This chapter ended up more fluffy than I expected, which is a pleasant surprise since I usually say it was sadder or darker than expected...don't get me wrong, there's still some sad, but so adorable fluff! And I FREAKING love the final part of this chapter, you guys have no idea.

If the archmage was honest he had been expecting what his ex-mentor had told him was all that he could do for the newest mage, but the irrational part of his mind that was willing to throw away everything he'd known about magic had hoped there was some way to instantly rid the child of her trauma (if that had been the case he would have fixed Short-stack too). Instead, he was walking towards his room with a horrible feeling of helplessness, even with all the ways he had learned to help it still didn't amount to much; she could be so bad that she never got over her trauma...she may never be able to go home.

Would you have been able to help her, Short-stack? At least his once best friend would have understood what was going through his new apprentice's mind, while all he could do was grasp at helpless feelings for any sort of empathization. He had never been more upset that his magic never seemed able to go out of control.

"Uncle Qrow!" He looked up upon hearing his name, body freezing with wide eyes. His niece was sitting against the wall outside his bedroom door (the door leading to Short-stack's old room was barricaded thanks to wood, metal and rock keeping anyone from entering) with the two he had guide her, grinning proudly. The problem was in her hands; a battle scythe with a snath (pole) like black intertwined vines, the design of a rose had roughly been chiseled and painted red into the large cylinder that acted as an attachment ring to keep the blade and snath attached...her hands frequently moved slightly, as though trying to figure out where to best hold the weapon, despite it being mostly leaned against the wall.

"W...what?" Qrow questioned, unable to do more than stare.

"She wanted a weapon." Ren stated as though it wasn't obvious.

"We tried to tell her an apprentice is supposed to choose their weapon with their mentor, but she didn't wanna listen. I told her you use scythes and big swords...the moment she saw this one she totally zoned out! Couldn't hear or see anything but that scythe!" Nora explained, sounding a bit panicked...probably worried he would get mad, since he had made it clear he didn't particularly want her around anymore. "I knew it happened to mages too but-"

"Wasn't expecting that." The words left the red eyed man's mouth without thought.

"Cresent Rose! She's mine now!" That explained the rose; it must have been a plain cylinder until the owner requested a design. The last thing he had expected after the accident on the way here was seeing Ruby smile like that again, like nothing was wrong in the word...she hadn't smiled like that since the last time she was with her mom.

"You come up with that name Kiddo?" His mind still hadn't really processed what was going on, leaving him to impulsively speak. The wide grin fell into a slight frown.

"She told me." The goggled girl disagreed, all eyes snapping to her.

"...A cognizant weapon?" The pink eyed boy breathed in amazement.

"All weapons we use are cognizant, that's why they can help channel magic and dust." The blue eyed girl reminded. "That's how they call for their 'destined master'...utilizers are usually the only ones able to hear their name though, like me and Magnhild..." Was it because the plant mage had utilizer blood from her father or had the same thing happened to her mother so long before she got here?

"...And she's your weapon now?" The black haired man asked.

"Yep." The silver eyed girl agreed with a nod.

"...Then I'll start teaching you how to use her tomorrow." The pure grin returned again, despite his uncertainty of giving someone so young a weapon so dangerous he couldn't bring himself to disagree with her looking like that. "First though, shrink it and find somewhere to attach it. Then we're going to get some food."

"Ok!" She agreed excitedly, weapon shrinking in her hands as though by thought alone...it was definitely her destined weapon, whenever he used Presage a burst of magic was forced to change it's size while will alone changed Harbinger. The cloaked girl clipped the scythe charm to the chain holding said cloak together at her neck, it matched perfectly. The girl with red tipped hair ran to her mentor's side, smiling up at him...the shifter heard a stomach growl as they began to walk away.

"Come on then." He sighed, hearing an excited squeal.

"Let's go Renny!" The utilizer cheered, following the pair of mages with her friend at her side.

~In the Cafeteria~

The man knew everyone in the cafeteria was staring at the quartet; he never spent time with any of the kids he brought back once the wizard met them so it was natural that they'd be extremely confused, while he had made sure to keep the utilizer and mage duo as far from him as possible for quite a while. He preferred to spend him time alone here since his fellow archmage had disappeared, but that wasn't really an option anymore.

"..." The new mage scarfed down the tray of food her mentor had placed in front of her as though she hadn't eaten in days, causing him to immediately become concerned that he hadn't been feeding her enough with simple fruits and jerky...it took him a bit to realize the actual reason for her ravenous appetite was actually the opposite; she was so accustom to eating the food her older half-sister made that her body immediately devoured the food in front of her (a six-eight year old could only make so much, after all). Meat soup, bread, and freshly cooked potatoes must have tasted like heaven to a girl who hadn't had a proper meal in two years.

"You uh...like it Kiddo?" Qrow found himself asking from across the small table, the two other children beside her. Frantic nodding quickly turned to choking since she still had food in her mouth, the orange haired girl gently nudging the glass of water closer while he was too panicked to do anything. Tiny hands grabbed it tightly, chugging the water until a cough sounded from the goggled girl's mouth before slamming the glass back down.

"It's yummy!" Ruby grinned in a different way from before, despite having been choking not moments before, returning to shoveling food in her mouth like nothing happened.

"The people who cook are really nice!" Nora stated, drawing the younger girl's attention. "You're allowed to eat as much as you want! Even if there's no food out for meals and stuff all you gotta do is ask and they'll make you some!" She looked downright amazed by this statement.

"Magic uses up a lot of energy." The shifter explained simply. "A lot more than civilians have, so we eat a lot more...utilizers do too."

"Ok." The girl with red tipped hair said simply, barely pausing to speak.

"Renny and I should get back to Signal before it gets much later. Don't wanna be lectured again." The hammer user said suddenly, standing.

"Tomorrow?" Ren questioned as he too stood, looking at the adult.

"If that's what Kiddo wants, you can hang out again tomorrow."

"Yes!" The cloaked girl practically squealed, choking on her food briefly again before dislodging it with more water. "I-it that's o-ok..." She added shyly, getting smiles from both of the other children.

"Of course! It'll be nice having someone to talk to." The pink wearer stated, her friend nodding. "See you tomorrow then!" With that the two grabbed their trays and left, dropping them in the pile near the door before exiting the room.

"...Thanks Uncle Qrow." He didn't know why she sounded so grateful despite how soft her voice was, but he just accepted it.

~That Night~

"Ngh!" Qrow was accustomed to waking in the middle of the night from nightmares by now when he jolted into wakefulness with a pained grunt; whether they were true nightmares or nightmares because they showed times and a person long gone...the alcohol in his ex-mentor's office hadn't helped them at all, though he hadn't expected it to. He groaned again, hating that he couldn't get a proper night sleep if he even vaguely resembled sober. The flickering flame of the enchanted lamp hanging by the window cast constantly changing patterns of light and shadow around the room and that at least worked as a momentary distraction from his thoughts.

"Nnnnnn..." Crimson eyes snapped to the voice, finding his niece in the small bed against the opposite wall that had been brought into the room for her. Her breath came out in desperate puffs, body flush and sweating as fearful sounds left her throat. The vines he now saw trying to break through his window showed just how afraid her nightmare was making her.

"Kiddo..." The black haired man could see Gleaming white vines surrounding his room and thrashing, the bed and girl in it far bigger...they really were far too similar sometimes. Shaking his head revealed reality, the goggles still even on the little girl's face since she had refused to take them off. Without thought he sat up, shifting forms and flew to the other bed. "Caw..." The sound was soft as he nudged his beak against her cheek.

"Nnn...lll..." The frantic breathing calmed down, which he was grateful for. With skill born from familiarity the bird lifted a small portion of the blanket and inched his way under, carefully turning around once only the end of his tail was out and pressing the side of his body against the little girl. She rolled towards him just as he had expected, an arm casually covering his back as he laid down, his head poking out of the blanket and resting against her neck. Small human legs curled up as though to keep the creature from leaving the bed while her head bent a little closer.

Sweet dreams Kiddo.

I have had the idea of Qrow snuggling people in their sleep in bird form to keep away nightmares since the BEGINNING, and I FINALLY was able to write it out! Qrow may not be best guardian, but he damn well tries.