Chapter 2: Sleeping Poppy
Sporting poppy-red hair and clay-red eyes, Professor Poppy Althaea hailed from Vacuo. At Shade Academy, she primarily works as a professor of Remnant Literature, and secondly as a licensed huntress. Out in the field, Poppy is known as the "Sleeping Poppy" huntress respectively for her semblance. Poppy's semblance can put her opponents- human and Grimm alike- to sleep by generating sleep-inducing spores. These spores are activated when Poppy rubs some plant parts together in both her hands. The downside: Poppy and her comrades are also susceptible to these spores unless they're wearing filtration masks.
After receiving correspondences from an official of Haven's council and professional huntsman Qrow Branwen, Poppy Althaea responded with great haste. Professor Poppy was acquainted with Qrow's reputation as a reckless rogue, one of Headmaster Ozpin's confidants, and a respectable huntsman. She was eager to make a formal association with such a huntsman. Rumors also circulated that Qrow Branwen was a catch, so this motivated Poppy to see if she could change her single status.
Putting in transfer papers and finding a replacement to teach Remnant Literature, Poppy took an extensive and somewhat frustrating trip to Haven Academy, Mistral. Several delays and security complications had hindered her arrival and negatively affected her temperament. Upon arrival, she met with Qrow Brawen and the other visiting professors at a small restaurant near Haven's artist markets. There, every professor visiting was about to learn of the events that transpired at Haven. This was a private meeting that took place before Qrow resumed traveling with some of Beacon's excellent students.
"Mr. Brawen, thank you for setting up this meeting. These recent events have been truly troubling. Poor Lionhart, I can't imagine what happened to him in his last moments." Professor Violet opened the meeting with a homage of Haven's late headmaster. "Lionhart was an exceptional huntsman who gave his life to creating the next generation of huntsmen and huntresses. Knowledge and courage were his greatest strengths. Ones that will be carried on by his teachings and students." At Qrow's discretion, he only revealed the recent events to a certain degree. Despite a legacy of betrayal and cowardice, Qrow wanted Lionhart to be remembered as a better character.
"In response to the White Fang's attempted bombing," Qrow stated, "the council sought fit to re-open Haven academy if only for a short period. Mistral is need of huntsmen and huntresses to deal with Grimm and bandit attacks on the neighboring villages and towns. Furthermore, supply runs all over Mistral will need protection. Classes will resume at Mistral's other academy as well. However, some academic courses will be cut short as more technical and combat courses will be prioritized. Haven will be open to returning students and transfer students. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, we reached out to any professors willing to temporarily replace Haven's previous staff."
Poppy injected "I don't object to having students do fieldwork, but isn't it hasty and risky to have inexperienced kids go on missions?" Qrow said with a heavy disposition, "I don't object to your concern. I've talked with the remaining administration and some of Mistral's officials about this. It's why it's been decided that the professors will be joining their students on these missions. I've traveled with my niece and her friends and they've become stronger just by being out there together. Doing their best to help whoever they can. I assure you that these students will become stronger and more confidence with guidance and experience to help them."
The meeting went on for a while. Lionhart's replacement, the timeline of Haven's upcoming semester, bandit and smuggler activity, the involvement of Ghira's White Fang party, and a brief assessment of Mistral state were discussed closely. In closing, Qrow told his peers that he would be traveling to Atlas to meet with General Ironwood alongside his niece and her friend soon. Qrow disclosed nothing else to his visiting colleagues.
Before Qrow left to begin his packing, Poppy invited him out for a drink. Intrigued by the lady's proposal, Qrow accepted though voiced that he needed to hold back. After all, the huntsman had to finish up his packing for the trip to Atlas. In one of Haven's mid-level districts, Poppy discussed various missions with Qrow in the Vanilla Plume bar. Meanwhile, Qrow was slowly enjoying his whiskey with ice as Poppy made several inquiries about his involvement with recent events and his status. "I'm impressed those kids managed to suppress a terrorist attack and secure the relic. While they're not officially licensed huntsmen and huntresses, I can see those kids have gained invaluable experience out on their own. It's great knowing that they've you to rely on for guidance."
"I'm not exactly the huntsman who those kids should be looking up." Qrow took a sip of his whiskey. "Oh, poppycock!" Poppy retorted. "Your reputation precedes you. I'm sure you've inspired them more than you think you do. Besides, it's not easy these days for anyone to travel or do the right thing. As you're aware, Shade academy is the one of the only forms of law and order that Vacuo has to offer its people. Granted a lot of tribes don't usually refer to our protection." Poppy continued discussing some of Vacuo's current events: a trafficking ring has started targeting people with "unusual" semblances and unrest continues to grow worse among the lesser known nomadic tribes. No suspects have been apprehended yet. "Our formal government has taken to employing some mercenaries though that just causes moral to drop. Vacuo relying on mercenaries? That seems unnecessary considering it defies our motto. In Vacuo, they say, 'If you can survive here," Poppy started as Qrow cut in to finish the old saying, "then you are welcome here." Nodding and smiling at her colleague's answer, Poppy simply sipped more on her minty liquor. "Not easy to get my materials for the semester sometimes. I teach literature when I'm not taking on assignments and books tend to be in short supply. Despite the desert environment, the people still manage to survive."
During the entire meeting, Poppy was flirtatiously giving Qrow subtle hints: cutesy winks, fiddling with her opal choker, and tracing her fingers around her drinking glass. "Qrow, do you think I'm attractive?" Poppy blurted out her question without restraint which caused Qrow to take a gulp of his whiskey by mistake. Choking to clear out the burn, Qrow answered, "Woah! I'll be honest with you. You're gorgeous, but you don't need my assurance." Poppy pouted, "That's not what I meant. I find you wonderful company; a handsome devil whom I like to dance on thorns with. Can our relationship be more than just drinking buddies and colleagues? I want to date you," Poppy slurred, "and I don't mind if it's long distance. I've been terribly lonesome and knowing you could stay in my heart would ease my pain." Before Poppy could say anything further in her drunken rant, Qrow cut off her drink and responded firmly. "Poppy, dating isn't my strong suit and one that I can't afford to wear right now. You're educated, charming, and very cultured. A survivor like you should be with someone whose trust you can rely on. We've only just met. Let's get you to your friend's." While some professors chose Haven's on-site dormitories, Poppy was living with her pen-pal, Caramel Machiatto, the owner of the small coffee shop Jewelweed in another part of Haven.
"I don't want to this night end sadly," Poppy sniffled, "I'm… *hic*.. desperate." Taking Qrow by surprise, Poppy tried to pull Qrow by his shirt collar in for a kiss. However, she tripped over herself and fell to the floor which also took Qrow down. "This isn't so bad. You're very comfortable to lay on." Poppy's last words before she knocked out. Qrow was feeling uncomfortable yet sympathetic about his colleague. While Qrow himself was a player, it wasn't the first time that he nor another person thought of romantic commitment. Qrow's semblance had always been a hindrance, so his dating didn't seem to be the right choice. Not with the world in peril; the mission underway was usually Qrow's first priority.
Getting help from the bartender and another patron, Qrow had the bar tab paid for and a ride arranged for Poppy. When Qrow made it back to the hotel, he was greeted by his enthusiastic niece Ruby. "Uncle Qrow! Did you enjoy your hot date?! Are you two going to go steady?!" Qrow was amused, "No. I'll be busy babysitting you all while we go to Atlas. Besides, I don't think romance is within my best interests." After more questions, Qrow began the rest of the night with his priorities: packing and writing his letter to Ironwood. He did leave a small note for Poppy which she read a couple days after Qrow departed:
"Professor Poppy,
Thank you very much for the drink and your company. By the time you're reading this, I'll already be on my way to Atlas with my nieces and their friends. I'm not the right huntsman who can affectionately return your feelings, but I have a feeling you're going to find someone luckier and more capable of meeting your romantic expectations than I ever could. Should I ever come to Vacuo, I'll visit you for and pay for your drinks the next time.
I wish you the best of luck. I'm confident and comforted that Haven's students will have excellent instructors like yourself to help them succeed.
Qrow Branwen
P.s. I don't know if you recall that night, but I complimented you on your robin-schemed cocktail dress. It was smoking."
Staring at the letter made Poppy feel both great and a little defeated. While she didn't have her romantic intentions reciprocated, she felt a renewed sense of heroism which she hoped to pass along to her new students. It wouldn't be long until she was given her first collaborative assignment.
"Hey Macchi, can I get a shot of your espresso? It's going to be an interesting semester; I'll need the first day to be fully charged." Pulling out a dossier of several transfer teams, Poppy glanced over them on the kitchen table. "Let's see who will be working with me on this supply run mission. The location will only be a day and a half journey. Smugglers, huh?"
There were so many issues that came up when I was writing this chapter: writer's block bc I can't write dialogue well, laptop crashes, and doubts about what I really wanted to do with this "character" chapter. I'll try to be more descriptive since I haven't described ORJC in appearances. I'll be putting some of my ocs from my own project in here which I should fun. I do eventually want to draw my RWBY ocs here. Doing my best to keep things relatively canon and play around. It is fanfiction after all.
Apologies for the mess-up. Figuring how to update is now a challenge I've overcome X,D
I hope you'll stick around for more chapters. I'll try to update monthly or tri-weekly. My job can be stressful sometimes.