Summer strikes all the Grimm down in an instant, a flash of silver power.
Raven is left standing there with her sword drawn, looking and feeling very foolish.
They are the only things that remain upright in that field, the battle so fierce that the trees had been upheaved and their roots dangle towards the sky. Black, viscous pitch seeps into the earth only to dissipate. When the last Grimm corpse fades away, Raven sheathes her sword.
They stare at each other. Silence presses in with every snowflake that idles down.
"Huh," Raven says, taking off her helmet and tucking it under one arm. "Didn't know you could do that."
And that breaks the spell.
Summer dashes across the clearing, her arms outstretched. "Raven!" she shouts, and tackles into her full force.
If it had been anyone else they would have both gone down into the three feet of snow gathering around their ankles, but Raven stands firm. She wraps her arms around Summer, holding her fierce and tight, so tight that she lifts the other woman from her feet. Then Summer begins to shout and scream, beating at Raven's chest with both fists.
"You-!" she shouts, suddenly furious. "You, you, you-! How dare you show your face after abandoning us like that! How could you do that to me! To Taiyang!? You jerk! You- you-!"
"Ugh. Okay. Moment's over." Raven drops her.
Unsteady for a moment, Summer tries to find her footing in the snow again. But once she has her balance she starts berating Raven at the top of her lungs, jabbing her in the center of her breastplate and grabbing her and shaking her and occasionally bursting into tears, sobbing furiously. Raven takes the tongue-lashing with patience, waiting with both eyebrows raised until Summer has vented it all.
Summer stands there, swaying from side to side with exhaustion.
Raven had dropped her helmet in the excitement. She bends down now to pick it up, dusting off the snowflakes that had collected atop it. "Done yet?"
Furious, Summer whips up one leg and kicks Raven swiftly in the shins. "NO!"
She drops the helmet once more, yowling in pain. "Augh! Okay, that's it!" She grabs Summer by the wrist, yanking her closer and snarling down at her. "One more hit and I retaliate, got it?"
"Why did you come back?" Summer shouts back. "Why now?" The sharp anger on her face can't stay for long. She's too gentle-hearted, the Maiden of Spring, to keep forgiveness at bay. Tears well up in her eyes. "Why... why did you leave? Don't tell me you're still trying to become-"
"Rose," Raven says, interrupting her, "Not everyone gets lucky enough to be born into Maidenhood." She releases Summer just to flick her on the nose, retreating a bit backwards so they can both have some breathing room. "God, I forgot how whiny you and Tai could get. Tell me the kid's got a little backbone, at least?"
Summer pauses, not understanding at first. "You mean... Yang?"
"Yang?" Raven's whole face brightens up. "Is that what you named her? Hey, nice. That's kinda cute." She shakes her head, the quills in her hair rattling with the motion. "Very cute."
Their breaths fog up in the night air. Now that the invasive presence of the Grimm is fading away, the area around them begins to return to life. Somewhere a horned owl hoots, low and eerie.
"Raven," Summer says, "Why are you here?"
"I was in the area," she says. "I thought you were in trouble, decided I'd lend a hand this one time. But you took care of it quick." She waves one hand, wiggling her fingers. "Some new Maiden thing?"
Summer doesn't reply.
"Okay, sure, keep your secrets. That's fine by me."
She rolls her shoulders, taking a deep breath. Realizing what she is about to do, Summer rushes forward again, wrapping her arms around the woman's shoulders.
"Don't!" Summer says, holding her tight like that would prevent the feathers from rippling on her body, wings beating through the air as Raven shifts and runs away again. "Don't. Please, Raven, please just stay. Please, don't leave us again! Let us help you!"
Raven pauses mid-transformation, the quills on her back settling down. There's a hunger in her demeanor, desperate and primal. She feels it down to the marrow of her bones, and she is glad Summer can't see her face in that moment. Only after she tames it down does Raven return the embrace. "Oh, Summer," she says, her voice thick with open yearning. She strokes a gloved palm down Summer's back before resting it on the vulnerable nape of her neck. "You're always so ready to save me."
Summer sinks into the touch, pressing her whole body against Raven's. She feels safe, tucked against the wing of a mother bird.
"Whatever you want, you can find it with us." Summer says in between the tears, muffled against Raven's chest.
Raven's grip tightens.
"...Summer," she says. Pulling back just enough so that the words are a warm promise against Summer's lips.
Then her other hand joins the first, squeezing tightly around Summer's throat.
Here, in this godforsaken tract of uncharted Remnant, the rivalry between them sparks again to its full fury.
"What I want is to wring your fucking neck."
The only thing that keeps her from doing it, doing what she dreams of, is that killing Summer to gain her Maiden power would mean Summer wouldn't be around to see Raven finally surpass her.
Raven collapses inward in a burst of black feathers, her magic screaming furiously around them.
Black wings pump loudly against the night air, flying away as quickly as she had arrived.
