Weiss balked at the guess. Wide eyed, she fumbled around, thrown off balance by how startlingly accurate Winter's words had been.
"How did you know?" Her voice rose by several octaves, and she winced at the slight yearning in her voice. This was the first time she'd ever experienced being cut off from the Schnee fortune. It was a rather frightening feeling, to be forbade something that she became dependent on since her birth into this world.
Winter gave her a thin smile, lifting her head to peer at the ceiling.
"I may have found myself in a similar situation when I first entered the military."
"Really?" Weiss exclaimed with no little surprise. That meant that she had gone through the same thing years ago.
"What did you do then?"
"Well…" Winter trailed off, memories rushing forth and consuming her.
She was glad she had chosen such a private area for a meeting.
Winter shot Qrow a look of distaste as he stumbled into the garden smelling of hard alcohol. He let out a hiccup or two, peering at her with piercing red eyes, and raised a wobbly hand in greeting.
"Wassup, Ice queen." He said, falling into the garden chair with a loud umph.
This man could truly embarrass himself anywhere, she sighed. Winter nodded curtly, rolling her eyes when he tipped the container full of hard smelling stuff into the tea she'd prepared for him. He downed the tea in one gulp and promptly started coughing.
His lips curled in disgust. "What the hell is this crap."
Winter shook her head. "I should have known better than to use my tea leaves. Tap water would have sufficed."
Qrow grunted, pushing his fringe back. Her eyes followed his action, and she admitted to herself that he was indeed good looking. In a rough, delinquent sort of way. Then again, the Branwen family were infamous for their good looks as well as their masochist like semblance. She cleared her throat just as he spoke up again.
"So, what did ya call me here for?" He drawled. "Did Ironwood put you up to this?"
"No. I wanted to ask you for a favour. From a Schnee."
She gritted her teeth when he laughed, long and loud, and gave her a look full of disbelief. Oh how she wanted to stab him for that impunity in his look.
"Oh how the mighty have fallen. A Schnee, asking for help? What- father dearest cut you off?" Qrow mocked.
When she didn't respond to his jab, he felt his jaw unhinge. This was the last thing he would have expected from the family of icicles. There must be a good reason for it, he surmised. Or then again, it could have been the head of Schnee being an utter dickhead. It wouldn't have been the first time. The man made Grimm look like frolicking puppies.
He looked brought out his flask and stared at it. "Woah this must be some seriously good stuff."
"Qrow."
"Yeah yeah, no jokes. Got it."
Winter sighed harshly. Her pride had already taken a blow from what her father had done, and what was worse was that she couldn't do anything about it. She refused to ask the general for financial help, and asking anyone else would just give them leverage over her. With this…hellion of a man being the exception of course.
"I want to ask a favour of you."
His eyebrows rose, but he waited for her to continue. It was clear he was the last person she wanted to ask a favour from, judging by the expression on her face.
"I need you to pass me several of your hunting contracts. Just enough for me sort this whole debacle out with my father."
Qrow sprang up from his seat. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold up Ice queen. What makes you think I would do that for you? A man's gotta eat too y'know."
"A few would be enough." She argued. "Completing a few well paid missions would be enough for me to sustain myself for the time being without jeopardising my status in the military."
He sighed, his hands reaching up to rub the back of his neck.
"This ain't no simple 'favour' Winter. There are hunters and huntresses for a reason. What have you got to offer me in return anyway?"
She grimaced. "As of this moment? Nothing. That's why I stated that this was a favour. I'm annoyed to admit that I was not farsighted enough to put aside some money for myself."
Qrow rolled his eyes, taking another long swig from his flask. "You're crazy if you think that I'm gonna give you my contracts so that you can continue your swanky lifestyle. Just go apologize to daddy O' and everything would be just fine and dandy wouldn't it?"
Winter slammed her fist down on the table, its legs wobbling under the force of the blow. The loud bang was enough to startle the scythe wielder out of his alcohol daze, his eyes becoming less dull and taking on a sharper look as he glared at her.
Winter's mind fled toward the phone call with her little sister which happened several days ago, where Weiss had adorably asked how everything was going. She couldn't- wouldn't let her younger sister see what she had been reduced to. Schnee's were supposed to be independent, and telling her of her predicament would definitely give their father a firmer hold over their lives than he already had. Weiss would have to cross the bridge when she came to it. But for now, Winter wanted to keep up that strong, older sister image that would hopefully, inspire Weiss to follow her own path when she was of age.
She had fought against her father's wishes to enter the military. And she wanted her sibling to do the same when she had something she wholly believed that she wanted to do.
"This is more than just maintaining my lifestyle. I have a sister to put on a show for." Winter said firmly, settling down into her seat again. She took in a calming breath, and sipped her tea. It had gone tepid.
Qrow's tensed posture slackened at that. The image of a girl with long black hair and familiar crimson eyes flashed through mind, and he felt his chest tightening with longing. Sister, huh? How long had it been since he'd seen her…
"You know-" He began, thumbing the logo embedded in his flask. "Hating you would be easier if you weren't so damn human."
Winter blinked. "What?"
"Nothin." He grumbled, taking another swig from his flask. The liquid burned a fiery trail down his throat, soothing his heartache. It was reduced to a dull throb, and he looked up to meet her eyes.
"Fine, you got a deal. But don't think we're gonna be buddy buddy after this."
"I would never dream of it." Winter smirked, eyes twinkling with mirth.
"…I had some help."
Weiss glanced at her curiously. "From a friend?"
"Perhaps." Winter smiled, folding her arms. "But that is a tale for another time."