Are we heroes keeping peace? / Or are we weapons?
These children you mislead / You'll watch them all bleed

Summer grinned as she and Raven touched down on the Nevermore's back. "Go go go!" Raven nodded and tossed her a couple of Omen's dust blades. Her cloak whipped around and she drove the lightning blades into the Grimm's wing, earning a screech of pain. She grabbed onto them as the Nevermore began a vertical ascent and she gritted her teeth.

Okay, not how she had planned this.

It screeched again and tilted sharply to the right, veering toward a more horizontal plath, allowing her to regain her footing. She sent a silent thanks to Raven as she ran up the back, ignoring the whipping winds as she drove Battaglia into its eye.

Oh hell.

She gripped the feathers and looked over at Raven who pulled her into the portal. She let out a sigh of relief at the solid footing, though it shook moments later when the thing crashed into the ground. "Let's go!" She smirked as the team followed behind her and reached the wounded Grimm. The ground rumbled beneath their feet as it convulsed, the lightning blades protruding like spines on a porcupine.

This would be easy. A medium-sized Nevermore half blind and crippled? Child's play for Team STRQ at this point.

They canned out and Summer continued to grin as she approached from the front. The Grimm eyed her with its good one, trying to raise its wings. The electric shocks kept it from moving too much, though.

She flipped Battaglia to its full eight foot spear length and rushed in. She drove it straight into the other eye and earned another cry of agony.

However, she blinked and looked to the side when she felt the ground rumbling. What the hell—? A Goliath…?! "Pull back, pull back!" She couldn't stop the panic in her voice and the Goliath turned straight for Qrow. Her eyes widened as she raised her hand.

"No!"

Everything went silver then black.

—

Summer groaned and tried to sit up, but a hand on her shoulder kept her on the bed—

Wait. Bed?

She opened her eyes, but the harsh light made her shut them again. THe world also spun and she put a hand on her head. What in the hell had happened? She had to be at Beacon since she was on a bed instead of a cot. But how? When? Just what had happened?

She heard voices, but the muddled sound made it impossible to make anything out. How had it affected her hearing…whatever the hell it was she'd done. Her aura should have cleared that up, right? It wasn't like she'd been super low while on the Nevermore's back. She also hadn't exactly left the group or done anything to deplete it hugely.

What it had been, though, was not her Semblance.

—

She wasn't sure how much time passed, but her hearing suddenly returned. She winced from hearing the sharp sound of a pan clattering on tile, feeling a flare of surprise and relief from Raven. Well, she was in the dorm, but why? Wouldn't the infirmary have been better?

"Miss Rose, you can open your eyes now."

Ozpin.

Of course.

She grunted but capitulated on the order, glad to not have her head spin. Things came into focus and she saw Raven bent over her. Tears misted over her best friend's eyes and she felt the relief radiate out. She helped Summer sit up and she let herself lean against her for support.

Oh, she'd been on the couch, not her and Raven's bed.

Shaking her head a little, she looked at Ozpin. "Okay. One: how long have I been out? Two: What the hell happened? Three: Why the hell can I barely move? Four: What the hell did you do to me to make me feel better?" She couldn't move much, but suddenly having her senses returned to her in an instant…

That wasn't natural.

Ozpin sighed and removed his glasses, closing his eyes. Summer stared and it took every bit of self-control she had to not let her jaw drop. This was the first sign of real human emotion she'd seen him express. Whatever had happened had at least nicked his mask and forced him into a corner.

He replaced his glasses, looking at Summer seriously. "Unfortunately, I cannot give you all of the answers you seek, Miss Rose. All of this information is on a need-to-know basis. As you have not yet—"

"Cut the shit, Ozpin." Qrow pushed off the wall and settled on Summer's other side. She winced a little under his grip but she said nothing. "Summer deserves at least a few answers."

After a long moment, the man sighed and replaced his glasses. "I suppose there is no brushing this incident off, is there? Very well, but I cannot give you all that you seek. As I said, this information is strictly need to know. All you need to know right now is that magic exists and what you experienced was but a small bit of the power you hold, Miss Rose."

Summer turned her gaze down as she gripped the blankets, everything finally snapping into place. "…So that's it. You offered me a place at Beacon because I can do something for you. I knew this whole time I was just some sort of means to an end for you, but still. We're nothing more than tools to you, are we?" The headmaster didn't reply which was enough of an answer for her. She'd had a feeling that was it the entire time. The way he looked at her, Raven, and Qrow was like how she looked at pieces when playing Raven in a tactics game.

"…So who are you playing against, Ozpin?"

"Miss Rose—"

"Ozpin, don't keep running circles around us. Don't make me say it." The man sighed at Qrow's belligerent comment, his shoulders sloping down down as she rubbed the bridge of his nose. Her best friend's anxiety flooded to the tips of her hair, but Summer focused on the headmaster.

"I knew you would eventually find your way here, Miss Rose, but it's still never easy to tell anybody this information. I fight against a woman named Salem, the leader of the Grimm." Raven inhaled sharply and Summer put a hand on her chest as she coughed. Raven really needed to calm down; it felt like she'd just gotten punched in the chest!

Ozpin looked at Raven before removing his glasses once again, looking at them fully." Yes, Miss Branwen, I am quite aware of your tribe's taboo and beliefs in mentioning her. There is no threat of her being summoned simply by mentioning her name." With that, Summer met his gaze again fully for the first time in four years. Distant, endless, and eternal.

"How long?" She was probably accepting all of this too easily, but her own experiences backed up what he was saying.

"Too long." Not much of an answer, but given this was Ozpin, she wasn't surprised. She'd grown to accept his vague responses and cryptic riddles over the past four years.

"Unfortunately, with you now awakened, Miss Rose, your whole time has a target painted on its back. Things will become far more dangerous for you. If you should so choose, you can join my guardians that fight against Salem for the good of Remnant. As ever, though, you have a choice. I'll leave you to your thoughts." He put his glasses back on before existing the dorm. Summer slumped against Raven and closed her eyes.

"…By the way, it's been four days," Qrow murmured. He squeezed her shoulder before she heard a door close, followed shortly by another one.

Summer felt Raven wrap her arms around her and she didn't protest being pulled into her lap. "…You and Qrow seem to be taking this rather well." She felt Raven's forehead against her and she leaned into the familiar gesture. It was a huge comfort at the moment. She took one of Raven's hands and entwined their fingers, pressing into her best friend as close as she could. She was just so exhausted, confused, and upset.

Raven gave her hand a small squeeze and nodded. "Until the Great War, magic was a part of life for the tribe. Whenever one came of age, a group would travel to a magic fountain near our village at the nearest vernal equinox following that. We'd obtain bird forms identical to our name's sake. Unfortunately, Salem destroyed the fountain during the war. Only my grandmother retains any magic and she inherited that from her mentor.

"As for Salem… Well.. There's a story in our tribe about how we used to have the inherent ability to shift without need of the fountain. She somehow stole the ability from us, though, so we needed to start relying on the fountain."

Summer fell silent at Raven's words and gave a small nod. So magic was part of their heritage and she had firsthand experience with it… Made sense…

However, a wave of exhaustion rolled over her and she ragdolled against Raven fully. She felt a kiss on her forehead and Raven pulled the blanket closer around them. "Get some more rest, MeMe; you need it."

One quick shoutout to timetravelingshark on Tumblr. I touched on a little bit of Branwen tribe worldbuilding they so graciously allowed me to use as a base for my own and add onto.

I apologise for the subpar action scene. I'm not very good at them and this was my first time attempting to write one in…only god knows how long at this point. I wanted to do it to show just how much Summer grew into her role as a Huntress from when she entered Beacon. Plus, I figured I'd use it as a starting ground since I'm planning a much larger fic that'll involve quite a few…