The small house was quiet in the predawn darkness. Set far from the road, and surrounded by thick trees, the entire property was surrounded with an aura of calm serenity, privacy, and slight mystery. Like many others in the forests of Patch, this one was log cabin style, though with two floors rather than one.
As dawn approached, the lights in one room came to life, the orange glow spilling through the curtains onto the darkened lawn. The resident of the room, Taiyang Xiao Long, got up to start his day, not knowing what terrible news was heading his way.
Walking quietly to the kitchen, the blond haired man set a pot of coffee to brew, before heading upstairs to awaken his eldest daughter. On the way to wake her up he passed his youngest's room, Ruby's room. He smiled a bittersweet smile; she was due back from Atlas sometime later that day, but he was a little worried that he hadn't heard anything from her. It was unlike her, but he chalked it down to her forgetfulness and the distance.
Arriving at the right room, with it's flaming heart emblem, he knocked a few times, before calling out to Yang.
"Rise and shine sweetie." He received a groan in reply. Rightly so, it was 5:30am, but Yang wanted to become a Huntress, so getting into early starts needed to be as natural as breathing by the time she enrolled, else she'd never get anywhere. Tai headed back down to the kitchen and was greeted with a completed coffee pot. Pouring himself a cup, he went to go check the mail, and bring in the newspaper that had been delivered at 5am, just as it was every day.
Sitting down, he read through the paper, looking at everything from Dust prices increasing, robberies in Vale, and an athlete who was disqualified after it was discovered he was cybernetically enhanced. By the time he was finished reading, it was well past 6. He could hear Yang using the upstairs shower. At least she was up now. So instead of interrupting her or cutting her shower short, he grabbed his clothes and went into the downstairs one.
Ten minutes later he was done, showering quickly became a habit from when he was at Beacon; take too long in there and his teammates would come barging in, Ice Dust in hand. Normally it was Qrow who did it, but the two girls chipped in on occasion, the ravenette doing it reluctantly though. He chuckled at the memory, yet also hoped no one tried that on Yang, less they'd end up with a few broken bones.
Dressed, dried and refreshed, Tai felt he was ready for the day, and anything it could throw at him. Oh, how wrong he was. At first, everything was normal; Yang, being on summer break from school, spent time working on her weapon design. Looking over her shoulder, Tai was impressed, as it seemed to be some sort of dual ranged shot gauntlets.
Afterwards, she and Tai did some unarmed sparring, working on Yang's prefered fighting style. The way she was progressing, he could tell she was relying heavily on punches, with the occasional kick thrown in for good measure. With what he had seen of her weapon's design, she would be formidable once she forged it, as already without it she could knock the wind out of him with one punch.
After their sparring finished at about 12, they took a break to have lunch. While Yang ate - peanut butter and jelly - Tai checked his scroll, and upon seeing no messages, started worrying. Going to a travel website, he saw that three airships had already flown in from Atlas. The fact that Ruby still had yet to contact them at all was very unlike her.
"Yang, get ready to go, we're going to-" he was interrupted by the doorbell. Sighing in relief, thinking it was Ruby, he went over to open it. Instead of his sweet little daughter, there was a grim faced man, dressed in the uniform of an Atlesian Specialist.
"Are you the parent of Ruby Rose?" Tai felt like Yang had punched him again. All the small clues started to add up, and as he put it all together, he felt his knees weaken, but he held himself upright as best he could. "Mr. Rose, is it?"
"Xiao Long, actually. Where is my daughter?"
The Specialist's face was filled with pity. "Can I come in, Sir? This isn't something to talk about on doorsteps" Tai stepped to the side, then closing the door behind the man. Every step he took after the man was shaky, his legs threatening to give out on him for real this time. The man seated himself on the couch, and Tai sat across from him.
"Dad, what's going on?" Yang asked from the entryway of the kitchen, "and who is this man?"
"I'm not sure sweetie. But what I am sure of is that this man is about to tell me where my daughter is" the blond threatened, his paternal instincts kicking in at the lack of solid information on his youngest's whereabouts. The stranger slowly nodded.
"Approximately 36 hours ago, your daughter Ruby was attacked by Grimm in the southern part of Atlas. She was rushed to the best hospital they had up there, but too much time had passed between the call and their arrival, and unfortunately doctors were unable to save her." Yang gasped at the information, tears already forming in her eyes at the thought of her baby sister no longer being with her, but Tai's reaction seemed much worse - he sat there, completely unchanged in look, or posture, or anything really. Even though he appeared unmoved on the outside as any good parent should, his mind came to terms with what he was told.
No...this...can't be happening…
Tai listened as the man kept talking, about his daughter, funeral arrangements, but none of the words sank in. All he could think about was Ruby.
Not Ruby… not my little girl… not Ruby… Ruby…
The world around him was shattering and all he could hear, over and over again, was the last thing Ruby had said to him.
"I'll be back before you know it, Dad."
It was all he could hear.
"I'll be back before you know it, Dad."
No other thing mattered to him anymore, the sound of those words playing on a constant loop in his head in an ultimately fruitless attempt at saving his daughter.
"I'll be home as soon as I can Tai."
As something was put into his hand, there was only silence as his mind took him back further than the past few days. He stood in the porch again, this time with both Yang and Ruby at his side, the youngest only 4 years old and the eldest turning 6 in 9 days. And opposite the three of them was Summer Rose, his second wife.
The first Rose he lost.
"Cheer up sunshine, what did I promise?" the woman asked of her step-daughter.
"That you would be home for my birthday?"
"And I won't break that promise." She wrapped her arms around the blonde child who giggled into her cloak and scurried back into the house. Summer then looked at Ruby, her face more downbeat than it ever had been before. "Ruby dear, what's the matter?"
"Don't wan' 'ou to go…" she sulked, clinging onto her Father's leg.
"I know, I don't really want to go either. But I've been called and I must answer." The silver eyed young girl looked at her older counterpart, still unconvinced at the answer. "Come here!" Summer suddenly swooped in and caught her daughter in her arms and swept her off her feet, the toddler laughing hard at the sudden feeling of flight. "Tell you what: you behave for Daddy, and when I get home I'll bake you a batch of cookies, just for you." Young silver eyes shone in delight.
"Really?!"
"Mom's honour." She placed a quick kiss on her daughter's nose and lowered her to the floor. "Now run off and find Yang."
"Love 'ou Mommy!"
"Love you too sweetheart." That left only the couple on the porch.
"I'm with the kids Sum, did you have to take this one on?"
"Sorry Tai," she started, guilt in her voice, "but this one came from Ozpin. You know what he's like."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Besides, it's only for a week - I'll be back for Yang's birthday." He smiled at her, he couldn't stay mad at someone like her.
"You better be," he teased.
"I'll be home as soon as I can Tai." She leaned in and gave him one final kiss before picking up her bags and leaving towards the pickup point, ready for her next mission.
Her last mission.
The blond man was so caught up in his own emotions that before he knew it, hours had passed and the sky was dark. Yang was curled on his lap, tear stains on her cheeks. In his hand was a business card.
Slowly, so very slowly, he picked Yang up and carried her to her bed. He tucked her in, following deeply ingrained habits. Then, once she was safe in bed, he went outside and got into his car. Not to go anywhere, just to sit in. How long he just sat there, he didn't know. At some point, he realized his scroll was ringing.
"Hello?" his voice was ragged, hollow, empty once more. Just as it had been 5 years ago. The one that replied was just as gruff, but not in the same way. This voice was gruff because of the copious amounts of alcohol he consumed.
"Heard the news. You need some company?" Tai didn't know what he wanted right then, besides having both of his daughters back home safe and sound, so with nothing better to do he agreed to meet him at a bar in Vale.
When he arrived, Qrow was already sitting at the bar, drink in hand, another next to him. Tai sat down heavily on the barstool, picking up the glass and draining it, wincing slightly as the burning liquor went down. Without even asking, the bartender refilled his glass.
"How you holding up Tai?" Qrow asked, already drunk, something Tai very much wanted to be. He didn't answer, instead downing another glass. "How's firecracker?" Qrow tried again.
"How do you think we're doing Qrow?" he shot back, emotions already high even before the drinks were getting to him. "Ruby she's… she's…" He couldn't bring himself to say the word, a sigh and a shot being the only suitable replacement for it. Like a flicked switch he was attacking his long-term friend once more "And you were hardly ever there for her, why do you even care?!"
"Why do I care? Tai I may just be a 'stupid drunk' but I'm your friend. I'm their Uncle, so-"
"So why didn't you act like it then?" He downed another glass as he let the words sink in with the avian Hunter to his side. As the bartender went to refill the glass a fourth time, Tai muttered a defeated "just leave the bottle" to the man, who said nothing in return and fulfilled the patron's request. Tai didn't want to drown his sorrows, but damn it if he was going to let this pain sting forever.
"It was safer for everyone if I wasn't around them so much. I didn't want to leave you alone to fend for yourself, so I still visited but kept my distance the rest of the time."
"That's your excuse?" Sad blue eyes looked at his drink as he scoffed. "You Branwens are all the same…"
"What was that Tai?"
"You heard, Qrow! Raven was exactly the same, leaving just because 'it was safer for us'. D'you know what would be nice, Qrow? Do you? Some fucking moral support every once in awhile!"
"What do you think this is then, huh? A charity ball?! I heard the news and I contacted you to see if you were alright. Don't give me that 'I don't give moral support' bullshit, because we both know that it's not true!"
"Then where were you when Summer died?!" the blond finally snapped, standing up now and doing his tipsy best to intimidate his friend, who knew from his years at Beacon that he would be scary when he needed to be, but never intimidating. What he could be though, especially when he was on the wrong side of sober, was brutally harsh.
That question hurt like nothing else for Qrow…
"I was by her side as she took her last breath, that's where!"
… but nowhere even remotely near as much as the answer hurt.
"Oh, so you were there for my wife when she died, but not for my daughter? That's real classy there Qrow!"
"I knew where Summer was Tai! She didn't come back for Yang's birthday and I set off the morning after as fast as I could. I got there and the first thing I saw was her cape, then her weapon, then her! She opened her eyes for no more that 5 seconds, she tried to say something but that was it. She died that day in my arms. At least you didn't have to experience that!"
"Yeah? Well, I've lost my first wife to her own selfish needs, my second one to Oum knows what and now my daughter because of Grimm. You haven't experienced loss like I have, Qrow!"
"It is not a fucking competition Tai!" The pair's argument was getting heated, to the point where a few of the patrons either moved further away, went outside or just finished their drinks and outright left.
"Ruby needed you more than Summer ever did!"
"Don't you dare play favourites between your wife and daughter!"
"Why? You do. You saw so much of Summer in Ruby that you just had to follow after her like a lost Dust-damn puppy! She can't ev- couldn't even defend herself yet. What was stopping you this time?"
"The distance was one thing, the cold was another and the lack of decent drink was the final nail in the coffin."
"And because of that, Ruby had to die?!"
"I couldn't have gone even if I had known she wouldn't make it Tai." That last comment pushed Taiyang past the breaking point. He spun to the side as fast as he could manage and clocked Qrow right across the jaw sending him flying onto the floor.
"MY DAUGHTER IS DEAD!" he bellowed, silencing everyone in the bar, "AND IT IS ALL YOUR DAMN FAULT!" The blond threw what little Lien he had in his pocket on the bar and stormed out to his car, driving off back home in a semi-drunken rage.
"Should I call the authorities for you sir?" the bartender queried as the avian Hunter sat back on his barstool.
"Nah, let him work this out on his own. He needed something to let his anger out on, and I've taken hits from him before." He flexed his jaw muscles and felt a sharp pain where it felt a little loose from the hit. "That said, that's probably the best punch he's done in a long time, considering he polished half of that bottle himself in the time he was here. I think I may need the rest of this to dull the sting" he half told the bartender, half convinced himself as he picked the bottle up and took a swig straight from it.
Get home safe Tai, Qrow thought. For Yang's sake if not your own.
The breeze moved through the trees, making them whisper and sigh. The moonlight glowed gently, illuminating the single white marble marker, making it almost glow silver. A few feet away, Tai kneeled, head bowed. The cliff on the far side of Cliffside Forest was the tallest point in Patch, the only place good enough for Summer. The view over Patch was breathtaking, but it didn't hold his attention like it usually did.
His world was shattered, and there was no one left except Yang to pick up the pieces. She'd already done it once, but to ask it of her again felt like putting her through hell a second time. No, he needed to do this alone.
"I'm sorry Summer," he croaked, alcohol still in his system but not enough to cloud his emotions or let them run free, "I failed you. Ruby's going to be with you soon. She… she was killed by Grimm. A bunch of Beowolves, no less. I hope I'm wrong and that my little girl is still out there, but I've lost so much already that focussing on that would only get me killed quicker. At least you'll have company wherever you are…"
He wiped the tears that threatened to escape his eyes as he stood to leave. "She'll be right here next to you once everything's done. I promise." With that, he turned around and slowly trapsed his way back to his car, the clouds briefly covering the moon in a thin veil that darkened the land.
Feugo here. So I wrote the dialogue between Qrow and Tai with the only instructions from STRQ being "Tai is going through the 'anger' stage" (those unfamiliar with what we're on about, look up the Kübler-Ross Model of Grief or, for a working example, the 'Game Theory' Video on YouTube: 'Is Link Dead in Majora's Mask?') and I thought that including Summer would draw parallels between the two deaths. Funnily enough, STRQ comes back to me later explaining how he planned on including Summer somewhat anyway… weird… Hope y'all're enjoying what we have so far
STRQ: Nuff said. Hope you enjoyed it.
