"Raven." Qrow growled.
"Welcome back, Qrow." Raven greeted warmly, sarcasm evident in her voice. "But was it really necessary to shoot me? I'm offended."
Based on what Winter could recall from an old photograph of team STRQ, Raven's appearance was nearly identical to her younger years. She had aged quite gracefully, just like her brother. Perhaps the only difference she could truly make out was the hardened, soulless visage in her eyes, and even though she smiled, it wasn't genuine like it had been in the photo.
Qrow narrowed his eyes as she crossed her arms and observed the two before her.
"After all this time, now you decide to pay a visit? Even if you clearly haven't come back to stay," she murmured, eyeing Winter.
Qrow straightened, his gaze completely level with Raven's. "You were the one who left."
His assertion appeared to have struck a chord. Raven's smile disappeared from view and was slowly replaced by a grimace of disgust.
The air grew heavy. Winter could practically feel the unspoken tension radiating off of them, but she did not know what to make of the situation.
"So, then. I see you've made your choice." Raven said pointedly. She briefly shut her eyes as if to rid herself of a migraine. "You've truly chosen to join Ozpin and his little heroes on an impossible mission over your own family. All for what? It's led to nothing but pointless death and bloodshed, you know." Her eyes flickered over to Winter and she sighed. "You never fail to surprise me, Qrow. All this because of some false hope Ozpin has promised you. You've turned against your own tribe because of him, even going as far as working with a Schnee, someone you swore you'd kill in any given opportunity."
Winter's fingers curled tightly around the hilt of her sabre, her nails digging into the metal.
"What you think of Ozpin doesn't concern me. All I want to know is why you're going after her." Qrow responded calmly. He didn't appear to be at all fazed by her words. Winter couldn't help but wonder if this was how they always spoke to one another.
"Actually, she was the one snooping around my camp." Raven corrected, trying to hide her increasing discomposure.
"Because your men have been slaughtering huntsmen throughout the kingdom." Winter snarled.
"I'm well aware."
"You are just going to-!"
Qrow held out his arm to stop Winter from provoking his sister any further.
He took a deep breath.
As much as he resented the idea, maybe there was still a chance he could reason with his sister. He'd only have to choose his words wisely. If she really wasn't a lost cause like he wanted to believe, maybe he could still talk some sense back into her. It was the least he could do, knowing Yang was still searching for her all these years. If Raven had half a mind left, then maybe she'd come back for Yang. For Tai.
Yeah, it was naive, but it wasn't like he had much to lose.
"Look, Raven. You don't know what you're getting yourself into. For all we know, this is exactly what the enemy wants - what she wants. By killing off huntsmen, you're only going to expedite the process for them. We're supposed to be keeping victory out of her grasp, remember? It's the only way we'll survive. I don't care which side you're on, but if we let ourselves succumb to division like this, it's only gonna mean the end for all of us."
Winter blinked in confusion. What on earth was he referring to?
"She"?
Who was "she"?
Raven faced Vernal momentarily before turning back to Qrow. Her lips eased steadily into another smirk, looking as if she'd found his attempt at reason humorous. "I see you've grown soft, little brother."
Qrow shrugged to himself.
Well, it was worth a try.
"Yeah, and I could tell you've gone and thrown out any remaining sense of humanity left in you. Probably along with a few brain cells, too."
"You watch your mouth." Vernal warned, a look of pure hatred in her expression. If looks could kill, Qrow would've been one dead man.
Raven rested a hand atop her weapon, gripping it hard. "We went to Beacon to learn how to kill huntsmen. It was our duty. You chose to abandon it."
"You can try and guilt-trip me all you want, I didn't abandon anything." Qrow replied firmly. "You abandoned your real family. Yang's been searching for you for years, you know this."
"My- our real family is the tribe."
Qrow chuckled darkly, "That's what you keep telling yourself. How long can you really believe that for?"
"Shut up," she snapped. "I can assure you it won't take long before you realize I was right. Ozpin has no idea what he's leading himself into. He's the reason so many huntsmen are dead. And how, you ask? We don't know. All of them simply vanished. Naturally, any sane person would've left after that. So, I did. I left because I was smart. Maybe if you weren't so naïve, you would've done the same." When she caught sight of his flinch, she couldn't help but snicker in response. "Honestly, I find it charming. You think by working towards a "good cause" that it would make you seem like a good person, is that it? Or is it for an even shallower reason? Like your semblance."
Winter raised an eyebrow. His semblance?
For the first time, she felt concerned for Qrow when she looked over to him, seeing the pent-up rage written all over his face. His hands were clenched into fists, and they even began to tremble, but he kept quiet. Winter felt an overwhelming temptation to intervene: however, she ultimately decided against it, as it was not exactly any of her business to begin with. She of all people knew better than to stick her nose into family matters.
"Forget it. Let's just get out of here." Qrow grumbled, motioning to Winter. He began to step away, turning his back to Raven.
Vernal circled in front, pointing her crescent-shaped dual blades at them. "You're not going anywhere."
Raven furrowed her brows like she had been considering something. She took a step forward hesitantly, and Winter could see her face visibly soften. It was the first genuine emotion she had seen from her. "I'm offering you one final chance, Qrow. If you come back to the tribe, I'd be willing to start over."
Qrow paused in his tracks.
"I'll… even go back for Yang. She's become stronger. I can train her. She'll be a perfect addition to our tribe."
Winter's head snapped to Qrow's direction.
He was not seriously considering it, was he?
"I'm not going to allow myself to get caught up in any more of Oz's schemes, and neither should you. You'll only be gambling your lives away in a dangerous and pointless game by staying with him," she pressed, this time more seriously. "Come back, Qrow. We'll start fresh. And as for the Schnee, we can dispose of her… together."
Winter's eyes widened in disbelief over what she was hearing. Qrow looked as though he was considering Raven's offer, but he had continued on.
"Schnee," Qrow grunted. "Did you not hear me? We're leaving."
Winter was baffled by his answer, evident from her delayed reaction. She pursed her lips and merely nodded, dumbfounded. Their earlier altercation had her convinced he would side with his sister instead. But she was more than grateful he chose to stick by her side despite their…shaky relationship. And even that was an understatement. If he had decided to stay with Raven, things would not have ended well for her.
"You're not-!"
Raven grabbed Vernal's shoulder and pulled her back, "Let them be."
"What? You're just going to let them leave?!"
"If we continue to fight here, the camp will be overrun by grimm before we know it."
Vernal clicked her tongue in displeasure and lowered her weapons. "Fine, but next time I won't be holding back," she stated, heading back towards the camp.
Raven had remained quiet, her gaze still fixated on her brother even as he disappeared into the forest along with the Schnee. "Fool," she muttered under her breath.
Qrow tried to keep himself together as they began their long trek back to Shion village, but it was growing harder by the minute. When he pulled out his scroll to check how far they were from the village, he groaned. Still miles off, apparently.
He chose to ignore the dull ache in his side and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, shifting to his more comfortable, hunched-over position as he walked. He focused entirely on his footsteps and the crunching of leaves and twigs under his shoes, and the light whistling of wind, having nothing else to distract his wandering mind. And yet, somehow that same overbearing question still lingered.
"Or was it for an even shallower reason? Like your semblance."
Raven always knew exactly what to say to get under his skin, no matter how much he denied it. Sad, but it was the truth.
Their relationship had always been on the strained side, but one thing was certain: they still saw one another as family. He did, at least. Up until today. Now, he didn't know what to make of their relationship. Was her warning simply another way of saying she would be officially cutting ties with him? But if that was the case, what about Yang? What about Tai?
Gods, he didn't know. He didn't want to think about it anymore.
This mission had already messed with his head in more ways than one. Now Winter had gotten caught in the crossfire. And of everything that could've happened, his sister appeared to be the main culprit behind the deaths of Mistral's huntsmen. Of course, Qrow knew there was more to the story. Raven likely only served as a bridge without even realizing it.
"Qrow." Winter's voice snapped him out of it. "Why did you follow me here?"
He frowned. Did she still not get it?
Not only was she stubborn, she was apparently oblivious too.
"I should be the one asking you. What made you think it would be a good idea to go after a bandit tribe alone?"
Winter glared at him, continuing as if he hadn't spoken. "You had no reason to come after me, especially when your injuries were worse in comparison to mine. It was a foolish and reckless thing to do."
Just like he was expecting, she avoided the question.
"Right back at ya," he rasped. "The only reason I came after you is because you were practically throwing yourself into a suicide mission. You really think you had any chance against Raven? Against her entire tribe of bandits?"
"I only intended to learn about her men's whereabouts."
"Then you could at least say something instead of going off on your own! I know how her tribe works, I was once a part of it. You, on the other hand, just charged blindly into danger like you had a death wish or somethin'! You had no plan, no back-up, and your aura hasn't even completely-"
"You clearly did not think I was capable enough for this mission! You made it blatantly obvious you did not wish to cooperate, so I was left with no other option," she argued. "It was either you or me, and we are getting this mission done. I will do it alone if I must."
Qrow sighed, raking a hand through his hair. Going back and forth with her like this was getting nowhere. In reality, their inability to get along was only further jeopardizing the mission.
"Look…" his gaze fell to the ground. "You have the wrong idea. I didn't mean it that way, what I said back there. It's just… it's hard for me to talk about, okay?"
"I don't understand. What about any of this is 'hard to talk about'? If anything, you were the one making this difficult for the both of us. You were uncooperative from the very beginning, and you have only continued to be a hindrance. I was willing to work together despite it all, but you have refused to uphold even something as simple as that."
"I know. You have every right to be upset with me, I won't deny that."
Winter blinked at his acknowledgement. That had been unexpected coming from him.
He hesitated for a moment and shut his eyes, releasing a pained sigh. "It's just… I don't want to see anyone else get hurt."
She lifted her head. "What are you talking about?"
"My semblance."
Winter watched his expression falter and his shoulders sag.
"The grimm ambush we got caught up in, it was my semblance. Everything we've gone through, big and small, was because of my semblance. It led us here. It put us in this situation because I failed to control it."
"...What?"
"We- you almost died because of me. No matter what I do, I can't prevent my semblance from putting others in harm's way, whether it's friends, family, or enemies, my semblance can't distinguish..." he trailed off, turning away. "Which is why I choose to work alone. I can amplify the bad luck my semblance brings, but there's no way for me to 'turn it off'."
Oh.
So that was what Raven had been alluding to…
"Point is, I don't want someone else getting caught up in it. I thought Ozpin of all people would understand…"
Winter gave him a look of concern.
She had absolutely no idea he had been dealing with all of that alone for all this time. She had not even considered someone like him had a reason for acting the way he did. She always just assumed he behaved obnoxiously for the sake of it. But she was wrong.
What he said had explained a lot.
Why he worked alone most of the time…
Why he had been keeping her at an arm's length…
She swallowed the lump in her throat. Now the guilt was really starting to build.
"I was not aware…" she could only muster.
"It's fine. I don't like talking about it. I'd rather not have to deal with people's unwanted pity." He began walking again, not noticing the small droplets of rain pattering against the ground.
Another wisp of silence befell the two huntsmen until Winter could bring herself to speak again.
"...I apologize, Qrow." Her voice sounded tinier than a mouse, which had come out that way involuntarily. "I overreacted. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions either…"
The man shook his head. "No, it was my fault. I should be the only one apologizing here, for starting all of this. In the end, I only managed to cause more harm than good."
"Qrow, I meant my apology. Please just accept it."
His brows rose in surprise. Then, he let out a light chuckle, feeling a wave of relief envelop his body. He'd never heard the Ice Queen sound so sincere.
"...I appreciate it, Ice Queen. Really, I do."
Winter's mouth opened. She was seconds away from reprimanding him about his juvenile nickname for her, but the smile on his face had caught her off guard. It was small, barely noticeable, even. Yet, she hadn't missed it. It was there. A raw, genuine smile.
"So then, I take it I'm forgiven?"
"You are, but do not test my patience," she huffed.
"Wouldn't dream of it," he smiled. "Come on, it's startin' to rain like bullets. We should probably stay at an inn for tonight. I happen to know a good place."
Winter merely nodded. "And Branwen…"
He turned to face her, "Yeah?"
"Thank you for coming after me, and for telling me about all this…"
"It's fine. I trust you."
"Just remember I would never blame you for anything that happens, so please try not to beat yourself up about it."
"I'll try my best."
"...Good." She returned his smile.
I sincerely apologize for the late update! School and life got in the way unfortunately. I will try to update again when I can!
GojiraFan455515 - I appreciate the review!
witchinmoonlight - You can say the story takes place sometime before V1. I've tried my best to keep a lot of the details canon-compliant, but it's also a combination of that and an alternate universe since Qrow and Winter's relationship would be different than the one shown in canon. This fic is like a little side story before volume 1 that has another take on their relationship, among other things. Hope that isn't too confusing! If it helps, maybe it's best to just think of it as an AU haha.
I hope this chapter turned out okay!