"Weiss! We're h—"
"Where are the kids!?" Weiss interrupted as she nearly trampled over Yang.
"They're right here," scoffed Yang as she looked behind herself and furrowed her brows at the lack of children following her, "Or not…"
Yang poked her head outside the front door and pressed her lips into a thin line as she found Wendy and Wilma trying their best to blend in with the wall.
"Come on, girls. You can't hide from your mother," Yang sighed.
Wendy and Wilma shared uncomfortable looks and inched through the front door.
"There you are!" Weiss cried in relief as she crouched down and threw her arms around the two little girls, "You scared me half to death! What were you thinking, running off like that?"
"I'm sorry, Mother," Wendy's lip trembled, "I had to get to Miss Cindy's house. I thought she could help me with the monster."
"That's fine, but you can't just go all by yourself," Weiss strained as she hugged tighter, "You could've gotten hurt or worse!"
Wendy mumbled something under her breath and buried her face in the crook of Weiss' neck.
Weiss rubbed circles against Wendy's back and whispered, "What did you say?"
"She said she didn't want to burden us," Yang piped in, "She thinks we were tired of dealing with her since we handed her off to Ruby and Blake yesterday."
"What?" Weiss asked in disbelief, "Is that true, Wendy?"
Wendy slowly nodded her head into Weiss' neck.
"Oh, Sweetie…" Weiss cooed as she cupped Wendy's cheek and looked upon her with fond eyes, "Mommy and I love you. We love both of you. In fact, we wouldn't know what to do without you. There's just a lot that we both have to deal with right now, and we needed all our focus to handle it. And you shouldn't go off on your own like you did."
"I'm sorry…" Wendy sniffled.
Weiss bit her cheek and stood up, "It's okay. Don't cry. Just never do anything like that again. That goes for you too, Wilma," she said as Wendy wiped her eyes, "Now, go to your room. You're in time-out for the next twenty minutes… no, ten minutes… five minutes. You're in time out for the next five minutes."
Wendy and Wilma nodded as they sluggishly climbed the stairs.
Weiss watched the stairs for a few moments longer and groaned as she slid her hands down her face, "I've really got to get back to work…"
Yang heard her but was not really listening. She stared at nothing in particular as the car ride home replayed in her head.
"Yang?"
Snapping out of her trance, Yang focused on Weiss, "What?"
"You weren't even blinking," Weiss tilted her head, curiously, "Did something happen at Cinder's house?"
"Yeah, the kids know about Raven being my mom and, by extension, their grandma," Yang explained, "But that wasn't what I was thinking about."
"What were you thinking about?"
"Something weird that happened in the car while I was driving home with the girls," said Yang as she furrowed her brows and shook her head.
Yang chuckled at the image of Raven's surprised face. To be honest, she surprised herself by letting Wendy and Wilma know the truth.
It was only fair, right? Raven kept her children safe when they went off on their own. That meant Raven could be trusted.
Yang could not get over the warmth in her chest. She could tell Raven was touched by her display of trust. It almost seemed like the small introduction impacted Raven more than it did Wendy and Wilma.
They had only known one grandmother, Weiss' mother, for their entire lives, and they rarely got to see her anyway.
Yang reasoned the addition of another elder did not mean much to little girls such as her daughters.
"Mommy?"
"Yeah, Wendy?" Yang answered, despite her attention being scattered between the road and her thoughts.
"Why do me and Wilma have two grandmas?"
"Because your mother and I both have our own mothers," said Yang as she flashed a curious look over her shoulder at the back seat of the car, "Don't you know that?"
"I do know that!" growled Wendy, clearly offended, "You said our grandma died already. Before I was born."
Slowly, Yang's thoughts of Raven were pushed aside by her memories of Summer Rose; the mother of her sister, Ruby, and the second wife of her father.
Yang frowned and sighed, deeply, "Yeah… What happened was… It's complicated."
"Why?" asked Wilma.
"Because it just is," Yang snapped, impatiently.
After a few moments of silence in the car, Yang's head cooled off and she sighed again.
"Long story short, Grandpa got married twice. The woman you just met was his first wife, and your grandmother that died was his second," Yang explained, "Technically, she was never your grandmother to begin with. She was my step-mother, meaning we weren't actually related."
"I don't get it," said Wendy.
"I figured you wouldn't," frowned Yang, "I'll explain it to you both again when you're older, especially if you two want to be huntresses. The top graduate of all time at Beacon Academy, to this day, is Summer Rose, you know."
"Summer Rose?" Wendy repeated, "I read that on the rock. Wilma, remember the rock?"
"Yeah," Wilma nodded.
"A rock? Have you been painting roses on rocks?" Yang asked.
"No! I'm talking about the rock at Grandpa's house!"
Yang's mind raced for a few moments before realization dawned on her.
"What the… You've been to Summer's grave?" Yang asked as she stopped the car and turned in her seat so she could keep her daughters' attention, "You went into the forest? What did I say about going into the forest?"
"I'm not allowed to go into the forest," Wendy pouted.
"That's right. So, why did you go into the forest?"
"It wasn't my fault!" Wendy defended herself, "The birdie was showing us where the treasure was! Right, Wilma?"
Wilma nodded, shyly.
"Wait, so Grandpa didn't take you down the path behind his house?"
"No, the birdie did," said Wendy, "But he went away after."
Yang stared, mouth ajar, at her kids before facing forward again.
Birdie? What, like the raven? Come to think of it… I haven't seen that thing in a while. Raven did say it was hers, so maybe she can explain…
"I considered going back to ask Raven about it, but I thought I should bring the kids home and talk to you about it first."
Weiss hummed in thought and sat down on the couch, "That's strange… How can this bird be so intelligent? It seems to be capable of communicating with Wendy and Wilma somehow."
"I'm more concerned with how the kids are suddenly learning about things that they shouldn't be," said Yang, "First, Wendy somehow knows what an apathy looks like, despite never seeing one in her life, and now she's been to Summer's grave without anyone knowing?"
"It's certainly a cause for concern," Weiss agreed, "Do you think the raven is what's doing it?"
"Impossible," Yang shook her head with a chuckle, "No bird can do what the kids are claiming, no matter how well trained or whatever. That's just their imaginations at work."
"Hm… Maybe you're right," Weiss folded her arms, "Wendy did claim to see a live monster in her room. Maybe she's just in a strange phase?"
"I hope so," Yang sighed as she sat down beside Weiss, "But I'm not going to wait around to find out… I'll have to talk to Raven."
Click… Clock… Click… Clock…
That incessant sound. It kept Raven awake and thinking.
Cinder had gone to bed hours ago, yet Raven was still here, sitting all alone at the dining table.
Almost alone.
She gazed into the empty eyes of her mask, which rested across from her on the table. She could not recall the time she last moved. She had not moved even to stretch or yawn. She only sat in an unending staring contest with her hands folded on the table.
The mask taunted her. Its emptiness begged to be whole. But some great strides had been taken today. The whole situation has changed.
Yang established trust in Raven. At least to some extent.
That gave her hope. Hope that she might actually find a permanent place here, and as the crickets chirped on throughout the night, the mask's vile solicitations grew more undesirable.
Through the quiet, Raven heard something. It was faint and would have been unnoticeable to anyone with an untrained ear.
Her eyes finally left the mask, and she squinted through the window. Everything seemed to be in order, and the sound had ceased.
Raven narrowed her eyes and stood up. She quietly crept to the glass, sliding door that led to the backyard and peeked past the blinders.
Seeing nothing but darkness, Raven flipped the porch light on, which did little to help the situation.
Keeping her eyes wide, Raven slipped on a pair of shoes and stepped outside. It was surprisingly chilly for a summer night on Patch, and as the slight breeze carried her hair, she felt the familiar feeling of being watched.
Raven scanned the high fences that enclosed the backyard and provided some much-needed privacy as she treaded further. Soon, she stood in the middle of the yard, listening and…
"I had a feeling I'd be seeing you," Raven spoke into the dark.
"I hope I gave you something to look forward to," a woman answered from behind.
Raven slowly turned and blood-red eyes met sky-blue. She did not have to see to know there were two more shadows coming up behind her.
"Expecting someone else?" Raven asked as she glanced over her shoulders at the woman's escort.
"It's like you always said:" the woman began as she stepped closer, "You can never be too careful in foreign territory."
Raven looked the woman up and down and frowned, "You shouldn't have come here, Vernal."
"I thought you would've been grateful," Vernal chuckled, dryly, "If it weren't for me, your… grandchildren… would probably be lost in the forests by now. Scraps for the Beowolves."
Raven folded her arms, "What do you want?"
Vernal sighed and looked at the ground, "You've been gone for a long time. The tribe is wondering where you went."
Raven fell silent and looked to the side.
"Things haven't been going well," Vernal explained, "We need leadership. We need you to come back."
"I was expecting you to rise to the call in my absence," said Raven, "I've taught you everything I know, and I know you're more than capable of leading the tribe."
"Maybe you believe that, but the tribe doesn't share that belief," said Vernal, "They want a Branwen to be in charge. They want you."
Raven sighed deeply and let her arms fall to her sides.
Was this a test? One last round of temptation before she would inevitably have to make her choice?
All those years ago, when she held Yang in her arms and chose to abandon her, she traded one family for another, more twisted one. Since then, she had been working to redeem herself.
In the process of doing that, however, she abandoned the tribe which, despite being twisted, was still like family.
But there was one, astronomically important factor that separated the tribe from her family on Patch.
Yang Xiao Long. Her daughter.
Raven had come to value the connection she shared with Yang, and a part of her regretted leaving her in the first place.
Raven had made her choice.
"I'm sorry, Vernal," Raven shook her head, "But I can't help you. I'm not coming back."
"But, why?" Vernal asked, "What makes this place so special? What do you even do here? You would throw away everything you have just to be with Cinder and a daughter that has hated you her entire life."
"I had the same outlook on my situation at first," said Raven, "But I've found something here. It's strange, and I don't entirely understand it, but it's just… so surreal. I wish I'd discovered it sooner."
"What about us? What are we supposed to do now?" pleaded Vernal as she gestured to herself.
"You will lead the tribe," said Raven as if it were obvious, "Use the knowledge and experiences I gave you. Lead as I did. The smart tribesmen will fall in line."
Vernal's face fell, "I think you overestimate me."
"No," Raven shook her head, "You underestimate yourself."
Vernal's hand tightened into fists, "I guess this will be the last time we meet, then."
Raven frowned and look at the grass, "I think that would be for the best…"
"Well then… Good luck with whatever it is you're trying to do here," said Vernal as she and her tribesmen escort started for the fence gate.
"Vernal," Raven called out; grabbing her attention one last time, "I suggest you move the tribe away from the dust deposit to the East. It'll be for your own good. Trust me."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Vernal smiled weakly and disappeared behind the fence gate.
There Raven stood, the clear night sky of Patch overhead. The quiet had returned, and her choice had been made.
Now only time would tell if it was the right one.
A/N: Welcome back everyone! At this point, Volume 7 has concluded, and the hiatus has begun! I'll be sure to be here to supply you all with your RWBY fix, haha. But probably not next week, because I think I need to take a break. Don't worry, I'll only miss one week if I do decide to take a break. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave a review!