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The Queen was back!

Running around as if they were headless chickens the bandits of the Branwen clan had no idea what to do. For one thing the camp was filthy, someone had left bones in one corner as if no one would ever find them- they had; the entire place needed to be sanitized from top to bottom. To make things worse the tents were more patched together than actual fabric. Someone had allowed moths to eat through the leaders pavilion leaving various holes all over the thing while another person had accidentally misplaced Raven's favorite tea leaves. They weren't ready for their Queen's return, not in the slightest. It hadn't helped that they just stared when they saw the blonde child standing beside their Queen.

They had a Princess now!

Now they were trying to clean the camp despite the fact they kept glancing over at their Queen and Princess. The darkened glare in Raven's red eyes was terrifying but she was home where she belonged so none of them could actually complain. Having a tiny blonde following her around wasn't something they expected but it was almost like a miracle. Collectively they'd never believed she'd ever be in a relationship much less have a child, not that any of them were stupid enough to mention that to the woman. Well, at least not right now when she had that look on her face.

At least now that she had returned they could let her deal with the brat they'd caught sneaking around the camp last night. There was also the fact, now she could fight off the bigger grimm giving them a chance to raid more villages. Everything was going to be great now that she'd returned, there was no way that anyone'd be able to stop them. The boost in morale was enough to make cleaning the camp easier than it should've been they were even skipping.

Groaning internally Raven resisted the urge to hide her face instead she settled on an annoyed glare. How could they allow the camp to become such a junkyard, did they forget that she'd be returning? At this point she was considering scrapping this area and simply moving the entire camp somewhere else, but she couldn't until Qrow arrived. Given that he'd be here in an hour that wasn't much of an issue. There were a number of abandoned villages along the way to Mistral that they could take over as a base. Yang wasn't used to living in a tent nor did she want her to.

Glancing at her daughter when the girl tugged on her sleeve she softened at the cute pout on the girl's face. Following the girl's gaze to the cages in the back of the camp she stiffened at the pained magenta eyes that met her own. What was a child doing in her camp? Moreover what was a child doing in the cage where they kept prisoners? Tapping her daughter's hand as a silent order she knew that if not for her men moving the tents she never would've noticed the boy. Standing she ignored the fact every single one of her bandits froze in favor of stalking to the cage.

He was small, yet his eyes were glaring at her with enough force to set the world on fire. With dirty torn clothing he looked more like a street urchin than anything else however she could see the thin layer of muscle on his arms and legs. The boy was stubborn too if the glare was anything to go by although he might just be ticked that he'd been put in a cage. His features screamed he was from Anima most likely from one of the villages that had been attacked by grimm. Catching sight of the concealed dagger on his thigh she almost smirked; her men hadn't checked this child for weapons had they? Apparently they'd forgotten that a helpless appearance didn't actually mean they're prey was helpless.

"Who are you?"

Ignoring the way her men rushed to explain the child's presence, she tilted her head waiting for the boy himself to answer. The heat of Yang's gaze on her back was almost burning into her skin, but she didn't show her emotions. Instead she raised an eyebrow at the child waiting for him to speak. Watching his eyes flicker between her and the bandits trying to gain her attention he straightened with determined eyes.

"Lie Ren, I tried to steal from your camp," he stated. There was no hesitation in his voice although he did glance at the woods outside the camp when he believed she wasn't paying attention.

"Why, from what I can tell your not starving?"

Hesitation was written all over the boy's face as he considered how to answer her. For a moment he stared at her with both annoyance and distress then he slumped. The defeat in his eyes caused something to twist in her stomach but she ignored it; she was getting good at ignoring her emotions.

"Medicine… my friend is sick."

(Cinder)

She was bleeding again. The dark liquid dripping down her arm as if to remind her that she was human. If not for the difference between her white clothing and the dark red she wouldn't have noticed that she was even hurt. Pressing her hand against the wound she used her semblance to sear the injury closed. It might scar but she didn't care, there wasn't enough time for her to care when she was being hunted like a dog. One act of mercy had doomed her but she still couldn't make herself regret letting him live.

He'd trained her, treated her like his daughter, then turned his back on her when she needed him the most. Maybe killing him would've been justified however she hadn't been able to make herself take his life. In truth, he was the closest thing she'd had to a father. Funny considering he was the one leading the team to hunt her down and throw her in prison for defending herself. In his mind it would've been better for her to just die instead of surviving. Curling up against the alley wall, she frowned. If she'd killed him, she'd be safe right now. No one would know that she'd done anything wrong.

There was part of her that wanted someone to come and save her, but she wasn't some fairy tale princess waiting on a prince. According to him just by saving herself she'd became a murderer. No one was going to save her which meant she'd have to keep running. Even if she had to become drenched in blood she would not give up on living. There was no other option. Using the wall to stand, she stumbled down the alleyway with defiant steps. She wasn't going to die here.

Hi guys, I officially started college classes again although this time I'm only taking Economics. Anyway hope you enjoyed the chapter, I wasn't too sure about adding Cinder's part considering that she won't be joining the group for a while but in the end, I decided to.

Spellflame: I thought about adding Penny but I don't think Ironwood would allow her to leave Atlas.

Timrocks99: I agree that Adam won't be a good guy but I think he would help to balance the group since he'd be less reckless than Nora and Yang. There is also the fact that Qrow won't have anything to do with his recruitment.

merendinoemiliano: Qrow and the others will definitely meet Jaune and the Arc family before Jaune goes to Beacon. Both groups - the entire tribe really- are going to have this sort of grey morality so I wouldn't really count Cinder as a good guy just because she's not joining Salem.

cyberas: Sorry you don't like the story but I knew when I started writing it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. Why is Raven still here, simple she stayed for Summer, Yang, Ruby, and Qrow, not Tai. When Summer died she stayed for Ruby and Qrow and Yang. At this point in time less than two months have passed since Summer's death so Raven is a little more tactful than to simply abandon them on the day of the funeral. She was also in mourning and in no state to lead the tribe so soon after the death of someone she loved. Why is Tai a piece of shit? He's not, he's disconnected from the world simply because he lost someone he loved. Canon even stated that he shut down after Summer's death so I'm not doing anything new with his character. Yes he'll snap out of it eventually and have a character arc of his own. I'm not torturing his character just for fun well not completely. Please don't mistake me for trying to make Qrow and Raven good people in this when they're only 'good' to their family.

So anyway guys I hope that answered any questions you had. Coming up next is the tribe relocation and Qrow's mission which I think some of you have figured out by now. If you leave a review with the right guess you'll earn a million imaginary cookies. Also I'm looking for a beta reader for this story.

Stay safe and have a good day

- Shyla