"Okay you can open your eyes now!" Sharon proclaimed.

Roy opened his eye to assess the damage.

"Mom!" He exclaimed.

His mother looked up from sweeping the hair clippings into a pile. "What?" She asked, sounding confused,

"I thought you said you were only gonna take a little off the side!" he groaned.

Before this unfortunate turn of events, Roy's hair had been arranged in long, almost flowing locks that fell to just below his shoulder blades. Now it had been neatly trimmed to just above his collar. His bangs, which had become a welcome shield that hid his missing eye from the world, were now swept up in a slight jutting angle. baring his eyepatch and three facial scars for all to see.

Sharon dumped the clippings in the garbage and looked him in the eye, "You were always hiding behind your hair, even before your accident. I sympathize with the desire to hide your scars, but try revealing them for a little while. If you really don't like it, your hair will grow back fast. It always has."

Roy started to argue but stopped, what she said made perfect sense. He smiled softly, "I remember why I barely argued with you, you always made more sense than I did."

Sharon winked, "That's what makes me the mother and you my offspring." The mischievous glint in her eye faded to a glimmer of a pride, "your father would have loved to see who you've become."

Roy picked at a scratch in the wooden table, "Do you really think so mom?" he asked.

His mother's eyebrow rose, "Don't you think so?" She asked.

Roy hand drifted to his eyepatch, "When I close my eyes, I see a parade of faces, each one belonging to someone hurt by my failures. I failed to reach Simon in time and he died. I failed to stop Ronin from killing the executive, they both died. My body is covered in scars from fights I've lost and worst of all I failed to protect my team when they needed me." An angry tear slowly slid down his cheek, leaving a glistening trail as it descended.

Sharon enveloped Roy in a warm hug and gently wiped the tear away, "This tear, is the reason why I know he would be."

Roy looked puzzled so she explained, "This tear represents an individual who is frustrated by their shortcomings. But, despite all you've been through, you still wish to learn from your mistakes and move forward. Someone who can retain that mindset throughout everything you done and seen; that is someone to be proud of. An individual who, despite all of the hardships they have endured, still stands up in defiance and fights; that is someone to be proud of."

She reached over and ruffled his feline ears, "And I am proud of you, my white storm and I know your father would be too."

Roy smiled, His mother's words comforted him more than any hug could.

He suddenly remembered Qrow's invitation,

"Do you get scroll reception out here?" he asked.

Sharon cocked her head, "That depends, where are you trying to call?"

"Mistral" Roy answered.

"Well" Sharon said tentatively, "We're within texting range, anything besides that, you have to walk about five miles toward the city."

Roy glanced out the window; the sun had begun to set, the bottom just starting to dip below the horizon line. "Eh, I think a text should do the trick."

Opening his scroll, he entered the number for Qrow's scroll and sent the huntsman two words;

"I'm in."

He slid his scroll closed with a small snap and stowed it back in his pocket. The inquiry about the signal range had answered another one of his questions. He'd been wanting to call or text Ebony to tell her that he was safe, but Sharon's words had confirmed what he'd already thought; Vale was far beyond the effective range of the scrolls at the moment. Turning back to his mother, Roy asked for a pen and paper.

Sharon blinked in surprise when Roy told her where the letter was headed, "All the way to Vale? Well, there will be a small postage fee and it will take about a week to get there."

Roy nodded, "I figured as much. I still want to send something telling Ebony that I'm safe." He hung his head slightly, "She's probably worried sick."

Sharon patted Roy's shoulder, "I understand," she said softly, "Everything you need should be in my little roll-top desk in the sun room."

Roy thanked his mother and retreated to the aforementioned sun room. The room was of medium size with a large window that looked out into the backyard. The walls were a light bluey-grey color and, with the sun gently sinking into the west, the lovely oranges and reds shone through the window and lit the walls a lovely dusky pink.

The roll-top desk sat against the wall perpendicular to the window. Roy walked over to it and sat down on the comfy cushioned seat. Opening the desk Roy pulled out a sheet of paper and a fountain pen.

It's been awhile since I've written a letter. He thought, I hope my handwriting hasn't degraded too much.

After several attempts, he finally succeeded in getting down everything he wanted to say. Setting the pen down, Roy lightly blew on the letter to dry the ink. Satisfied that the ink was sufficiently dry, Roy took a few minutes to read the letter once more.

My Dearest Ebony,

I'm writing this letter to let you know that I've arrived safely in Mistral and am currently staying at my mother's house. The journey here was...difficult to say the least. I met friends old, (Sierra says hello.) and new. I've traveled halfway across Remnant from Vale to Atlas and finally Mistral. I ran into some enemies here and there and I'll have more scars when next we meet. You know me; always getting into trouble. My mom is...so great. She forgave me and accepted me back without question. It turned out better than I could have hoped.

My fighting has gotten better, you can thank my mom for that. Oh! That reminds me, I have a new friend to introduce you to when I see you next. She has a sharp wit and is fast as lightning. Speaking of seeing you, is Lia well enough to travel? If yes, I would love it if you could come to Mistral and join last few months have given me a lot to think about including thinking more about us. Ebony, you are and have always been, the one thing that kept me going throughout this journey. I think of you when I wake up and I fall asleep whispering your name. I love you so much Ebony and being parted from you is like living without the ability to walk.
You complete me.

Until next we meet my Love.

Love,

-Roy

Roy nodded approvingly at his letter. It certainly wasn't perfect, but it was what he'd been feeling.

"Well, you certainly take after your father, you little charmer."

Roy nearly jumped out of his skin as his mother's voice came from beside him. "M-Mom!? How did you get in here?" he exclaimed.

His mother twiddled her ears at him, "Through the door." she said smugly.

Roy rolled his eyes, "Har-de-har." he said grumpily.

His mother ruffled his ears, "Don't be embarrassed, you were engrossed in your letter. And we cat faunus are naturally light on our feet."

Roy couldn't help but smile at his mother as he folded the letter and placed it in an envelope. "How many stamps do I need?" he asked.

"One." his mother replied, "This Mistrali one." she pointed to a medium sized stamp with a miniature portrait of the capital city on it. "Here, I'll write my address on it" Sharon offered.

She quickly jotted down the address and then handed the letter back so Roy could write the address of the house the remnants of team SHDE were staying at. He quickly jogged out to the mailbox and placed the letter inside. As he was walking back, he felt his scroll vibrate. Sliding it open, he read the message.

"Welcome aboard, try not to die right away. Meeting at Haven academy day after tomorrow. Be there."

Roy's heart picked up speed and he grinned. He hadn't expected things to move so quickly. His mother must have noticed his happier expression as he walked into the house. "What's got you all grinning today?" she asked playfully.

Roy explained everything that Qrow had told him in detail and showed his mother the message. A flicker of sadness played across her face and Roy hurried to reassure her, "I'll be back before you know it."

Sharon nodded quickly, "I know, I know. I'm just worried about you is all."

Roy put his arm around his mother's shoulders, "Don't be." he whispered, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Sharon smiled and, gripping Roy's hand, she led him into the sun room. She sat him down in one of the wicker chairs facing the window and pulled the writing desk chair over to sit across from him.

"Tell me about Ebony." She said.

Roy turned pink, "What would you like to know?" he asked sheepishly.

Sharon grinned, "Have you had your first kiss? Have you nuzzled her yet? Where was your first date? Those types of things."

Roy's cheeks went from pink to red. "W-well" he began "we have had our first kiss…"

Sharon's eyes lit up, "Details! Details!" she urged.

Roy was slightly taken aback by his mother's enthusiasm, "Are most parents this excited over a child's romance life?" he asked, struggling to hide a grin.

"Probably not," Sharon huffed, "but I'm not most parents."

Roy laughed at that, "True, most parents wouldn't have taught their kids to escape basic grapple holds at age 7."

His mother shrugged, "What can I say? I was ahead of the curve."

After a little more cajoling, Roy relented and told his mother about his and Ebony's first kiss,

"You nuzzled her out of the blue?" Sharon asked, slightly aghast, "What were you thinking?"

Roy attempted to placate his mother, "I wasn't thinking. We shared our first kiss a week later though."

Sharon narrowed her eyes slightly "You're just lucky she didn't slap you."

Roy nodded, "Believe me, I know that more than anyone."

He leaned back in the wicker chair and gazed out of the window. The sun had all but set, leaving a fringe of pink along the dark horizon. The moon had risen, each fragment shining brightly in the night.

Roy turned back to his mother, "Well?" he asked.

Sharon looked puzzled, "Well what?" she asked in return.

Roy rolled his eyes, "What was you and dad's first kiss like?"

Sharon smiled and stared wistfully out the window. "It happened on our 27th visit. It was the same day I revealed I was a faunus. He was fascinated by my ears and begged me to touch them. I agreed on the condition that I could kiss him." Sharon laughed to herself, "You should have seen his face! Red as a summer sunset. But, to my surprise, he agreed."

Roy rolled his eyes, "So basically your first kiss was just fulfilling his end of a bargain." He said, bemused.

Sharon twiddled her ears at Roy again, "Maybe, except I'd taught him several faunus customs once I'd revealed my ears. After we kissed, he nuzzled my cheek." Sharon raised her hand to her cheek as if reliving the moment. "I couldn't speak, I knew I'd been developing feelings for him...but when he, a human, decided to show affection to me in that way...it sealed the deal for me."

Roy smiled, if he wasn't sure about his parents' relationship before, this last story told him everything he needed to know. He leaned over a hugged his mother "Thank you for telling me these stories" he said.

Sharon held her son tightly "You're welcome kitten" she purred.

Roy sat back in his chair and gazed at the moon shining brightly in the sky. His eyes drifted shut as the fatigue from the day swept over him and before he knew it, he was curled up fast asleep in his chair.

A gentler chapter to cool down to before things pick up again. I've always enjoyed the chemistry I created for Roy and his mother. Speaking of Sharon, she's such a fun character to me XD, just that "I'm not most parents montra" is so fun to work with.

Until next we meet,

-Ar3mRising.