18 years ago

Raven!... Raven… The voice echoed in Raven's head, familiar, comforting yet distant very distant. The voice made her think of a cliffside and better days, and now just as then it was calling to her

Raven, I'm Raven

Raven felt sick, sicker than she'd ever felt in her entire life. Her head was spinning, and pulling the comforter over her head was not helping as much as she wished it was. Comforter? Bed? A cold chill ran up Raven's spine, she froze. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was fighting the Alpha Nevermore… no that's not it, there were bits and pieces of more than just the fight. She shifted in the bed and felt her skin peel away from the sheets. The feeling was disgusting and as she flung the sheet off of her and exposed her skin to the light of the morning sun she saw that a black, tar-like substance was all over her skin in patches.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to freak out, but this was neither the time nor the place to do either of those things, she still wasn't sure what time or what place this was anyway. The place was a simple base camp she'd made a month back it's interior covered with tarps and comfortable enough rugs, she was on a simple cot and her sword Yureru was leaning against her bedpost like it normally did. But how did she get back here?

Think Raven! She tried to run her fingers through her hair and felt it crack at her touch. Well, that's just great.

She.. she remembered a fall, her aura breaking and her hitting her head. She reached the back of her head and her fingers met bandages. Huh, I patched myself up then. She'd hit her head most likely gotten a concussion, but she was still alive, which means she'd won the battle.

I must have, right? The echoes of her concussion were making her mind fuzzy. A headache stabbed into her skull and she saw visions.

Falling

The fight

The bite

The heart

A portal

The Forge!

Senses! It took some effort but Raven was able to focus her Aura to her senses to gain some clarity of the situation, she saw that a few things had been moved about her base camp and somethings had even been cleaned. Odd. She could smell the stench of the burning forge and the putrescent smell of her own sweat and a subtle floral smell beneath that. So I did it! I made the mask, where is it then?

Finally, she focused on her hearing and then it hit her, a small humming with almost mumbled singing. No…

"hmmm hmmm mmmm, there's a light and it shines mmmhmmm" the familiar voice wafted into Raven's unprepared ears and her blood ran cold, she turned her head towards the source of the sound the small kitchen in the camp.

I need to get out of here now.

She started to stand but as she made to leave her legs gave out from underneath her and she hit the floor in a heap. She twitched on the ground for a second or two trying to rise, to move to somehow beat her exhaustion to death with will alone. It was all for nothing, and she just laid there exhausted and shivering, she turned her head back towards the kitchen and saw 2 bare-feet.

The feet were pale and dainty and appeared to have swollen slightly. Raven couldn't be certain; she didn't really pay much attention to peoples' feet often. But she was certain she knew who's feet these belonged to.

"Having fun down there?" The woman said, as Raven craned her head up to look her former leader in the eye and instead got an eyeful of pregnant belly.

Summer Rose. Raven ceased her straining, settling in on the floor. At least it's nice and cool down here.

The feet got closer and quickly enough she felt a finger tugging on the neck lining of her shirt pulling her up, grabbing a fistful of shirt and with aura enhanced strength plopping her back down on the bed. Raven looked at Summer with defiance and got a whole view of her.

Her face was just the same as it had been since the last time Raven had seen it, her silver eyes almost sparkling in their brightness and a smile to match, her red-tipped black hair framed her face nicely. The only difference was the dark bags underneath her eyes and the rose-cheeked glow on her face. Summer was also, very pregnant like about 6 months along. As she walked around the room her gate only had a slight waddle.

"Summer" Raven managed to croak out. Summer set down a tray of food on Raven's lap, the smell coming off the food was to die for, hell even Raven's mouth was watering.

"Raven" she replied her voice still containing the leftover joy from her humming.

"You're here" Summer nodded. "You're pregnant and you're here!"

"I am both those things yes," Summer said pulling out a damp cloth and scrubbing off the black Grimm-tar on Raven's skin. "Stop squirming please"

"Why are you here?!" Raven demanded both impressed and furious that Summer had found one of her hideouts. Summer stopped in her cleaning and gave Raven an annoyed look.

"What was I supposed to do Raven? When you ripped open a portal to me and screamed?" Raven was taken aback. Is that what I did? Is that the portal from my dreams? Raven's pondering was interrupted by her leader flicking her in the forehead. "What were you thinking? fighting an Alpha Nevermore alone!?"

"I had something to do" Raven muttered slight shame in her voice.

"Yeah it was freaky to watch" she replied making a fake gagging sound. She patted her stomach. "despite that I was still hungry when I saw you do it. Stupid pregnancy hormones."

Raven let out a small chuckle at the ridiculousness of that statement. She started to run her fingers through her hair only to get stuck in the black tar weaved into it. Dust damn it all.

"Does anyone know?" Raven asked her fear spiking at the very idea. Summer simply continued washing.

"Nope"

"Tai?" Raven asked her lower lip started to shake at the thought of her ex-husband. "Does Tai know?"

"Nope" Summer replied with a rather dry tone of voice. She reddened as she spoke though clearly feeling slight shame for her action.

"…Ozpin?" Summer laughed at that, startling Raven. Summer turned towards her former teammate and gave Raven her usual warm comforting smile. "Oh, good then. How did yo-"

"I sent Tai a message telling him Ozpin needed to check up on the pregnancy" Summer's hands ran over her round swelling belly. "I called in a favor Ozpin owes me and he agreed to cover for me"

Summer sat down on the end of the bed and let out an exhausted sigh patting her huge stomach, Raven could remember that and how anxious she felt while Yang was trapped inside her. Tai's baby… he has another child another wife.

Tears started to run down Raven's eyes at the thought of her little girl and her former husband, some part of her resented Summer for marrying Tai but another part of her couldn't blame her friend. Taiyang was just too damn charming.

And good

"You're pregnant" Raven spoke brushing her tears away and hoping Summer hadn't seen them. Summer knew Raven well enough to pretend she hadn't. "When did that happen?"

Summer laid herself down on her back on the bed and tapped on her huge belly that seemed to Rumble back.

"a few months back, Tai was upset about a particularly dangerous mission I'd come back from, we argued a bit back and forth 'my safety' this and 'the safety of the world' that" Summer chuckled thinking back on it, envy started to itch at Raven seeing Summer enjoying what she'd been forced to give up. "The usual fight really…"

Summer paused for a moment and Raven's envy dissipated intrigued by Her leader's concerned face. "...Then we heard Yang crying, she'd fallen out of bed, Tai and I went to her and made sure that she was alright. Just a sprained wrist nothing that couldn't be fixed." Summer's smile turned warm. "I held her in my arms, Tai held me in his and we rocked her. Then…"

Summer stopped, rose and looked at Raven she could see the tears in her friend's eyes. Raven balled the sheets into her fists and was visibly shaking thinking of Yang and Tai and them connecting with another mother and wife.

"I'm sorry Rai, I shouldn't have said that. Hormones keep me blabby" Raven nodded but said nothing. "I'll stop"

"Don't!" Raven cut, some part of her wanted the story's end, she kind of knew what was coming but she needed the reality of it. "What happened?"

Summer didn't flinch merely looked at her former teammate with concern before pressing forward.

"Then Yang called me 'Momma'" and like that, a knife had been thrown into Raven's heart. She's already forgotten me. Good! "I wanted to be her Momma but I also wanted a sister for Yang and a blood child of my own. So…"

Summer tapped her stomach, Raven let the tears fall. She wiped them away with aura looking away from her leader and the joyful life she'd managed to carve out.

"Yang deserves a mom" she muttered. Summer's hand came to rest on her elbow.

"Luckily she's got two then," Summer said her shining ray of optimism trying to cut through Raven's personal darkness. "Won't the other children be jealous"

"I'm not worthy of being her-" before she could finish the sentence Summer Rose sped forward and smashed Raven in the face with a brutal headbutt, Raven jerked back and smacked the back of her head against the banister of the bed. "Ow!"

Raven's anger flared but as she glared up at her former team leader it died down to a little fear as Summer stood over her and slapped her head back and forth.

"DON'T. YOU. SAY. THAT. BUNK!" She shouted with each smack.

Raven raised her arms to guard her head against Summer's assault.

"Hey! Back off Summer, I'm a –" she began before getting interrupted again.

"A KILLER YES RAVEN I KNOW YOU" Summer paused mid-swing and her hands came to rest on her belly, she let out an exhausted push of air before stumbling to a chair and sitting herself down in it. "Woo, that kick came outta nowhere" her hand swirled around her stomach. "guess she doesn't like inner-family fighting any more than I do."

Raven lifted the tray off her legs and let out an exhausted sigh rubbing the sides of her head where Summer had taught her a lesson. The back of her head stung like no one's business too. She hung her legs off the side of the bed pointing towards her leader… former leader.

She hasn't been my leader for years. I haven't been on that team for years. I need to think about this properly.

"What are you gonna name her?" Raven flicked her chin towards Summer's swollen stomach. "When she's born I mean."

"How do you know it's a she?" Summer asked suspiciously.

"You said Yang was getting a sister" Raven grabbing a wet towel on her nightstand and padding it on her head. "and I just have a feeling."

Raven rubbed the back of her head feeling the sticky tar catch her fingers, she snarled at it in frustration.

"What the dust is this?" she spat, Summer pulled out the damp towel and began dabbing at Raven's hair.

"No clue, I'm sure Ozpin would have an idea…" Raven shot Summer a glare, Summer just smirked back knowingly. "… but I wouldn't want to mess up his busy schedule. You started sweating that stuff right after you… finished."

Raven's heart started to drum and she felt a keen absence of something, she couldn't tell what.

"Where is it?" the last word came out strange and warped. Summer's arms wrapped around her stomach, instinctively protecting her baby. Guilt pierced Raven.

"I'm sorry Summer," She said reaching out to her friend, trying not to make any sudden or threatening movements. "I don't know what that was"

Summer's grip over her stomach relaxed, but the guilt caused by that look of fear still ate at Raven, plus she would rather avoid having Summer kick her ass here.

"It's alright Rai," Summer Reached down beneath the bed and retrieved an object slightly larger than Raven's head. The object was bone white with red markings covering its surface, it had peculiar eye-holes and looked similar to the Nevermore Alpha's mask.

But its mine. Raven instinctively knew, reaching tentatively outwards, her finger brushing against the metal of the mask feeling it seem to vibrate under her touch. She plucked it from Summer's grasp, at her former team leader seemed glad to be rid of it. Raven held it in her lap just starring into its eyes thinking she saw something look back at her through the mask. I love it.

"Rai you're freaking me out" Summer's words reached Raven and she shook her head, clearing the strange feeling out of her mind. "it's just that you were staring really intensely at that mask"

Flashes of the forge and the black bile pouring out of her appeared in Raven's mind, she could see it now, feel it now, Raven knew what the Grimm saw, why they did what they did. It was power and strength and she had managed to cram it into metal that she ruled over.

"It's mine Summer." Raven murmured running her fingers hissing across the mask's surface, before lifting it up and setting it atop her head. The feeling was instantaneous the old pain and regrets faded away and clarity fell upon her; she'd been right to banish her subservience to Ozpin, she'd done what she could to protect her mate and offspring, she'd done right.

For an instant, the hurt left. Until she turned to the woman sitting on her bed, Summer at first looked cautious before smiling that old smile at her friend and waving to her. Raven could feel the mask building up a wall of hate, hate at summer for stealing her family, for remaining loyal to Ozpin for a thousand little annoyances over the years, for her damned naivete. But that kind smile smashed down that wall like it was made of Styrofoam. So Raven just sat there in silence.

"It looks good on you Rai" Summer said letting her hand fall, before reaching over and snatching an uneaten Waffle from Raven's tray. "Very intimidating, Qrow's gonna flip"

Raven removed the helmet tentatively, locked eyes with her leader then shot forward. Summer started to flinch back as Raven pulled her into an embrace. Tears were rolling down Raven's face as she held Summer close, she was shaking with the sobs. She'd given up so much in her life, she'd thrown herself into the world alone all so she wouldn't be someone else's tool in a fruitless war.

"I wish I'd never left" She cried holding Summer close, in a tightening grip. Part of her was sure that Summer wasn't even real or even there. "I wish I was with Tai right now, with Yang my sunny little dragon… and with you"

Raven could feel Summer tense under her embrace, could almost hear her heart pounding in her chest at those words and now she could sense the excitement within Summer, sense that hope. No no no I can't lead her on, I can't go back… I can't do this to her.

Raven started to pull away from Summer, to look her in the eye and give her the bad news properly, eye to eye, but as she pulled away something she hadn't expected occurred. Summer's hands shot out, cupped the sides of Raven's face and planted a kiss on her lips. Summer's lips were soft and warm and tasted like rose's smell, it was intoxicating, and it left Raven on the completely wrong foot.

That was nice. Raven thought as her brain flat-lined. Nice and… wrong.

"One second" Raven croaked out.

Raven started to skootch backward on the bed, till her back was pressed against the wall and her butt was slightly raised off the bed. Summer grinned, giggled then paused. The pause froze Summer and Raven and then Summer's hand slapped over her mouth and a green shock overtook her. With a rather quick waddle, she ran into the kitchen and a second later the sound of retching reached Raven's ear. That got a giggle out of Raven, not the creepy angry giggle she'd done before in many attempts to intimidate foes, no this was the honestly confused giggle.

"heheheheh, I didn't think it was that bad heheheh." Raven shouted back, hoping some Grimm would burst out of the ground and consume her.

"Blarg! You haven't brushed in a while. Heheheh- Blarg!" Summer responded between the puking. "Ne-need to wash that Grimm heart out of your teeth. Hnnggh."

"Well, I'm not going to be kissing you anytime sooooonnnn heheheh." The laughs continued as Raven's impatience with the Grimm, that was certainly supposed to be eating her right now, increased. "too much morning sickness on your breath. Hahaha, YOU KISSED ME!"

Raven's control was leaving her, she screamed that last bit there, she wasn't supposed to say it like that. This fucking heart was supposed to be helping me with this sort of thing.

"Yeah…" Summer muttered the laughs dying down. "… pregnancy hormones."

Summer stumbled back into the room, a sour look on her face, the green in her cheeks. Her hand rested on her swollen belly and she avoided Raven's eyes.

"That's not it," Raven said, Summer, shot her a look finally meeting her eyes. "that's not… only it. Is it?"

Summer stumbled into the room, on shaking legs before resting herself down on a nearby chair, not on Raven's bed. Her head fell into her hands and her fingers ran through her hair. She went through a set of breathing practices and Raven caught a glimpse of grey flame spurting out of Summer's eyes. Fear spiked into Raven and she pressed further against the wall, hoping to get away from her best friend.

"it's not," Summer said, closing her eyes letting the flame die down. Raven had only seen that flame once or twice before in the thick of battle against the grimm, now it frightened her and she couldn't say why. "Do you remember your and Tai's wedding? Remember that day?"

"…some days I try to forget it Summer" Raven admitted, letting herself down from the wall, resting against the bed once again. "but I can't and it was good, just hurts to remember."

"it… it used to hurt me too." Summer said her voice a bit quiet. "I know that's selfish, I know its so damn selfish, but I was jealous, Rai, not just of you but of Tai."

"You did take a lot of missions after the wedding." Raven's mind started to connect dots. "you never said anything."

"I knew what I wanted was wrong, just needed some time to think." Summer started to twiddle her fingers together. "I was just happy that you both were happy, I didn't need to be with you that way to be happy, I was glad to be your friend confidant and leader. I was just glad to have you both in my life."

"Summer?" Raven asked through gritted teeth, as a Grimm idea wormed its way into her skull.

"Yes?"

"After I left" Raven her breath coming in stuttering and hissing. "When I left you were so helpful and so accommodating… willing to step right in and help Tai out of his pit"

Raven took into another breath, her fingers digging into the bedsheets.

"You weren't doing that just to get to Tai were you?" Raven's eyes slid over the Summer sat in her chair, giving Raven a dumbfounded look. "You weren't doing it so I'd be oh so GRATEFUL as you took my DAUGHTER AND HUSBAND FROM ME! Were you?"

The beast was in Raven now and her blood was pumping. That has to be it, that's why she did it! Raven's own voice whispered into her head as she started to rise from her bed. She did it to take Tai and Yang from you and leave you so fucking grateful to her… she must've planned this out years in advance, that-

Raven's inner monologue was cut short by Summer's fist plopping down on the crown of Raven's head. Raven turned snarling when Summer hit her upside the back of the head.

JEEZ! Right in the bruised part. Raven raised her hands protecting her head from further assaults from the pregnant woman.

"Raven quit it with the paranoia" Summer said, simply looking down at her like she was a particularly difficult child. She sat down on the bed again. "Remember I was the one trying to convince you to stay, numbskull!"

"…yeah…" Raven had to admit, Summer's brain-dusting had cleared her head a bit. "Yeah, I guess you did."

"With Tai… I was being a little selfish" Summer brought her legs onto the bed and folded them under her swollen belly. Raven watched her friend trace her fingers along her swollen belly in mild fascination, and for the first time, Raven truly looked at her friend. "I… loved Tai for the longest time… I loved you too. I didn't want to do that to you Raven but…"

"But he was Tai," Raven said understanding, the man was too damn charming, so quick to love and passion and he was a good man at the day's end.

And Summer is a good woman too. Raven's eyes traced Summer's face, looked at the smile lines, the softness of her features and how a smile always just looked natural on her, her red-tipped hair framed a pleasant face that had the cutest button nose in the center of it. How come I never saw this before?

"You never said anything… about liking me" Raven said, her eyes still studying her leader. "You talked about almost everything else."

"You were with Tai by the time I realized" Summer admitted finally noticing Raven studying her, she grinned at that. "and I didn't know if you felt the same, so" she shrugged her shoulders. "I didn't want to ruin it, besides I was still the best friend you ever had."

"You were that" Raven chuckled, Raven didn't exactly know why she did what she did next, but she reached her hand out and set it against her best friend's swollen stomach. Summer shivered for a second before relaxing under Raven's palm, the belly was full and felt surprisingly round underneath the cloth of Summer's clothes. When Raven felt a kick she jerked her hand away, almost on instinct. Summer laughed before taking her friend's hand and placing it back on her belly.

"It's ok" she whispered, as she gently held Raven's hand to her belly. Her other hand reached up and brushed a loose strand of Raven's hair behind her ear. Raven laughed at how cliché such an action was but on Summer it seemed so natural. "I shouldn't have said anything. The pregnancy has my brain going crazy these days."

Raven leaned into the hand against her cheek, breathed against it, before shuffling forward on the bed towards Summer's face. Summer's hand dropped from Raven's cheek and a part of her looked frightened by Raven's approach. But Raven moved with confidence, unhalted by Summer's trepidation. When she was close she could smell it; the scent of a Rose on a summer's day.

Then Raven kissed Summer, it wasn't a deep kiss it was a gentle one and for all her confidence and posturing Raven felt nervous as she did it, she shook until Summer pressed back and cupped her cheek with her hands. Summer still tasted like roses. Raven only broke away when she felt another kick under her palm.

That felt nice… just nice this time. Dust Raven felt like a young woman again worried that they'd somehow kissed wrong. Those doubts vanished when she looked back up at Summer, who was beaming.

"Not going to puke this time?" Raven asked sardonically.

"You still need a brush but no, that was really nice" she pulled Raven into a headlock-esque hug, shaking her back and forth. "Oh, Raven I've missed you SO MUCH. You have to come back now, you, Me and Tai. Please, Raven!"

Raven broke from the hug and took her hand off her friend's pregnant stomach. Summer's smile faltered. Raven shook her head as her recent flashes with the Grimm visions struck her.

"I can't Summer. I still can't" she said, Summer deflated a bit at those words. "Not even for Tai"

"Well come back for me AND Tai this time, that's twice the reason to come home," She said hoping it would be enough, but Raven could sense she knew otherwise. "You, me, Tai, Yang and…" she rubbed her hand over her pregnancy once more. "… and whoever this is going to be, we can be a family… please, Raven."

"maybe…" Raven muttered, Summer once more beamed like the sun. Raven reached back and retrieved the Grimm-mask. "I just need to figure this out first, I need to think about a few things… then… maybe."

Summer stood up almost bouncing on her feet as she did.

"That's all I need to hear Raven," she said as if Raven was already on the way back to Patch.

"I still might not, you know?"

Summer nodded in understanding. "I know. But you will. I am a great kisser, after all, our husband said so"

"so you are" Raven answered grabbing Yureru from the side of her bed and unsheathing the sword. "Give him my love"

"Rai I'm already pregnant" They both laughed and with a quick swing Raven opened a portal to patch with her semblance, part of her wanted to walk through with Summer.

"Ruby…" Raven said looking at the reds of her portal, Summer gave her a confused look. "You should call the kid Ruby. Ruby Rose would be a great name for a sister to my Yang"

"She will" Summer stood on her tippy-toes to plant a chaste kiss on Raven's cheek. She waved to her as she walked to the portal. "don't be afraid to call me if you ever need help again"

Raven waved back as her friend stepped into the portal and back to a life Raven had left behind.

"You neither Summer"

That Day

No… Raven could feel it, that sense that had come with her semblance, that feeling of dread making the hair on the back of her head stand on end. Someone she'd formed a bond with was right on the verge of death. Summer!

She'd been in one of her safe houses when the feeling struck her and in an instant, she was in a mad scramble for Yureru. This wasn't the first time she'd felt something like this and worried that she wouldn't be able to make it in time, She'd felt it with Her parents back when they'd stuck with the tribe and she'd both been too small to do anything about it. All Raven could do was sit and know they were going to die, All Qrow could do was sit there and blame himself for it. The 2nd time it happened had been with her first friend, a girl from another allied tribe when she'd felt it then she tried to do something… All she got for it was a front-row seat to that death.

The worst part was, if she activated her semblance now she could still go back to them, to the bones her parents left and to what little remained of her first friend. She could see the results of her weakness any time she wanted. She would not be weak now.

Not now not with her. She grabbed Yureru in her hand, ripped a portal out of the thin air with a furious slash and was through it in an instant. She was ready to help her former leader, to keep her safe and to put into the dirt anyone who'd been willing to hurt the woman who'd raised her daughter.

Stepping through the portal Raven was at first blindsided by them floating in the air, little black motes, thousands of them, hundreds of thousands, they blotted out the sun with their numbers there were so many. She pulled down her Grimm mask and focused on her senses within it. She could sense that she was surrounded by kin, though they were hollow and inert.

Grimm smoke then, I've never seen it this thick. Raven thought to herself when a morsel of emotion struck her. Dread, Fear, Loneliness.

She chambered a wind-dust blade into Yureru and gave it a swing pulsing her aura through the blade. The Grimm motes flew away scattered in the wind and all that remained was a woman lying on her side in the dirt, her back to Raven, and her white cloak staining red. Summer.

The fear and Loneliness was still there, still present as this woman inched closer to death. Raven tore off the mask, dreading the feelings it might bring her as her best-friend lay dying in the mud. Slowly she walked around to face Summer, she could already see that she'd been too late, Summer had lost a lot of blood, the gashing wounds were horrid to look at and Raven was no healer.

Summer wasn't moving as Raven's shadow fell over her face, Raven wasn't even sure Summer could see any more, could hear anymore. Raven wasn't even certain Summer was still alive.

"…Summer…" she asked unsure of what she was hoping for. Summer, to Raven's surprise, blinked, and her eyes moved up towards her.

"Hey, Rai" Summer said, before a wracking cough struck her, Raven knelt down next to her friend resting a hand on her shoulder. Summer smiled at her glad for the feeling of contact. "I'm glad you're here, I'm glad you came."

"You did the same for me" Raven reminded her, her mind racing desperately for some way to help her friend, to fix her to just make sure she'd live. "With the Nevermore, I needed to pay you back"

"of course," Summer whispered her voice going quiet. Her eyes started to close.

"Summer, please stay with me ok!" there was a desperation in Raven's voice as she struggled to find a solution, to fix this somehow and some way. Her racing thoughts were calmed by Summer's hand holding Raven's cheek. Her eyes were open again.

"Please just stay with me Raven, I don't want to be alone" Raven leaned into the hand cupping her cheek and tried to stop the tears pouring from her eyes. "You know… I used to sing Yang a song every night… before bed… I heard her… I heard her singing it to Ruby… the other day…"

"Gold I've heard you sing it Summer… it's a lovely song" Raven said praying to gods she hated that they'd let Summer sing it to Yang once again.

"Can you sing it for me, Raven?" Summer asked turning over and looking up at the woman who'd abandoned her friends and family. Raven just stared at her, unsure if she'd heard her right, part of her wanted to rebuff her friend but all the other parts stamped that down. "I'd just like to hear you sing it once."

"Okay Summer, okay," Raven said taking Summer's hand in hers. She took a deep breath before she began, singing had never been her strong suit but she gave it a good try.

"Dream of anything, I'll make it all come true…" Raven began her tone wobbly at first, fighting through the tears, but soon it straightened out and she found her vocal footing. When she'd spied upon Yang every now and then she'd catch a rendition of this song by Summer and then wait by Yang's window watching over her little sunny flower. At that melancholic memory, Raven began to falter when Summer started to hum along keeping Raven on beat.

It was a strange sight, a woman who looked like a Grimm herself holding the hand of a dying woman, singing to her as she hummed along. But the song felt good, and the humming faded in and out as Raven held her.

"…With a touch of my hand, I'll turn your life to gold." Raven finished the song, turning down to look Summer in her silver eyes, but the eyes couldn't see her. "Summer?"

The hand in Raven's grasp was limp, and growing cold, the humming had stopped but the soft, kind, warm smile was still there.

"Summer!?" Raven asked, hoping for it to be any other way than it was. Slowly she let go of Summer's hand and it fell limply to the ground next to her lifeless body. Raven just sat there on her knees in the reddening mud. She just knelt there for what seemed like hours before reaching down and picking up Summer holding her tightly, resting her chin on her dead friend's shoulder.

And then Raven cried. She wept like a child and begged any creature, thing, god, monster, demon to switch their places. She cried to the brothers, to Salem, to Ozpin.

"TAKE ME NOT HER!" She screamed into the world hoping her body would go cold and Summer's would grow warm. "I DESERVE THIS, SHE DOESN'T! TAKE ME!"

But no one answered her. Summer was dead and Raven was still here. Raven put on the mask and hoped it would all go away but it didn't even dull the pain. So Raven did the only thing she could, she set down Summer, shut her eyes and waited for Qrow to arrive.

It was a long wait. And Raven could feel every second.

Author's notes

This one has been sitting in my head for a while. I hope you all enjoyed it.