As Qrow settled back into his chair in front of the wide TV, his mind was in the midst of the battle of a few hours prior. He settled himself further into the chair, trying to relax his aching muscles, his head throbbing. Running a hand over his face he contemplated asking Ruby to get him some booze. God, he needed it. After the stress of almost losing Winters insufferable—yet skilled—sister, along with the newly resurrected Ozpin he really needed some alcohol to clear away the trepidation of the past few hours, replacing them with blissful static. Sweet nothingness that allowed him to forget the past. He let out a slow groan under his breath, and let his head drop softly onto the back of the chair. He closed his eyes before opening them abruptly. Scenes from his past and some that he feared fell in the future flashed before his eyelids.
"Yo, Oz- I mean Oscar. I'm going to take a walk, ok? I... I need the fresh air."
The kid put his thumbs up before returning to what Qrow could only imagine was an internal conversation between the two souls. 'It must be tough to share a body...' Qrow thought as he slipped onto the deserted street. 'Those dumb kids better not make any more trouble for me by the time I get back...'
Jaune ran a hand through his hair. His fingers once again found the spot that made his heart ache from regret. He shook himself, not allowing his mind to get caught up in the moment. He needed to move forward, forgiving but never forgetting. Turning back to the room he found himself stood before a group of attentive eyes.
"Uh, guys? Why are you looking at me like that..."
Ruby stood, her petite frame still several inches below Jaune's chin. For someone so small, she really was a formidable fighter. "Jaune Arc. Today is the day that you have officially discovered your semblance."
A cheer rose from the Huntsmen behind her. Jaune blinked in surprise. Why were they so excited? They all knew their own powers—except Oscar who was missing from the group as usual. Despite how often they told him to join them, he always considered himself an outsider. 'I know how that feels.' His whisper was quiet, even within his own mind. Jaune wasn't as strong as the others. Not as Talented, quick, powerful.
'Not as good.'
"Why are you so excited? You all have your abilities already, I'm not that special..."
"Shut up, you're just a late bloomer!" Yang's voice was so spirited, cutting through the small room with ease. She always held herself with such confidence. Even the tilt of her body as she slouched back, her arms out behind her, supporting her weight practically dripped with the aura of a cocky attitude. At least it was a well-deserved attitude...
"We all had our parties or celebrations when we found our powers, so why should you be any different?"
Blakes calm voice was such a dramatic contrast to Yang. Every word that passed through Blakes' lips seemingly carries the weight of the world. She put careful emphasis on every syllable, a natural public speaker. As shy as she could be, she really was built for speaking to groups of people. 'She would make a great politician...' But it was clear, even to Jaune, that something was bothering her. She was being talked to by both Yang and Sun, who both seemed adamant to find out what was wrong. She looked exhausted as if someone had pulled her energy out of her, using her as a human—well, faunus—battery.
"Well, why should I be rewarded just for finally getting my semblance? It's nothing new, I'm just useless at everything."
Weiss scoffed. "Ah yes, such a failure. Not like you saved my life or anything. No significance whatsoever. You can't keep putting yourself down. You're still new to this, don't forget that we've all been fighting since we could stand, and most of us have it in our blood. It's almost as if some of us have parents that force us to fight." A shadow passed over her face and she receded back into her subdued state of mild panic. Whilst Jaune helped her physically, there was no telling what had been done to her mental state.
Jaune ran his fingers through his hair again, letting it trickle through like water. He glanced around at the group again. There were many more of them. Of us. He smiled shyly.
"If we don't make too much mess, I guess it couldn't hurt?"
A second cheer rose from the group. He could see the weariness behind their eyes. They needed something uplifting, something to distract them all from the horrifying spectre conjured in the hall earlier. They had finally seen their foe. And she was grimmer than any of them had anticipated.
As Sun raided the fridge for party supplies, he recalled the look that had been etched in each of their faces after leaving the school. They all seemed to be...broken to some capacity. Even Qrow seemed shaken, as experienced as he was. The shellshock hidden behind their eyes had gradually faded, but it was still there. It still loomed over their mood threatening to come back at any moment.
He finished going through the meagre supplies in the fridge—all essentials, nothing interesting—and started on the cabinets. He was determined to make this a sufficient distraction from whatever they had experienced inside that wretched school. With ample snacks in his arms and a few bowls wrapped in his tail, he turned toward the table in the centre of the room.
How had he not noticed the TV turn on? How had he not heard the horrified gasps from behind him? How had he not noticed that Blake had sat down, hard, and was being consoled by Ilia? How had he not noticed the flashing red TV screen, that blared before him, reflected from every window and glass pane on this floor?
The bowls hit the floor with a dull thud; he had barely noticed his tail drooping. The snacks tumbled out of his arms and he stumbled forwards. He collapsed next to Blake and pulled her into his chest. Her tears ran down the bare skin of his chest. He looked around, desperate for a blanket. Yang crouched beside them, pulling off her jacket and handing it to Blake. She pulled it around herself gratefully, breathing in the scent of Yang's warm body. She pressed herself further into Sun's chest, and he felt her sobs, cushioned slightly by the material of the jacket. He pulled her close, wrapping his body around her –shielding her.
In bold letters emblazoned across the screen were the following words: 'Previous High leader of the white fang and current chieftain of Menagerie, Ghira Belladonna, has just been admitted into emergency care at Haven's emergency hospital, and is currently awaiting treatment.' A faint drone of a woman's voice droned in the background. Sun could only catch a few words as he held Blake close to his body. Random words jumped out: "red-headed attacker", "wearing the trademarked mask of a White Fang member", horned and incredibly dangerous".
Bleary eyes overflowing with tears, Sun ran his hand through Blakes' hair. They all pretended not to hear her ghastly sobs which could no longer be hidden by Yang's jacket. Yang placed her hand on Blakes back, rubbing slow circles around and around and around.
What was meant to be a celebration turned into something much, much darker.
The news blared on the screen, and I sat back in my chair. I gestured towards the figure by my chair to turn off the pointless background noise. I have real work to get to, and I couldn't allow any distractions.
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