Chapter Eight: A Much Needed Talk
Near Former Settlement Oniyuri, Kingdom of Mistral
He had to admit, they were taking it a lot better than he had when he had first heard it.
Qrow waited in the silence for the first one of them to speak up, taking a swig from his flask as he did to dull the pain. The kids had been flustered after the fight with Tyrian, between his own sudden appearance and subsequent injury, and as such, they had neglected to remember that they had dropped their map outside of Oniyuri before entering the ruined settlement. When the blonde one, Jaune, had gone back, the map was already gone, blown away by a gust of wind. As such, the kids had moved blindly through the woods. decided to get as far away from the city as possible before they made camp. Once they settled in a small clearing, Ren and Nora worked together to try and treat his wounds. They had managed to find some herbs around the campsite while Ruby and Jaune build a fire which Ren assured him could help against infection, but neither of the duo said what everyone was thinking, that the leaves and flowers were likely to do little against whatever poison had been in Tyrian's stinger. Ren had wanted to treat it with some of Qrow's alcohol, but the man's silent glare had prompted him to leave the subject alone after the first question.
So, the two former students had done the best they could, wrapping the wound with some sterile bandages after treating it, then helping Qrow ease into a sitting position as night finally fell. No one made small talk as they ate a small dinner of food packed from the previous village, and when the food was gone, the expectant stares towards himself had left Qrow with little option but to start with his explanation.
Now, he gazed around the campfire, particularly at his niece and Jaune. Ruby looked dazed, as if she had been awakened to a new world in a moment—which Qrow supposed wasn't too far from the truth. Jaune, however, sat staring into the fire, his brow furrowed grimly in the same expression he had worn during Qrow's story. Not that the Huntsman could blame the boy. He hadn't been blind at Beacon, and he had seen the relationship that Oz's candidate, the young Pyrrha Nikos, had been trying to build with Jaune before the Fall of Beacon. Now, Qrow watched Jaune uneasily, dreading the conversation that was to come but knowing it was necessary.
As he finished his swig from the flask, Qrow glanced around at the four tens. "Really? No questions?"
"Of course we have questions," Jaune replied, glaring slightly at Qrow before he went back to staring at the fire. "This is just… a lot to take in."
Qrow sighed softly. "Sure, of course."
"So these… Maidens," Ruby began, testing the word. "They're powerful fighters that don't need Dust to use magic."
"Yeah."
"And there are four of them?"
The question came from Nora, and he turned towards her with a small nod. "Yup. Always."
Ren continued the thought. "Which means that, whenever one of the dies, the power transfers to someone—a female—that they care about?"
"Whoever was in their thoughts last. Important distinction." Qrow gestured slightly with the flask. "Best option, it's someone we can trust. Regardless, their souls become combined, in a way."
"And that's what you were trying to do to Pyrrha." Qrow winced internally. There it was. He turned and met Jaune's accusatory stare. "The night the tower fell. You were trying to turn her into one of them."
Qrow waited a moment before deflecting the question. "The previous Fall Maiden, Amber, had been attacked. She was young, inexperienced. And her assailant, who we now know is Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it." He let his thoughts drift back to more than a year ago, to that dusty road in this very Kingdom where he had arrived too late to prevent Amber's power from being stolen. Oz had been in something close to a controlled panic. It was the most flustered Qrow had ever seen the headmaster, and it had scared him. "We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well."
Jaune's intense gaze didn't soften. "So you forced it on Pyrrha."
"We didn't force anything," Qrow defended tiredly. "We explained the situation and gave her a choice, and she chose. You were there, you heard her."
Jaune stared at the ground momentarily, then straightened and looped his legs over the log he'd been sitting on, standing as he stalked away from the camp a couple paces with the fire to his back. Qrow stared thoughtfully at the boy's head, wondering what he was thinking.
Ruby's voice returned his awareness to the conversation at hand. "That guy, Tyrian… why was he after me?"
Qrow sighed. "Well, you definitely painted a target on your back with what you did at Beacon." Once again his memory travelled, back to the bedside conversation he'd had with her half a year prior, the day she's awoken from her coma. "I told you having silver eyes is a rare trait. And the fact that you were able to use them seems to have upset some very powerful people.
"Not many people know about the Silver Eyes, but those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced. That's why I've been keeping an eye on you, in order to make sure you were safe." He stared pointedly at the back of Jaune's head. "All of you."
Ruby looked at him in confusion. "Well, then why not just travel with us? It seems like that would've been way easier."
"He was using you as bait."
Everyone looked at Jaune, who was still facing away from the campsite. Slowly, Nora, Ren, and Ruby's heads swivelled towards Qrow, who waved his hands dismissively but with a touch of nervousness. "Look, I wouldn't put it like that, it's… complicated." It wasn't true, but he had had his reasons for keeping his distance. They didn't need to know yet.
Jaune finally turned back to them. "What is all of this?" His voice grew louder with frustration as he continued, "Ruby's being hunted, the schools are being attacked, all for what?! What is the point of all of this?! Will you just tell us what's going on?!"
Qrow held his gaze a moment longer, then slumped over with a heavy sigh. Well, he'd gone this far. They might as well know the entire legend. "Would you sit down? You're stressin' me out, kid." As Jaune sat back down on the log and glared at Qrow with crossed arms, the Huntsman went to take another sip but paused as the flask reached his lips. No, he needed lucidity for this, and the pain buzzing in his side had already been dulled enough tonight.
"Not many people are super religious these days." He closed his flask and set it on the log beside him, then gazed around that the young group of former students around him. "This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real." He had heard this story so many times, he could quote it by heart, but Oz always did it better
"They were brothers," Qrow began. "The older sibling, the god of light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the god of darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the god of darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all he could do to rid Remnant of life. Life always returned.
"So one night, the younger brother went and made something—something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything."
Ruby's voice was quiet, but rang with understanding. "The creatures of Grimm."
Qrow nodded. "You guessed it." He continued the fable gradually. "The older brother finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation... together, something that they could both be proud of: their masterpiece. The younger brother agreed.
"This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow—the path of light or the path of darkness." A grin still tickled his lips whenever he heard the last part. "And that is how Humanity came to be."
"But… what does that have to do with us?" Ren asked.
"Well," Qrow replied soberly, "that's the kicker. See, the four gifts to mankind—knowledge, creation, destruction and choice—aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the gods before they abandoned Remnant, and each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world. And that's exactly what the enemy wants.
"The Huntsman Academies were created to train generations of Humanity's protectors, but they also serve another purpose—guarding the Relics. When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the Relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would constantly be surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was that hiding them would keep mankind from using them against itself... and, of course, keeping them out of her reach."
Qrow shrugged slightly. "So, yeah, there's that."
"Her. You mean, Salem?" Qrow looked to his niece, startled for a moment at how young she looked. She could've been a little girl again, asking him to check under her bed for a monster.
Shaking himself from those thoughts, Qrow replied, "That's right. Not much is known about her," he glanced around, "and frankly, that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants the Relics, and if she gets them, it's not going to end well." He paused for a long moment, letting them absorb the information.
Kuo Kuana, Menagerie
In another part of Remnant, the broken moon gleamed brightly in the sky above the Belladonna Manor in Menagerie. Outside of the Chieftan's office, Blake leaned back against the small wooden railing of the second story deck. She had been meaning to get her father alone sooner after she'd come back, but he had been so busy over the last week between managing the affairs of Kuo Kuana and studying the documents Corsac and Fennec Albain had brought him from the leader of the White Fang that she had never found a spare moment.
Finally, now that she was able to find him at a time when he was less busy, she didn't know what to say. At a loss, Blake simply stared stoically at the door to her father's office, unsure of what she truly intended to do.
"You know, you can always go in and say hi," came the voice of her mother from
the side. Kali was approaching from around the corner, a tray carrying a tea set in her hands. Her voice was always warm and comforting, like silk, had been that way for as long as Blake could remember.
"I don't wanna bother him," Blake replied, sheepishly holding her arm.
Kali smile knowingly, not accepting the excuse. "A father's never too busy for his daughter."
Blake's mind wandered to Weiss, and before the memory could make her sad, she managed to smile in slight amusement. "Not all of my friends would agree with you on that."
Kali leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on her daughter's cheek, then extended the small tray to Blake, who accepted it hesitantly. "Here," said Kali.
"What?" Blake said. Kali began to walk away with a small smirk. "Where are you going?"
Kali stopped and turned back to Blake with a playful smile on her face. "You've never been very talkative, but that boy you brought home loves to run his mouth." She turned away again, walking back around the corner as she finished, "I wanna hear more about the adventures of Team RWBY." With that, she was gone, leaving Blake flustered and with the tray of tea in hand.
From inside the office, Ghira called out, "Kali, is that you dear?" Blake gave a small, surprised jerk at the voice, the tray clattering in her slightly trembling hands as she quietly moaned in nervousness.
Slowly, Blake approached the door and slid it open, balancing the tray on one
hand as she closed it, before she turned and walked into her father's view. "Uh, hey, Dad."
Ghira looked up in surprise, a smile blooming on his face as he said, "Blake! Well, this is a pleasant surprise."
"I…"
"Please, come sit," he suggested as he stood from his desk, motioning towards a couple of small sofas around a table in the middle of the room. Blake moved to the large coffee table and set the tray down as Ghira hurried over to a soft chair, urging her, "Don't worry, I've got it. Sit down, sit down."
She looked at her father tentatively as she sat. "I don't wanna keep you if
You're–"
"Nonsense," he protested with a smile as he poured tea into the small wooden cups, "I've been cooped up in here all day." He dropped a lump of sugar into the cup nearest her. "You still take sugar, right?"
"Oh, actually, uh–"
"Oh! Sorry!" her father said, pulling pack.
"No, no no no, it's fine," Blake assured him.
"Oh, here, take this one," Ghira suggested, offering the cup in his own hand.
"No, really, it's… it's no big deal."
"You sure?" Ghira asked.
Blake gave a small, reassuring smile. "Positive."
Ghira relaxed back a bit, cradling his own cup with a small chuckle. "Old habits, I suppose."
Blake took a sip of her tea and winced as an involuntary moan escaped her.
"Might wanna let it cool," Ghira suggested.
"Right," Blake said with slight pain, wincing from her burned tongue as she set her cup back on the table. There was an awkward silence for a couple of moments.
Ghira was the one to hesitantly open up. "So… is it… warm… in Vale?" he asked hesitantly?
"Huh?" Blake replied, confused.
Ghira looked down as he tried to put his next statement tactfully. "It just… seems like your outfit doesn't cover very much," he pointed out, glancing down at her exposed midriff like any concerned father would.
Blake followed his gaze and self-consciously crossed her arms. "It covers plenty."
Trying to ease into his statements, Ghira continued, "I mean, a little more armor might help. Don't you thing?"
Blake shrugged away slightly, her tone defensive. "I'm fine. I don't need armor, I can look after myself."
"I…" Ghira began, before cutting himself off with a sigh. He didn't want to fight with her. Not right now, when she had finally come home. "I know you can. I'm sorry." He gently set his cup of tea down on the table.
Suddenly, Blake looked away, her ears curling. "Why?"
He paused, taken aback. "Hmm?"
"Why would you say that?" she asked him.
Ghira stood from his chair and came to kneel beside her, stroking the back of her head in an effort to get her to meet his eyes. "Sweetheart, what's wrong? What did I say?"
Blake's voice nearly broke, and her eyes shimmered, as she said, "How can you still love me after what I did?"
It broke Ghira's heart. "Blake…" He stood and rounded the couch to come and sit beside her, his arm around her shoulders as she began to quietly cry. "Your mother and I will always love you."
Blake made weak fists in her lap as her voice caught. "You were right. I shouted and you and yelled at you." She met his gaze, ashamed of herself. "But you were right." She fell into his shoulder, hiding herself in the purple fuzz of his coat. "I called you cowards!" she said as her breath hitched.
"It's okay," Ghira soothed her, bringing her head close with his other hand.
Blake straightened, her eyes still half-lidded with tears, as she said, "I should have left the White Fang with you and Mom. I should've listened to you, and I'm sorry." She didn't understand how he could smile at her right now, and she turned away from his face. "I'm so, so sorry."
Gentle fingers turned her chin back towards her father. "Blake, it's fine," he told her as he wiped a tear from her eye with his thumb. "We never held anything against you, and I never feared you would fail. The only thing I ever feared was that you would fall down the wrong path." His own eyes gleamed slightly as he continued, "and I'm so proud to see you haven't."
"But I did!" she protested, sniffing as she fell back against his chest. "I was–"
"And you pulled yourself out," Ghira replied. "You came back. There aren't many who possess that kind of strengths and even fewer that have the courage to face their demons again. Vale, Mountain Glenn, Beacon: you confronted the White Fang time after time."
"I didn't do it alone," she said with a tinge of regret in her voice.
"No, you didn't," he agreed. "Which is why I wanted to ask you… Why did you leave Vale? Why did you leave your friends behind?"
Blake sniffed again. "I…"
Suddenly, they were interrupted by a large crash from behind accompanied by a yelp. Blake and Ghira both turned as one to stare in shock at Sun, who had toppled in atop the door to the study, where he had evidently been eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Sun?!" Blake cried in outraged surprise.
"Clumsily, the Faunus boy tried to recover. "D'yuh, whoa! This isn't the bathroom!" he cried loudly. "Uh, I'll just be going! Sorry to interrupt this tender family moment!" However, the damage was done.
Father and daughter both glared openly at Sun. Blake's ear twitched as Ghira took in a slow breath and closed his eyes. "I really don't like you."
Near Former Settlement Oniyuri, Kingdom of Mistral
"Alright," said Jaune finally "so, let's say we believe all this. There really is this crazy evil being behind all these attacks, not just some thugs trying to become powerful." He stared intently at Qrow. "Why doesn't the world know? Why isn't Atlas going after them? Or Mistral?"
""And why aren't we in more of a hurry to get to Haven?" Nora seconded. "Shouldn't we be getting them a message? What if they're next?"
Qrow would have chuckled had the conversation not been so somber. It was the Vault all over again. He could already hear Glynda's voice saying, "From what we understand, it used to be common knowledge."
However, he cast his memoires aside once more. "The headmaster over there saw what happened to Beacon. He's not dumb. He'll be on his guard. Besides, it takes time to mobilize forces like that. Do you really think they planned out that attack on Beacon overnight?" He pointed to Jaune. "And to answer your question, it's the same reason we keep quiet about the Maidens. If the whole world knew about the Relics, about Salem, there would be chaos. There'd be another Great War on our hands, and this time, you'd have to fight." He pointed at Jaune again, not quite insultingly. The boy turned away.
Qrow continued, "Look, I had the same questions, too. But ol' Ozpin would always put his foot down. 'We can't cause a panic.' Heh, can't tell you how many times I've heard that." He paused for a moment, serious when he spoke again. "Salem's smart. She works from the shadows, using others to get what she wants, so that when it comes time to place the blame, we can only point at each other." He looked up to the fractured moon, taking a small sip from his flask as he did. "She's trying to divide us—humanity, and so far she's done a pretty damn good job."
Everyone as quiet for a moment. Then, Ruby spoke up. "Alright, so what should we do?"
For once, Qrow didn't have an answer. With a slight chuckle, he replied, "I don't really know."
At their worried glances, he continued, "Ozpin has put a lot of trust in the headmasters. Like I said, the schools are an important part of stopping Salem. Atlas is going to be on high alert after the last attack, and Vacuo is—well, Vacuo. It'll be hard to hire thieves and scoundrels to fight against other thieves and scoundrels.
"Take that, add in the fact that Cinder and her crew claim to be from Haven, and I think it's likely the next target." He sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot, these days. "So, we're on our way to the headmaster. Haven't heard from him in a while, even before the attack. I'm hoping he has the answers."
With that, Qrow stood with a groan, his hand going to the wound on his stomach. "Alright, I think it's time you kids got some sleep."
"Uncle Qrow?"
He turned to his niece. "Yeah?"
Ruby stood up slowly, looking down. "This is a lot to take in, and it all sounds crazy, but…" She looked back up. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help, because I trust you." Her voice became plaintive, searching for an explanation. "But why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us, instead of this secrecy, and, and—"
"Look, this has nothing to do with trust," he replied. "I—It's a long story, okay?"
"Seriously?" Nora said. "Now you're tired of telling us stories?"
Qrow gazed into the dancing flames for a long moment. Well, he hadn't meant for them to know, but he supposed it would help explain things. At the very least, it would make Jaune more trusting of him.
Softly, almost meekly, he murmured, "Did you know that crows are a sign of bad luck? Old superstition, but it's how I got my name." He knelt to stoke the fire with a stray stick. "See, some people can absorb electricity, and some people can burst into rose petals, and some people are just… born unlucky.
"My Semblance… isn't like most. It's not exactly something I do." His voice was slightly forlorn as he said, "It's always, there, whether I like it or not. I bring misfortune." He gave a rueful chuckle. "I guess you could call me a bad luck charm. Comes in real handy when I'm fighting an enemy, but it makes it a little hard on friends…" he stared at his niece. "And family."
Slowly, he stood, arm still held over his bandage. Jaune stared at him, seeming disdainful. "Well, you are just a real bundle of help, aren't you?"
Too tired to come up with some retort, Qrow merely said, "Yeah," as he walked away from the campfire.
"Where are you going?" Ren asked after him.
"Taking a walk," he replied as he limped along.
"There's nothing else you want to tell us?" Ruby asked expectantly.
Qrow's side throbbed, the burning sensation growing despite the alcohol. As such, it took him a moment to realize that the caw he heard wasn't in his head. He glanced to the side, where the raven sat watching him with her beady red eyes, head cocked to the side. No. They didn't need to know everything yet. "Not tonight," he replied.
With a short tumble, the log Qrow had poked in the campfire fell out of place, sending up a quiet shower of sparks as the four friends watched him go.
Kuo Kuana, Menagerie
"Ugh!" Blake groaned sharply, now outside on the porch with Sun. She slapped him twice sharply across the face. "No concept of privacy, no respect for personal space!"
"I'm sorry, okay?! Ow! I'm sorry!" he protested, his hand gingerly going to feel where he'd been slapped.
"Ugh!" she exclaimed again, turning away from him in anger. She only stopped walking when he said, "Look, I promise it was important! I needed to talk to you!"
"What, Sun?" she asked in frustration as she turned back to him. "What could be so important?!"
"I was talking to your mom and she said something weird about the White Fang!" Sun began, but Blake help up a finger as her brow clenched in anger.
"I'm stopping you right there," she said as she started towards him.
"But—"
"I told you," she cut him off, "I'm not here to fight the White Fang, I'm not here to fight anyone! I'm here to rest, to figure things out, and to see my family."
Sun paused for a moment, then went on with a pointed finger for emphasis, "Your mom said White Fang members don't wear masks in Menagerie. But I saw one in the market yesterday! I even have a picture!" He began to pull out his Scroll, tapping buttons.
"Sun!"
"Look, I'm trying to help!"
"I don't want your help!" she replied sharply as she snatched the Scroll from his hands and tossed it over the balcony and into the trees.
Sun fixed Blake with an angry stare and a growl, but any words either of them were prepared to say were suddenly cut off as the sound of the Scroll landing out among the leaves was followed by the soft but noticeable gasp of a woman. Both of them turned and stared into the dark vegetation, eyes narrowed as they searched for the source of the noise.
Blake suddenly gasped as she picked out amid the shadows the shape of a black figure with a white, horned Grimm mask kneeling atop a palm tree and observing them. Realizing that she'd been spotted, the figure leaped up and away into the night, a long, curvy ponytail trailing behind her as she was momentarily silhouetted against the moon.
"A freaking ninja?!" Sun cried in surprise, hands thrown wide.
"A spy!" Blake corrected as she stared after the figure.
"But why would—hey wait!" Sun cried as Blake suddenly jumped off of the porch and sprinted into the trees after the mysterious woman.
From around the corner, alerted by his cries, Kali appeared at Sun's side, eyes wide in concern. "What's happened?"
Sun began to back towards the railing as he hurriedly cried, "The White Fang is evil, I totally called it, and I'm bringing your daughter back!" With that hectic message, he jumped down over the railing and took off after his friend into the trees, leaving Kali behind to stare after them with a hand held to her mouth in worry.
Near Former Settlement Oniyuri, Kingdom of Mistral
The fire had all but burned out during the night, and now, birds chirped across the pink morning sky. RNJR had slept fitfully, what sleep they did manage to capture littered with dreams of what Qrow had shared with them. Reluctantly, Ren roused himself and sat up in his sleeping bag. Qrow had slept against a tree at the edge of the camp, leaving the four teens to sleep around the campfire.
Ren sighed. "We should probably get moving."
Jaune sat up beside him. "Yeah, yeah."
However, the boys both turned at the sound of a wet, hacking cough from the base of the nearby tree. Immediately, Ruby and Nora were both sitting up, and Ruby hurried over to her uncle's side as his coughing worsened. Ruby looked down at his bandage, alarmed to see a large, purple stain had appeared on it throughout the night. Qrow put a hand up to his mouth, covering it as he hacked. With a groan, the coughing subsided, and Qrow pulled his hand away, only subtly surprised to feel a sticky purple substance coating his palm and fingers.
At the sight, Ruby's silver eyes went wide, a horrified gasp escaping her lips.
Qrow gazed at his hand for moment longer, then managed to looked wryly up at his niece. "Well," he rasped out, "that's unfortunate." With that, his purple-stained hand fell to his side limply and his eyelids drooped, a final exhale escaping his lips as he faded from consciousness.
