. Weiss had been hauled back home by her father. Ren and Nora were hurt but would be okay. Jaune was alright. Pyrrha was dead. After being treated initially Blake had left, disappearing without a trace or so much as a word to anyone.
Why did she leave? Did she blame herself? But it wasn't her fault. She didn't bring the White Fang to Beacon or tell Adam to cut off her arm. She was hurt too. She had been stabbed with a sword and she shouldn't be running off somewhere alone, she should be here getting well. She should be here with her where she belonged. They were partners and they were friends. But she ran. Again. Things got tough and she ran away at the first opportunity. She had been so worried about her, had searched frantically for her and found her before her old partner could kill her and she paid a high price for that effort. Did their friendship not mean anything to her? She wanted her here, needed her here but she ran. Why? Why did Blake leave her? It felt like such a betrayal of all the trust and friendship she had given to the girl. She began to get angry then, so angry that the doctors decided to sedate her for her own safety as well as everyone else's. They didn't need her fiery aura setting the room alight.
Her first morning at home was much like her first awakening in the hospital. The cosier, familiar atmosphere allowed her to regain her senses more quickly, but it didn't stop reality from hitting her hard again. If anything being in the comfortable, safe, more intimate setting of home made that reality hit her even harder. While she tried not to think about her partner, there was still a strong underlying current of anger coursing through her as the reality set in once again of what had happened to her when she tried to help her friend.
It was gone. That fucking bastard had taken her arm. But how could it be gone? She could still feel it like it was right there. She could feel it move every time she reached for something and expected to be able to touch it, but yet all she saw was a bandaged stump. That son of a bitch...he took her fucking arm! What the fuck was she supposed to do now? She was going to be a Huntress. She was going to travel the world and have great adventures while slaying the Grimm and taking down the bad guys. How was she going to do that now?
Sometimes it hurt. Sometimes she could feel the pain of the blade slicing through her flesh and bones, sharp and burning, and it made her cringe and nearly cry out. At least a couple of times a day she would feel it. Had felt it in the middle of the night when she revisited the scene in her nightmares. She could feel the nerves flare and the muscles twitch under the bandages. She would clench the no longer existing fist in an attempt to fight through the discomfort and would grind her teeth and shake in frustration just as she did when she would reach for something out of unconscious habit and realize immediately afterwards that she had nothing there to grab the item with.
"Pathetic," she said softly to herself.
Today was the first day where she had awakened and hadn't tried to dig herself deeper into the hole she had been hiding in. She almost felt restless, like she did when she was getting bored with something. The feeling was small, pitifully small, but it was different from what had become the norm for her. Though small it was enough however that when her father brought breakfast she could see the wear on him from worrying about her. She was ready to crawl back into her hole for the day with the added burden of knowing that she was hurting her Dad, when she suddenly realized that she had done the same to Ruby. She hadn't even realized it, she had been so intent on drowning in her own misery and hurt and feelings of betrayal and anger that she didn't realize she had hurt those that she loved the most. Until today. Not until that little spark came to cast just a little bit of light into the hole she had been living in.
Her father had been so good about not trying to push her and to let her try and work her way through this in her own way and time. For the first couple of days she didn't eat and he gently reminded her that she needed to. She did it almost on autopilot. After the first week he had asked her if she wanted to go take a shower and it was only then that she realized the odour that had been barely registering on her conscious mind was the sour smell of her own unwashed body. Her father had been changing the dressing on her wound everyday and making sure it was clean, but that was the extent of her hygiene. The only time she had left the room that first week was to shuffle to the bathroom and back and it had never occurred to her to do anything else. He even had to gather her bath supplies, towels, and underwear and clothes for her. At least she had managed to wash herself and hadn't just stood under the shower like a lifeless mannequin.
She felt like a heel for her lack of response to anything that he said and for the things he did for her. Just sitting there staring out the window when he brought meals or came to pick up the dishes. If she said as many as five words to him anytime she saw him she was being chatty. But he didn't complain. He always tried to smile and might say a little something here or there to prompt her or get her to think, but he didn't push or get angry or show frustration with her. He just took care of her and told her that he loved her.
"I owe you big time Dad," she whispered to herself.
She got up and left her room, going down the hall to the bathroom. After taking care of nature's call and washing her hand, she finally did something she hadn't done since she came home. She looked in the mirror. She hadn't wanted to see the reflection of what was no longer there. Frankly she looked like shit. She looked tired and haggard, haunted, and like someone had sucked all of the life out of her. A pretty accurate reflection of exactly how she felt. And her hair...ugh, what a mess. One of her greatest sources of pride was showing the signs of neglect. During most of her showers she had just rinsed it out, not even trying to lather it up with shampoo until late last week. It was hard to get it massaged through so much hair with just one hand and just as hard to comb it out afterward. She didn't like letting other people mess with her hair, but that wasn't really an option now and she wasn't about to contemplate cutting it to make it easier to deal with. Dad would help and so would Ruby.
At least she would if she hadn't driven her off.
She walked out of the bathroom and turned down the hall and stopped at the door to Ruby's bedroom. She knew what Ruby was trying to do that day. She just wanted to bring her some comfort like she had always done for her. She just wanted to hug her big sister and let her know that she was there for her but she wouldn't let her. She wouldn't let her near. She snapped at her when she mentioned Blake and she turned her away, saying she wanted to be alone. Even that sad and heartfelt "I love you" as she reluctantly left the room hadn't cut through her misery and self pity until today. She hadn't reacted at all to her little sister's affections, she just kept staring out the window like it was somehow going to supply her with a solution to her troubles.
She knew her sister well and she knew her lack of reaction had hurt her, may have even hurt her enough to help push her out the door and off to whatever adventure she was currently on. She felt sick and disgusted with herself. When she saw Ruby leaving with Jaune, Ren, and Nora, she had actually silently, bitterly accused Ruby of abandoning her. Her own mother had. Summer, the woman who had been a true mother to her had left on a mission and never came back. Blake abandoned her and now her sister was leaving her behind. She was so ashamed for having accused her little sister of that, even if only inside her own mind. Ruby was the last person that would ever do something like that to her. How far down in despair had she been to even ever entertain such an idiotic thought?
"I'm so sorry Ruby," she said, her voice quavering and her eyes tearing up. "I love you too. I love you so much and I shouldn't have pushed you away. I'd give anything for that hug right about now sis." She needed her little sister right now as much as Ruby had ever needed her.
She rubbed the moisture from her eyes as she went back toward her room. From the doorway she spotted her remaining gauntlet and glove sitting on the side table near the bed. Something else she had tried to avoid looking at, another facet of the reality she was now facing that she didn't want to be reminded of. She stepped over to the table and picked up her remaining weapon. Avoiding it was no different than running away and that was something she never did. Could she stop running now that she had started? She had never considered herself to be weak or afraid, but then again she had never faced much real adversity in her life until now had she? The loss of her arm was about as real as it could get and she had folded up like a cheap card table under that cold reality.
Could she stop running and be strong again? Could she be forgiven for making her Dad worry himself so much over her and for hurting Ruby and driving her off to search for the bad guys that had made such a mess of everything? She was a long way from being herself but she wasn't ever going to get there if she didn't make some kind of an effort.
She set the gauntlet back down and looked around her room. Small steps then, and the first step would be getting out of this room for a while. It had been her sanctuary and hiding place since she came home but she might as well have been in here for years, that's how difficult and foreign it felt to leave it right now. She went to the door and looked toward the stairs. They might as well have been a mile away and it felt like it as she hesitantly approached them. Taking a deep breath she grasped the railing and started slowly making her way down, the butterflies in her stomach growing more numerous with every step.
When she finally made it to the bottom she hesitated, wondering if this was such a good idea. She heard the familiar sound of claws tapping against the floor and looked to see Zwei trotting over to her, tail wagging all the way. She looked down at him and he looked back, letting out a short bark and tilting his head to the side as if asking her a question. After a moment she bent down and scratched his ears.
"You're just in time for lunch," her father said. She looked up to see him standing by the table and smiling warmly. "Hungry?"
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak at the moment, though she did feel her lip twitch upward just the slightest little bit.
She took her place at the table as her father filled two bowls with stew and delivered them, then went back to get a plate of freshly sliced and still warm homemade bread. A tall glass of milk each finished the setting. She had to admit that the stew and the bread both smelled really good. Picking up her spoon, she dug in. While she was definitely right handed, her fighting style meant that she made use of both hands pretty much equally so she wasn't totally useless with her off hand. Everyday activities not related to fighting were still really awkward though since she wasn't used to doing those things with her left hand. At least she was getting used to eating her meals that way.
Taiyang was overjoyed to see his daughter out of her room and downstairs, but that joy was tempered by the nervousness of the mood. She looked like anything but the confident, self assured girl that he normally saw. She looked beaten and tired, and very much unsure of herself and she hadn't looked up from the table since she sat down. At least twice he saw her reach for her glass with her right arm, a look of tired frustration would briefly cross her face before she would put down her spoon and pick the glass up with her left. He wanted to say something, something that would do something, anything to make her feel better but he had no idea what that would be.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly a few moments later as she set the spoon down next to her now empty bowl.
"For what?" he asked. He couldn't even begin to think what she had to be apologetic for.
"For this," she said, moving the remains of her arm. "For making you look after me and sitting around like an ungrateful lump for so long."
He felt like his heart was going to break. "Yang, it's not your fault. This is part of the unfortunate side of being a Huntress or a Huntsman. Things don't always go the way we want or hope. It's a dangerous life and we get hurt, sometimes badly and it isn't always easy to deal with."
"But it is my fault, " she insisted forlornly. "I did what you and every other teacher I've ever had have warned me against. I let my anger get the better of me. I came flying at him in a blind rage and look what happened."
"And what if you had gone in under control?" he asked calmly. "Maybe you would have traded a few blows but the outcome could have still been the same. Or worse. You weren't up against some rank and file grunt of the White Fang or a new recruit, you were facing an experienced and remorseless killer. One of their best with years of experience and training. Either way, you only had a moment to do whatever you were going to and you saved the life of your partner and she was able to get both of you away from him."
"He," her voice began to crack. "He took..." she raised her hand to her mouth to stifle a sob and closed her eyes tightly to try and stall the tears that were coming.
"Yes," he said sombrely. "He took your arm and I'd like nothing more than to pound him into a fine red paste for doing that to you, but he didn't take your life Yang. You survived. You and your partner are both still alive. Wounded and scarred but still alive."
"Why did she leave me?!" she blurted raggedly, eyes flying back open. He saw a brief flicker of red come to those moistened, lilac eyes but the anger failed to take root. It left just as quickly as it came with confusion and hurt taking its place. "Why did Blake run away again? I thought I meant something to her."
He went to her side and knelt next to her, placing his hand gently on her right shoulder. "I don't know the answer to that Yang. I can only guess that she was scared. It was someone from her past that hurt both of you. I'm sure she does care about you very much but maybe she was afraid that it would bring more trouble if she stayed."
"My mother," she sniffled, her voice breaking. "Then Mom." Raven Branwen may have given birth to her but Summer Rose was her Mom just as much as she was Ruby's. "Now Blake...and Ruby..." Tears started to stream down her face. "Did she leave because of me Dad? Did I drive her away?" She choked back a sob. "She just wanted to hug me and I told her I wanted to be alone. She told me that she loved me and I didn't say anything...I just sat there and stared out the window. I...I didn't tell her that I loved her too and now she's not here."
She broke down completely and he wrapped his arms around her. She clung to him desperately, crying and screaming against his shoulder. Tears began to escape his eyes too as she finally let the pain rush out of her like water from a burst pipe. She needed this so badly. Even if she went back to sitting silently and alone in her room and staring unfocused out the window, she needed this. She needed to let loose the pressure that had been building up inside of her before the strain of keeping it in did irreparable damage to her and pushed her beyond recovery.
"You didn't make Ruby leave or drive her away Yang," he assured her once she had calmed a bit. "You know how your sister is, she wants to take down the bad guys and make things safe for everyone. If anything I bet she's doing this because she wants to bring down the people that hurt the big sister she loves so much. She's just like her mother was, she wouldn't stand by and let the bad guys get away with hurting people she loved, or anyone else for that matter."
"I'm so worried about her," she cried. "I'm afraid she'll get hurt and I'm not there to help her."
"I'm worried too," he said. "But she has the survivors of Team JNPR with her and Qrow is watching over them. You know he won't let anything happen to her if he can help it."
"I wish I could be out there to help her," she sniffled. "I always told her that I would be there for her but I can't do that now. Not as a Huntress."
"Not right now at this moment," he said. "But the question isn't if you can still be a Huntress or not, you can do whatever you put your mind to. The real question is, do you still want to be a Huntress?"
It wasn't a question that he really wanted to ask her or make her contemplate right now, but since the situation had come up he didn't really have a choice. But Yang was someone who always liked to confront things head on and maybe this would be no different. Maybe confronting that question, the question of her future would change the direction she had been going in for the past three weeks. Then again, it could also drive her down even deeper which would really be no change at all. It was a gamble worth taking he supposed if there was even a small possibility that it would help.
"I don't know," she answered tearfully as she seemed to sag against him. Obviously she didn't like her answer.
"Right now, I think that's the right answer," he told her. "You need time to heal and recover and work through this before you can think about the answer to that question. Whatever you decide then, I will support you all the way no matter what."
She hugged him a little tighter and he responded in kind, pulling her back fully into his embrace. She was content to stay there like that until her tears finally ran out.
"Sorry," she apologized when they finally separated. Both for the breakdown and the sizeable wet spot staining his shirt.
"No more of that," he smiled. "Just promise me that you won't give up on yourself."
"This isn't going to be easy is it?" she asked tiredly.
"Nothing that's worth anything ever is," he told her. "But you already know that. You're strong Yang. Strong of will and strong of heart. You will come through this just fine, I know you will. You just have to keep moving forward."
"That's what Uncle Qrow told me and Ruby when he visited us during the tournament," she remembered. "He said we had the potential to be great Huntresses and we had to just keep moving forward."
"He's right," he agreed. "You both have a lot of talent for it and you both work very hard. No matter what life throws at you Yang, good or bad, Huntress or not, always keep moving forward and never stop."
"I'll try," she said, sniffling. "I don't want to let this beat me but there's...there's just too much going on in my head right now you know?"
"Yeah, I know kiddo," he said quietly. "And I'll be here to help you sort it out. I can tell you from experience that trying to do it all alone doesn't always work out well. If nothing else just having someone to talk to can be a big help."
She wiped more moisture from her eyes. "Thanks Dad."
"Anything for my little girl," he grinned. "I just want to see that big, sunny smile come back."
"I'm not so little anymore you know," she protested mildly. There was almost a smile there somewhere. In time.
"Nonsense, you and Ruby will always be my little girls." He stood back up. "Now, would my little girl like anymore for lunch?"
"No thanks," she answered. "It was good though, but I think I could use a nap now, I'm feeling pretty wiped out."
He nodded. "I don't doubt that. Go on ahead then, the rest will do you good."
She began to head to the stairs but stopped halfway and looked back. "Dad?"
He looked up from clearing the dishes. "What is it?"
"Afterwards...when I get up...do you think you can help me do something with this?" she gestured to her hair.
He was momentarily dumbfounded. "You want me to help you with your hair?"
"Y-yeah," she nodded. "It's a mess and I can't reach all of it right now to do anything with it."
'She said 'right now' and not 'anymore',' he thought. 'That's an encouraging sign.' "I'll do whatever I can. And I promise to be careful."
"Thanks."
She got as far as the stairs before stopping again. He could tell there was something else on her mind that she was reluctant to ask, but he would wait for her to decide if she wanted to speak.
"If it's not too painful..." Her voice was quiet and tentative. "Could you tell me more about Mom...both of them? I don't know anything about Raven and I'd like to know more about Summer."
He thought about it for a moment. "Sure," he agreed quietly. "I should have told you more about them before this." He chuckled slightly. "I can even give you some good stories about our team when we were at Beacon. We were a lot like your team, we were always involved in something."
She just nodded and made her way upstairs.
"It's long past time that I told you about them," he said to himself.
He took his time cleaning up the kitchen and did the dishes, using the time to think about what he was going to tell Yang. Telling her how the four members of Team STRQ met might be the best place to start and then just let things find their own way from there. No matter how it went he would answer any question she asked him, she deserved that much at least even if it might be a little tough for him. It might even do him some good to talk about the two lost loves of his life. He had certainly spent enough time not talking about them.
When he was done with the kitchen chores he went upstairs to dig out a photo album for later from his room and decided to check on Yang. He was alarmed when he opened her door a crack but didn't see here there. He checked the bathroom and confirmed that she wasn't there, then went to the only other place she might be on the second floor. He let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the door frame when he found her in Ruby's room, curled up on her little sister's bed and sound asleep. He watched her for a moment before going down the hall and getting a blanket from the linen closet and laying it over her. Something in his gut told him that she was going to be okay. With a little time she would be that smiling, sunny presence once again. It was just her nature.
Going back downstairs he left the photo album on the couch in the living room before going outside to get more wood to stoke the fireplace with later. Zwei followed him out and he left him to go about his business while he took a moment to stand on the porch and look out over the snow covered landscape. It was quiet with just the sound of a light wind sighing through the leafless limbs of the trees. He checked his scroll again and again there was nothing just as he knew there wouldn't be. Despite knowing that Ruby would never get it until she was back within range, he still sent a brief message telling her that Yang seemed to be coming around and reminded her to be careful. And that he and her big sister loved her. If nothing else sending it helped to ease his mind a little. Not much, but a little. Ruby was following in her mother's footsteps and he just hoped she didn't follow them down the same path that Summer had.
"You'd be proud of her Summer," he said quietly. "Both of them. You were a good mother to them and we all miss you a lot and wish that you were still here."
He looked down at Zwei who had just returned to the porch. "Do you think Ruby's okay out there?" A short bark and a wag of the tail was his response. "You're right, of course she is. She's got her favourite Uncle looking out for her and he trained her well. And Yang has us so everything will be fine." More than anything he wanted that to be so. He had to believe it or he would go insane with worry for his girls.
With Zwei on his heels he retrieved some firewood from the pile at the end of the house and returned inside. It is unknown if he saw the raven that had been watching him from high up in a tree in front of the house fly away as he went back inside.
AN: This idea just seemed to come at me out of nowhere and was actually pretty easy to write. (And it was written with the assistance of Iron Maiden playing in the background, getting used to writing with the music going now)
Thanks for reading and please leave a review if you would be so kind. And feel free to check out my other works while your hanging around.