February 29th
Mistral
1:32 PM

"I love this coffee!" Nora screamed, doing three pirouettes in direct succession before an arabesque en pointe. "It makes me an even better dancer!"

"You dance?" Ruby asked her with a smile while gently tugging at Weiss's hair, causing her to shriek in surprise while the younger girl giggled. "Since when?"

"Since I was four years old! Ballet, tap, and pointe!" Nora told her, looking back to Winter who was staring at her in shock. "I think I can handle another triple shot!"

"No," Winter said, intentionally standing in the way of the coffee machine. "Because I know just as well as you do that if you manage to take down another that you'll end up flying through the roof on your weapon."

"Who's going to be flying through the roof?" Qrow asked as he came into the room but rolled his eyes when he saw Nora's almost crazed expression. "Oh, right, her."

"I want to see that!" Yang declared, grabbing Nora by the wrist. "Nora, want me to blast the bottom of Magnhild so you can fly through the roof?"

"No, that's just dangerous," Qrow told her and Yang stuck out her lower lip and pouted though he didn't give in. "Yang, do you want to kill her?"

"Pffftt," Nora said, rolling her eyes. "Yang couldn't kill me if she tried."

"Want to find out?" Yang said, turning her eyes red and smirking. "Do you really want to fight?"

"Uh…" Nora stuttered as she looked around before shaking her head. "Why don't we...we should find something more tame to do. How about...cosplaying?"

"Cosplaying?" Oscar asked, though it was Ozpin who answered.

"Let's just say that they did this more often than most at Beacon and, believe me, it led to more than a few... improvised dances," Ozpin told him, recalling the end of the first semester. "Team JNPR was particularly inclined towards cosplaying characters from television shows they had watched as children. Personally, my favourite was when they cosplayed as Mystery Inc. from Scooby Doo with Jaune as Shaggy, Pyrrha as Daphne, Ren as Fred, and Nora as Velma."

"Oh," Oscar said, staring at everyone while they continued to debate. "That makes sense...I guess, maybe?"

"Qrow!" Winter exclaimed as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her from behind while she turned to face him. "What are you -"

"Well, I finally woke up," He told her with a shrug before kissing her. "And I missed my Ice Queen."

"Eeeeeek," Ruby squeaked out, burying her face in her cape. "Eeeeeeek."

From behind her, Weiss smacked the back of her head teasingly. "Calm down you dolt."

"Miss Schnee!" A man yelled from within the other room. "Everyone stand down!"

Beginning to shake as her eyes went wide, Weiss looked to her sister who was pulling her into her protectively while the others stared in shock as several burly men came into the room. Recognizing several of them as some of her father's guards, Weiss all but curled into Winter while she reached for her sword and gently pried her off of her. Briskly walking towards them, Winter forced herself to be steady as she pointed her sword at them and spoke, unsure if her father was there too. Out of the corner her eye, she could see that Qrow reaching for Harbinger while stepping in front of Weiss to protect her and Ruby had Crescent Rose in hand.

"What are you doing here?" Winter demanded and two of the guards looked to each other and laughed though her voice shook as she asked the second question. "Is...is my father here?"

"No," One of them replied. "But he sent us here for her. Had us track down the coordinates from her scroll the other night and -"

"Lay a finger to any of them and I'll end you," Qrow told them, with Harbinger now in hand and his other on Weiss's shoulder. "Believe me, I don't have a problem with doing so and I can imagine that Jimmy wouldn't fault Winter for doing the same."

"Qrow Branwen!" Winter snapped though she was relieved that he was trying to help. "Let me handle this!"

"We have orders to bring your sister back to Atlas," Another guard informed her. "And your father made that very clear."

"I don't give a damn what my father says," Winter told them, shifting her blade closer though she was terrified and knew that she wouldn't be able to actually kill any of them. "You are not taking my sister."

"Now, of course, we don't have to do it this way," The first said. "So Special Operative Schnee, if you would be so kind as to lower your weapon, we can propose a slight alternative."

Glancing back to Qrow and Weiss, Winter bit her lip before sighing and lowering her sword, attaching it to her side again. "What do you mean by a 'slight alternative'?"

The first guard met her gaze. "You and your sister willingly come back to the kingdom of Atlas and meet with your father to discuss your...deviations."

"That has to be some sort of joke," Qrow said with a glare. "I ain't letting that man anywhere near the two of them."

"Qrow, I -" Winter began before she stopped herself and glared at the guards again. "Fine, but on one condition."

"And what might that be?" The first guard snarled with a nasty grin.

Winter closed her eyes for a moment before sighing. "Qrow and the others come back to Atlas with us too, and, not not only that, when Weiss and I speak with our father that Qrow gets to be with us."

The guard laughed but nodded nonetheless. "Fine. I don't care as long as I keep this job."

Looking back to Qrow who was staring while the guards left the room, Winter half threw herself into him and let herself linger in his arms as they tightened around her. For several moments, they didn't say anything but when she finally spoke her voice was quiet. "I'm scared too."

"I don't want him to hurt you more," Qrow said, his rough voice unusually gentle. "Because I you deserve to be happy. I can't bear the idea of someone hurting you, much less me. So I promise, I'll do everything in my power to protect you while we're in Atlas, okay Snowflake?"

Winter nodded weakly and continued to cling to him. "I don't know what to do with my family, I really don't."

"Yes you do," Qrow told her, cupping her cheek. "Because Weiss is your family and, if you won't slap me for saying so, so am I. I love you."

"I love you, too, Branwen," Winter said, closing her eyes and letting her head fall onto his shoulder. "I just hope he doesn't -"

"Whatever happens, Win," Qrow said, kissing her gently. "I'm going to defend you even though I know you can do that for yourself. The last thing I want for you is pain."

"All of you!" One of the guards snapped, coming back into the room while Winter turned slightly in Qrow's arms to face them. "Transport. Now."

Team RNJR, Yang, Weiss, and Oscar shared a look before they all quickly went to gather their things for the trip to Atlas. Looking back to Winter and letting go of the glare he had been giving the guards, Qrow sighed. "I don't know the full extent of what that man did to you, but you don't have to tell me. Not unless you're ready."

"Later…" Winter told him with tears forming in her eyes against her will. "Later…"