"Ms Xiao Long, please hurry! We still have a ways to go if you wish to meet the Wukong clan," Glynda ordered Yang, who was panting heavily as she tried to trudge her way through the thick snow, leaning her forearms against her thighs for support.

"Easy… for you…to say…This…is harder….than it looks…" Yang panted as she continued to solider her way through the thick snow. Just as she said that, Nora skipped by her, happily humming to herself, her warhammer hitting her back dully with each stride. Unlike the rest of her party who had followed Ozpin's advice to swap their normal boots for snow boots, Yang stubbornly chose to stay with her usual gear, thinking that she wouldn't need it.

Though her pride would never allow her to admit it out loud, she was starting to regret her decisions. Fucking stupid Cassius Schnee, Yang thought angrily to herself, if it wasn't for that two faced bastardized son of a bitch, I wouldn't be in this mess.

Yang only grew more and more annoyed as each member went by her with significantly more ease than she had. As the last member of the party passed by, she went over the edge of annoyance into anger when she heard Jaune chuckle to himself and speak up in a patronising tone.

"Jeez, Yang, you're supposed to save the kingdom from a tyrannical dictator and you can't even walk on some snow?"

"SHUT UP, JAUNE!" Yang's internal anger flared up and her semblance spiked at the wrong moment. As she was about to leap up at Jaune, the sudden rise in temperature caused the snow that surrounded Yang to melt almost instantly, making her lose balance and hit her back hard against the rocky ground, winding her. When she finally caught her breath and sat up, she sighed and spoke up to her friends.

"Alright guys, I see your point. Toss me the fucking boots." Yang held out her hand expecting a pair of snow boots to come flying over the edge of her new hole, but instead she got nothing. Her anger replaced with worried curiosity, she called out again.

"Guys?"

"Yang, you may want to come up and see this," Pyrhha's voice said, sounding concerned. Yang sprung to attention and climbed out her hole only to be greeted by the business ends of multiple spears, held by lightly armoured soldiers. It was a small war party, about twenty men strong. If they all had the chance to prepare, Yang's party might have stood a chance.

"Well, this day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" Yang grumbled sarcastically as she dusted herself down, carefully avoiding the sharp points which were a little too close for comfort.

"State your business, now!" Barked what Yang assumed to be the leader of the group. He was a lot more lightly armoured than the rest of the soldiers. In fact, he had no armour at all, merely a greyish white shirt and trousers, with a dark grey cape,that fluttered lightly on the small breeze. He also wore a grey helmet with red eyes that resembled a crow. He was stood ready for attack, a giant broadsword held between his hand. A broadsword that seemed all too familiar to Yang.

"We are here to see the Wukong clan," Ozpin uttered calmly. As though he had cast a spell on the lead guard, the man relaxed and lifted his weapon over his shoulder, hanging it off his back. "Come now, you wouldn't harm an old friend, would you?"

"Well, well, isn't this a surprise? It is good to see you, Ozpin, it has been a while." The guard went to shake Ozpin's hand, who grasped it tightly. Throughout this hand shake though, the guard never put away his huge weapon. "While I don't mind meeting old friends, why do you wish to seek an audience with the head clan of Vacuo? Sorry, just procedure" The guard questioned, shrugging slightly.

"It's not for me that I am here. It's for her." Ozpin gestured toward Yang. The guard turned towards Yang, and though she couldn't see his expression of surprise, she heard his gasp. "Lower your weapons, now!" The soldiers obeyed and the leader made his way to Yang, closely inspecting her. Yang stood silently, until she heard a voice which sounded frightening to her.

"Yang…? Is that you…? My, how you have grown up," The harsh man's voice was replaced by a soft whisper, as though the man were about to burst into tears. He removed his helmet to reveal someone Yang thought she would never see again.

"Uncle Qrow?!" She asked loudly surprised, only to be greeted by a large hug and to have the man cry into her shoulder. She returned the hug and the tears shortly after.

"I thought I would never see you again," Qrow sobbed, quickly wiping away his eyes. "When we heard news about what happened at Beacon, we thought you perished. Where is your sis-"

"UNCLE QROWWWW!" Before Qrow could finish off, a small speeding form of solid red nearly tackled Qrow. When it stopped, it was clear it was Ruby, tightly hugging her uncle's legs. Though she too was crying, they were also tears of joy and her smile was as clear as day. "It's so good to see you again."

Qrow smiled, and ruffled her hair softly.

"It's good to see you too, kid," Qrow, then swapped his smile for a blank face, his relaxed posture straightened up to a more military-like stance. "So, why do you wish to see the Wukong clan?"

"I'm sorry, uncle, but this is between me and the head of the Wukong clan," Yang stated. Though she too adopted a business like stance, she felt somewhat sad that she had to

"I understand…I can bring you to him, but just because you are my blood, don't expect me to treat you any differently. I don't expect you to do anything, but this is your only warning you'll get, just like everybody else." Qrow said. Though surprised at the sudden change in tone, Yang understood it was merely protocol and nodded her head in agreement.

"Good. We are about six days from the capital if we walk, but there is a nearby town where we should be able to commandeer some horses. Follow us,"

oo0oo

From a plateau nearby, the party were being spied upon by Winter and her troops. Surveying the whole procedure but not making a move, she was too far away to hear any of the conversation, but as soon as she saw Qrow, her blood boiled. Back when the Xiao Longs and Schnees were on agreeable terms, the two regularly butted heads and duelled on many occasions. Now that the alliance between them had shattered, she was half tempted to go down and cut him down right there. But her disciplined side told her to stay put until an ideal opportunity arose.

"Come on, this is taking way too long," Cardin grunted.

Apparently, her companions didn't have the same level of trained patience as she did.

"Winchester, you-"

"SIR Winchester!" He blurted out, only to be greeted by a harsh slap to the face and a blade to his throat. Within the blink of an eye, Winter jumped from her prone position, and drew her scimitar like blade. His friends also drew their weapons, but didn't move.

"You listen here, you impudent pup," Winter ordered harshly. "I am your senior officer, and you will listen to me. That goes for the rest of you,"

"But you're a woman, I don't take orders from women. I am only here because it is your father's wish to find your sister," Cardin bit back, only to feel the cold metal that was mere millimetres away finally making contact with his skin, followed by Winter Cackling.

"Is that supposed to be threatening to me? Is that supposed to be some sort of insult? Besides, didn't your father ever teach you not to aggravate someone with a blade pointed at your throat?" At this statement, Winter looked as if she had a thought, then turned back to them. "I'll tell you what, I shall throw away my blade, and if the four of you can take me down, I shall submit and let you take charge, on my honour as a Schnee." True to her word, Winter threw her sword high in the air so that it disappeared. It was at this moment that Cardin, Sky, Dove, and Russell all lunged at her.

They didn't stand a chance.

With almost unnatural speed and strength, Winter took out all the men rapidly one after the other before they had the chance to even attempt landing a blow on her. In one stride, she had left all four men in pain, rolling on the floor. Expertly, she held out her hand and caught her sword, quickly sheathing it.

"I only invited you on this mission because I had heard you were the most talented soldiers in the army. However, that was a pitiful attack. Don't you dare speak like that to me again. As a matter of fact, don't speak again unless I command you to. Are we clear?" Growled Winter. All of the men grunted in agreement.

"If I have to tell you once again, I will cut out your tongues. The second time you act out of order, I will execute you all on the spot." At this, Cardin looked up in surprise.

"You can't do that!" He lashed out in defence.

"Oh, but I can, boy. For one, I outrank you by many leagues. For two, there are no witnesses. Don't you dare test me," With a tone of finality, Winter twirled on the spot and mounted her horse, ready to follow the party who were heading to Vacuo's capital.

oo0oo

"What's wrong, Weiss?" Blake asked, somewhat concerned when her lover suddenly turned to mountains they had just left, looking out into the distance.

"Nothing…it's nothing," Weiss said, though her instincts told her differently. If this feeling continued to bug her, she would tell the group, but for now, she was convinced her feelings were just playing up.

But she couldn't shake the feeling of being followed.

(Notes: I am sorry it has taken this long to update this story, and I am sorry this chapter is so short. I have been dealing with some personal stuff. But I promise after the new year, I will try and have a somewhat regular upload schedule. I hope you guys like this chapter and ADIOS!)