Legal Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Red vs. Blue, or any of the shows' characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.
Chapter Eleven:
"Oh, look at that!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly as she pointed around Weiss' shoulder at the intricate ice sculpture on display in the middle of the ballroom. Qrow stood by Oscar nearby his niece and her friends, the intricate setting clearly not his style. It reminded him of Atlas: stuffy and full of protocol, trapped in fancy furnishing while the rest of Remnant suffered. Their group definitely stood out in this crowd.
The white-haired girl rolled her eyes at her silver-eyed friend's enthusiasm, having to step to the side ever-so-slightly to avoid the brunette's finger hitting her in the face, "Do you mind, Ruby?" She asked with a huff, her cheeks heating up slightly in embarrassment, "You're causing a scene."
"Oh, sorry, Weiss!" The younger girl laughed, rubbing the back of her head, "I've just never seen such a big ice sculpture before. Or ever, really!"
"I could tell." Came Weiss' deadpan response, the white-haired Atlesian clearly unamused by Ruby's antics.
"You have to admit," Ilia stated as she stood next to Weiss and stared up at the large, ornate swan-in-flight piece, "It is pretty impressive."
"True." Weiss replied, smiling over at the freckled Faunus as if they were having a private conversation.
From where he was standing not too far away with Kai, Simmons, Yang, and Blake, Dexter Grif merely shrugged his shoulders, "Eh, when you think about it, it's really just ice." The chubby orange-wearing Faunus stated, completely unimpressed, "We see that all the time here. Atlas is a freaking ice cube."
"Grif!" Simmons admonished with a slap to the other young man's arm, almost causing the heavyset young man to drop his stacked plate of food.
"Tell me I'm wrong, Simmons." Grif said, his dark eyes pointedly challenging the maroon-wearing redhead.
Ruby was still gazing up at the suspended piece in wonder, her silver eyes large and wide. Next to her, Penny watched with a happy smile on her face before she waved in front of the young woman's eyes and stepping just a bit closer, "Ruby! Would you like to get a closer look?" She asked, genuinely enthused at the prospect of helping Qrow's youngest niece.
"Can we?" Ruby asked, her face lightning up in excitement at the prospect. Before she could react further, the red-haired girl had grabbed her hand and was dragging her forward towards the display. Qrow shook his head at the sight, clearly amused by the antics of the young Huntsmen and Huntresses.
"Oh, no!" Weiss muttered not a moment later, placing her head in her hand, "She's climbing up Penny's shoulders!"
"Ah, no fair! That looks like fun!" Kai exclaimed from next to her brother and Simmons, stomping over to the giggling pair herself to join in what was clearly about to be a chaotic undertaking.
Ilia smiled softly over at Weiss, "Should we go and stop them?" She asked, although she appeared more amused by the group's antics than horrified like the middle Schnee sibling was.
The other girl let out a defeated sigh, "We might as well try." Weiss replied, though her tone implied she had more or less resigned themselves to their "babysitting" fate.
As they sped off after the now loudly laughing trio, Blake turned to where Yang was standing with a questioning look in her golden eyes, "Should we go help them or...?" She prompted before trailing off, clearly not sure how to finish her thought.
Yang grinned and waved the notion off, "Nah, let them have some fun! Besides, Weiss has got it." She waggled an eyebrow and rocked her body to and fro as if hearing music with a faster beat than the classical stuff that was currently playing through the ballroom, "I want to hit the dance floor!" The blonde bumped into Blake on purpose, causing the feline Faunus to giggle and try to copy his oldest niece's terrible dance moves. They were both moving to the center of the area while holding hands before anyone else even processed it.
Nora gasped and cooed at the sight of Yang and Blake dancing from nearby the food table, gripping Ren's arm tightly as she bounced on her heels, "Oh, that looks like fun! Let's go, Ren!" She exclaimed, pulling the quietly obliging young man with her.
As they left to join Blake and Yang, Qrow was left to watch as Jaune eyed Pyrrha shyly before extending his hand, "Would you like to dance, Pyrrha?" The blond asked nervously, his head gesturing to the couples currently dancing.
The redhead stared at his outstretched arm for a moment before she smiled brightly, clasping her own around it, "I'd love to, Jaune." She replied, waving at her brother Simmons as she pulled Jaune towards the ballroom floor while the blonde grinned dopily at her affirmation, his face turning a bright shade of red.
Donut was beside himself standing with Doc and Neo on the other side of the food table, gripping into the two's shoulders excitedly, "Oh, look how much fun everyone is having!" He exclaimed, clearly enjoying the festivities.
Doc's face flushed at their proximity while Neopolitan exasperatedly rolled her eyes, "Y-yeah, that's great, Donut." The purple-wearing Charon agent exclaimed, his flustered tone apparent to everyone but apparently Donut.
"I hope you guys are too!" The pink-wearing young man gleefully responded, beaming at them both as if they were best friends.
"Of...of course!" Doc managed to stammer out, although Qrow was fairly certain he was about to have a panic attack at Donut's continued personal contact.
Qrow's red eyes took in all of the scenes around them, noticing how Carolina and Washington were engaged in talking with Tucker and Kimball over in a corner of the ballroom space. Even when he was supposedly "off duty," the dark-haired Huntsman found he was always in spy mode. He also spied Caboose hanging around a bored-looking Lopez and an alert-looking Sarge, though the blue-wearing young man waved him over once he noticed the black-haired man's regard.
"Hello, Mr. Bird Man!" Caboose called out far too loudly for the pretentious event, earning the glares of many an Atlesian.
Qrow sighed and bowed his head, "I'm never living that down, am I?" He muttered under his breath to his adopted son.
Oscar unhelpfully smiled, "Probably not." He replied, full of mocking mirth.
The Huntsman fake-glared at the freckled teenager, "Thanks a lot, kid." Qrow mumbled, running a hand through his graying hair.
From nearby, Grif was moving away with Simmons trailing after him, "Grif, where are you going?" The green-eyed young man practically yelled out in frustration, as if he already knew the answer.
"Uh, to check out the food spread?" Grif replied, holding his now empty plate of food as the chital Faunus raised an eyebrow, "Try to keep up, Simmons."
"B-but...!"
Whatever protest Simmons was going to say was lost then as Oscar and Qrow moved towards where Sarge, Caboose, and Lopez were standing, "Enjoying the party, I take it?" He couldn't help but say as he noticed that Sarge was clutching his prized shotgun in one hand and a champagne flute in the other.
"Don't you know it!" Sarge guffawed merrily, taking a swig of the drink while Qrow inwardly winced.
Lopez was eyeing the old man's weapon wearily, "No puedo creer que hayas traído eso contigo." {"I can't believe you brought that with you."} He muttered, "Vas a hacer que nos echen." {"You're going to get us kicked out."}
"This is a fun party." Caboose stated happily, though he tilted his head to the side thoughtfully, "Though it could use a pony. Oh, and presents!"
"That's not exactly this type of party, Caboose." Qrow told him gently. Truth be told, he'd been surprised when the invitation to this little shindig for Atlas' elite had been extended to Huntsmen and Huntresses too, and more than a little wary given that the invite had come from Malcolm Hargrove himself. But the kids all seemed to be enjoying themselves and they seemed to like the change of pace despite it being a bit too stuffy for his tastes, so he supposed he couldn't complain too much.
As his eyes swept across the ballroom, they landed on Clover talking to Robyn and Winter on the other side of the space. Teal eyes met red not a second later before Clover turned his attention back to whatever it was that Winter had just said. Qrow hadn't spoken to him directly since the reveal about him being able to transform into a crow, now that he thought about it.
"I'm sure Captain Ebi wants to talk just as much as you do!" Caboose exclaimed, breaking into his thoughts by being surprisingly observant, "You're best friends after all."
Qrow blinked at the remark, smiling slightly at the canine Faunus' attempt to cheer him up, "Thanks, kid." He said, realizing that Caboose might be something of a wildcard out of the Charon agents they were friendly with.
"Do you want a cracker?"
He couldn't help but laugh slightly at Caboose's question, "No, I'm good." He assured the young man before he steeled himself and began walking over towards the brown-haired soldier, thinking it was best to get this no doubt awkward conversation over with.
Clover met the older Huntsman halfway, excusing himself from whatever he'd been talking about with Robyn and Winter to do so. He leaned against the ballroom's wall, raising a brown-haired eyebrow at Qrow as his teal eyes momentarily took in the hustle and bustle of the younger Huntsmen and Huntresses in the ballroom, "Looks like everyone is having fun." Clover murmured appreciatively, a small smile curling up his lip.
"Seems that way." Qrow replied, although he couldn't help but smile himself at some of the antics currently on display. No doubt Jacques was somewhere pulling out his hair, and that one thought very much made this stuck-up event worth it. Parties like this tended to be overly stuffy affairs normally, besides. It needed a little bit of liveliness, in Qrow's opinion.
Clover turned to regard the red-eyed man fully then, his lips quirking upwards slightly more, "So a bird, huh?" He asked, clearly amused by the prospect.
"Yeah." The elder Huntsman answered, letting out a strained laugh as he rubbed the back of his head, "It was a gift from Ozpin, before his crystal became silent." The 'until he'd chosen Oscar as his Inheritor' being unspoken between them, "I probably should've told you."
"Yes," the brown-haired soldier's reply was blunt, and there was frustration lacing the words, "You should have."
"Cloves..." Qrow began, unsure of what exactly to say as he trailed off, eyes looking at the suddenly very interesting polished floor.
Clover clenched his hands into fists at his sides and moved away from the wall, "I want to be able to trust you." He said, his annoyance obvious, "We're supposed to be partners, Qrow."
Qrow blinked red eyes at the vehemence in his words, "I know." He said, unsure of what else he could interject into the conversation.
"But it seems very stilted when you're always looking out for me." The younger man informed him, glancing at the ground, "When you keep things from me."
Qrow couldn't help but raise his eyebrow indignantly, "You mean like how you never want anyone to see you use your Inheritor powers?" He asked, suddenly annoyed that he was being treated like he was always the one being secretive.
Clover blinked in surprise, "Th-that's—!" He tried to say, but Qrow wasn't about to hear it.
"Don't say it's beside the point because that's bullshit, Clover." The Huntsman cut him off, stepping forward into the other man's personal space, "I just wanted to make sure you were all right."
A tinge of red flared across Clover's face then and he quickly looked away from Qrow with what could only be described as a pout on his face, "I can take care of myself, Qrow." The Ace Op captain muttered under his breath.
"I know, but that doesn't make me worry any less." The black-haired man said, smirking, "We're partners after all, aren't we?"
Clover wordlessly relented with a slight nod of his brown-haired head, a frown still evident on his face, "Doesn't make me any less annoyed, though." He finally responded, teal eyes sharpening.
Before he could think better of it, Qrow slung an arm over Clover's shoulders and found that he wasn't a huge fan of the slight height difference between them that made the move a little less smooth than he'd normally like, "I know. But let's focus on other things tonight, eh, lucky charm?" He asked, face suddenly very close to the other's.
Clover's face was pinker than normal for some reason, and the younger man gulped as he looked over at Qrow's close proximity, "What did you have in mind?" He asked, his tone intrigued as Qrow grinned at the question, grateful that this conversation had gone so smoothly. He looked at Clover's still flustered face, deciding that maybe tonight wouldn't be so terrible after all.
Oscar shyly approached both men not a few seconds later, the boy still looking a little ill at ease in the fancy circumstances they'd found themselves in. He'd just finished up apparently checking up on Ruby and Penny's misadventures with the ice sculpture, and seemed at a complete loss as to what to do with himself afterwards. "Hey, kiddo," Qrow released his hold on Clover to mess up Oscar's hair in his usual affectionate way, "What's up?"
"Nothing too much." Oscar admitted sheepishly as he glanced around at the other partygoers, "This is all a little overwhelming for me."
Qrow could imagine. It was somewhat overwhelming for him given his tribal background, but at least his role as a spy often required his attendance at similar functions. Oscar had grown up on a farmstead just outside of Mantle, the black-haired Huntsman remembered. He supposed a change in atmosphere like this would be extremely off-putting.
"Yeah, it's not really my thing either." He admitted quietly, glancing at the pomp and circumstance currently surrounding them. A waiter passed by with a serving tray of champagne, and Clover politely waved him away. Qrow raised a graying eyebrow at the gesture when his eyes caught teal, wondering if Clover had done that because of him and his sobriety.
"No need to hold back on my account, Cloves." He informed him gruffly, suddenly annoyed that his mere presence might be impacting someone's good time.
"I'm not much of a drinker." Clover said in response, his face flushing red as he no doubt remembered the last time he'd drunk in front of Qrow.
"Hey—" Qrow began, placing his hand on Clover's shoulder before being interrupted because of course that was just his fucking luck.
"There you two are!" Robyn's voice cut through the classical music playing in the background, the blonde practically stomping over with her hands on her hips and a grimace on her face as Ironwood followed in her wake. She raised an eyebrow at Clover in mild amusement, "Thought you could get away from me that easily, huh, Ebi?"
The brunette blinked, looking a little sheepish, "Sorry about running off like that." He said, expression clearly remorseful.
"It's fine, it's fine." Robyn waved off Clover's concern, her violet gaze shooting a knowing glance Qrow's direction, "I kind of figured you would."
Qrow wasn't sure why, but he felt his own face heat up at her words and he resolutely refused to meet Clover's gaze just then. His eyes fell on a curious Oscar instead, who was peering nervously at the two new presences in the area. Robyn and the General King were certainly intimidating figures.
"Qrow. Clover. It's good that you're both here." Ironwood said, his tone cordial enough despite the earlier annoyance he'd apparently felt at Qrow's bird stunt in Charon's guild hall.
"Yeah, especially since His Royal Highness here refuses to see reason." Robyn muttered, jabbing a thumb in Ironwood's general direction.
The man in question bristled at her words, "I don't exactly know what you want me to say, Ms. Hill." Ironwood said, clearly unamused by her words.
"How about that the supply runs to Mantle are just as important as those to Atlas?" The leader of Mantle was quick to counter, not about to give Ironwood an edge in the conversation.
The General King sighed, "Of course they are, and we will get the situation sorted out." He responded, "However—"
"You'd rather ingratiate yourself with the Atlesian elite first." Robyn filled in for him, sniffing derisively as her arms crossed over her chest, "I completely get it."
Ironwood shot an imploring look towards Qrow and Clover then, though neither man really knew what to say to help him in this situation. He had sort of dug his own foot into the hole, so to speak. Seeing no assistance there, the General King sighed and decided to try quickly changing tactics, "I see your group is enjoying themselves, Qrow." He said, steel blue eyes swinging towards his old friend.
Qrow couldn't help but smirk, his red eyes sweeping over the room and taking in the various young Huntsmen and Huntresses within it, "Yeah. Surprisingly." He said fondly, watching as Yang and Blake lead their group on an impromptu dance off while the Atlesians watched in horror.
Ironwood's expression softened slightly before it landed on Oscar questioningly. He frowned in thought, "This is the boy you adopted?" The General King asked Qrow, his eyebrow raising inquisitively.
Oscar's freckled face turned slightly red at being included in the conversation and he quickly bowed his head slightly, "Y—yes, sir! My name is Oscar Pine." He managed to get out despite his obvious anxiety at talking to the General King of Atlas.
Ironwood smiled slightly at him, "At ease, Oscar. I was meaning to meet you earlier, but with things getting so busy and you not being a technical Huntsman yet..." He trailed off when he realized he was basically implying that Oscar wasn't worth his time even though that hadn't initially been his intention.
"Oh! That's all right!" The fourteen-year-old exclaimed, bowing his dark head of hair again, "Thank you for the hospitality for myself and my friends."
Ironwood's eyes radiated a fond light as he looked over at Qrow briefly, "Tell me, Oscar, is Qrow being a good role model?" He asked, clearly amused that Qrow's adopted son had more manners than his father.
Qrow bristled at the teasing tone in his friend's voice, "What the hell's that supposed to mean, Jimmy?" He demanded, knowing to take mock offense when it was being offered.
But before Ironwood could so much as let out a bark of laughter in response, Qrow noticed both Clover and Oscar suddenly stiffening on either side of him. He raised an eyebrow, suddenly very alert as he noticed the telltale marks suddenly appearing on Clover's face, "What's going on?" He asked the Ace Op captain as, to Qrow's horror, the same markings in green were adorning Oscar's face as well.
"The barrier." Clover's voice was quiet as he took in a deep breath, "It flickered, for a moment."
"Just a moment?" Qrow asked as right before his eyes, the Inheritors' marks began to dissipate.
...But the damage was already done, if the shocked expressions on Ironwood's face and those around them were any indication. Ironwood quickly schooled his expression into a stony one as he regarded Oscar as if the boy had just grown a second head, "You..." He trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence, blue eyes narrowing in anger.
"My apologies for the interruption." Hargrove's voice cut in just then, infuriatingly pompous as he continued from his place suddenly behind the General King, "There's no need for alarm, we were just running a test with the Golems by the barrier. It is safe again, I assure you."
Clover's eyebrows shot up suspiciously, "A test?" He asked, clearly angry at his adopted father's actions.
"Yes. To find the Protector's Inheritor at long last," the old man replied, glancing at a terrified-looking Oscar just then with a smirk on his face, "And it would appear we were successful."
Author's Notes: So much for a relaxing, fun evening! Things are starting to move along now. Thank you for reading! :D