Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.
Finding the Clues - 05
The sound of the main door echoed across the living room as it closed shut.
Jaune went back inside the house after an intense workout. Crocea Mors hung on his belt, silently proud of its owner.
"How was it, sweeties?" Summer asked as she put foods on the table.
"My arms are numb. Three hundred swings are nothing to make light of." Jaune replied with a tired voice. He was literally dragging his feet along the carpet. "Ms. Rose, is there any way we can reduce the number a little bit?"
"Nope, keep this up."
His shoulders drooped and she grinned at the reaction.
"You'll be doing this exercise until next week. It's good that you can control your Aura like me so we can skip the meditation and go straight to practical technique."
"You mean converging the flows to a single spot like one of your combat styles? Would that really work for me?" He glanced at his hands. "I mean, I don't even know what my Semblance is."
"You will find it, Jaune. I'm sure the moment will come."
"Thanks, Ms. Rose."
A sound went off in the kitchen, the microwave-safe pan stopped moving in high temperature after a quick thirty second ride.
Quickly, Summer grabbed the hot towel inside and gave it to Jaune. She watched in delight as the apprentice wiped all the exhaustion on his face. It was one of the many little rewards she prepared for him after each training session.
"Right! About the clue, have you come up with anything yet?" Jaune suddenly said.
"Not yet. I honestly don't get it. There are lots of places in Patch where flowers grow. I doubt Tai would want Yang to venture around every single place on the island just to search for her gift."
"Maybe that sentence has a double meaning?"
Summer hummed over the idea. It was possible.
"It could be. Anyway, enough detective work for now. Go clean yourself up. Breakfast is ready."
As Jaune quickly went up the stair, Summer noticed the trails left by his shoes.
Several petals with different colors scattered on the ground. They were right where Jaune just stood. It traced back to the main door, some led up to the staircase and eventually that boy's retreating form.
"Jaune."
He flinched, not turning back.
"Yes?"
"There're petals under your shoes. Did you go somewhere in the middle of the training?" She asked.
"Uh, nope. N-Not really." What he said.
Summer inspected the petals closer. White cape hugged her small back as she folded her knees. The backyard had a small garden, flowers used to grow there. But through time, only the grass remained due to the lack of tending.
Which meant…
Gasp!
Silvers narrowed, ready for a stern scolding. As Summer turned to Jaune, he was gone before she could give him the word. Footsteps echoed in hurry above the ceiling. He was trying to be discreet about his little trip to elsewhere within these dangerous woods.
A smirk formed on Summer's lip. As his combat instructor, this sort of behavior was not acceptable. An appropriate measure befitting to that young man's attitude toward her training should be required.
"You're asking for it."
Summer was happy that he put so much dedication and effort to help her in the search for those clues. But even so, she preferred him to make the lessons his priority.
Jaune felt awkward. Breakfast had never been so quiet like this before.
"Um, Ms. Rose."
"What is it?"
A nervous smile popped on his face.
"I'll come clean. I actually added two extra laps today."
"Oh! So that's why you had the chestplate." Summer looked surprise. "You weren't slacking off. Very good!"
"Yup. I took a detour around these woods….to, uh, you know, find the answer for the third riddle at some flower fields." He said slowly.
"Um hm. I know." She nodded.
"Oh, you knew! Yeah well, I also fought a couple of stray Grimms along the way."
"I see. You traveled on foot around these woods alone and then you came back unscathed. Excellent!"
That was odd. Her compliments and the atmosphere around the room were the opposite.
"Ms. Rose, are you mad?"
"Not at all. In fact, it's good to hear that you've improved."
Summer put on a smile. Jaune felt a chill on his back. There was a strange breeze circling around the table.
"I actually had backup, by the way!" Jaune quickly added.
"Bark!"
It was Zwei.
Summer put down her fork, waving at the corgi's direction. Zwei stopped consuming the food and came running to her side, let the mother's hand rubbing his head.
"Zwei, dear. Don't encourage this young man's reckless act again, okay. You should have dragged him back. Experience-wise, he may be the most clever and tactical person among his peers. But he has no regard of his own safety."
"Ouch." Jaune could have sworn those tender words just pierced through him.
"I don't want him to lose track in the wood and have an unfortunate encounter with a horde of Grimm. I would be very sad if something bad happens. Do you agree with Mommy, Zwei?" She pouted. Not at Zwei but he, who sat across the table.
That was enough to get the alarm bell ringing in his head.
"O-Okay! If you think about it, the word lives forever can't possibly indicate real flowers, right? Because they all have a rather short lifespan."
He changed the topic. Hopefully, she didn't see through the desperate attempt to dodge the bullet.
"…."
"…."
Silence filled the room. Summer's expression was a blank. Jaune could only wait as cold sweats dripping on his forehead.
"You figured it out?" She finally spoke, earning him a deep breath.
"It's just a guess. But I think it's a metaphor. The clue could be about a picture or a painting, something we use to keep certain memories alive forever so we can always remember when we look back. It has to be the one that your daughter knew about."
Silver blinked. She gave herself a moment to let his words sink in. All gears began turning in their places.
Chrysanthemum.
"There's a picture of that flower in Yang's room."
They found it.
Hidden within the frame was a small handmade bag. It contained a bracelet.
"Sunny Little Dragon." Summer read the letters that traced along the body of the item.
All this time, it was right here, inside her home. A gift to little Yang.
Their four years old daughter was once a girl of adventure, she loved to explore new places and intrigued by mystery even though she got bored really quick at the latter. Tai had expected Yang to find this during their journey around this home.
There was an idea Summer couldn't let it slide.
These clues he made up, they were never difficult to children, only tricky. It looked like he was planning a treasure hunt. If they were still here, Summer could imagine such a scenario. Little Ruby and Yang got stumped and needed guidance from their parents. Some small hints given here and there, some words of motivation to push the children toward the goal. Tai wanted to do all of that.
"Beneath that tree where we became a family."
It was written in the back of the next clue. A picture of a landmark. The shot was taken behind a tall tree that overlooked the vast ocean at dawn.
"…Tai…."
This one was straight to the point. Her late husband literally told them where to look at.
Summer knew just the right place, she always remembered it. It was her turn now.
The next gift from him was meant for her.
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