Author's Notes: In Norse mythology, there are two giant wolves, transformed Jotun born in the Ironwood and children of Fenrir, who chase the Sun and Moon, and incidentally the god and goddess who pull them in their chariots. At the twilight of the gods, they will catch them; Hati, will devour the moon, and Skoll, the sun, causing a permanent lunar and solar eclipse, and blacking out of the stars until the rebirth of the universe.
Music Choices: Dessumiis Luge by Eluveitie, Hayloft by Mother Mother, Throne by Saint Mesa
Eclipse
Chapter 63
The Hunter's Moon
Part VI
The night sky over downtown was full of noise. Echoing sirens, car doors slamming, people shouting drunkenly and the soft beat of wings; these things and more were reverberating between the black panes of the skyscrapers, and over people's heads. The full moon was beginning to slowly sink once again, but there were still quite a few hours to go before the first blush of sunrise would paint the sky. While Vale was considered the Kingdom that never slept, tonight this adage seemed even more true than usual; there was a palpable tension in the air that was keeping even the most day oriented people awake.
You could taste it like a copper wire. Feel it in your gut, a sound wave too low for humans or faunus to detect, just out of range, too far beneath the water. A bone deep, menacing frequency that prompted light sleepers to wake up in a cold sweat to go get a glass of water, and turn the bathroom light on; and filled the dreams of those it did not wake with dark, nameless shapes, too immense and too horrific for the subconscious to hold in the daylight.
The frequency brought to bear the feeling the hare got as it stared into the eyes of the fox, transfixed. It was the promise of a puncture wound going septic. It was a river overflowing her banks in a storm and dragging away anything and anyone that got in her way as she roared towards the sea.
Beyond the walls, the Grimm were pushing and testing the Hunters on duty, acting wildly erratic. Some would charge or fly at the gates as if planning to rush them, only to turn sharply away and flee, desperately; both summoned and driven off by some nameless thing.
Most people blamed the Hunter's Moon for spiking 'negative' thoughts and behaviors amongst the citizens, an old superstition that many people still believed quite thoroughly. However, those who kept a finger on the mystic pulse of Vale were aware that something more was afoot. There were not many magic users in the shadow of Beacon's towers, and most were not the sort capable of discerning anything more than a gut feeling or an instinct that something was wrong; however, there were some who could hear the source of the disturbance, or understand it's intentions.
High in his office, beneath the spinning gears, Ozpin was listening to the night-song quite attentively over his upteenth cup of coffee; on his face was a calm smile, and in his eyes there was a golden shine, betraying the fact that he was walking elsewhere as well, treading the higher realms of light and order that were his domains.
In the southern stretches of Vale, two of Remnant's strongest aetheri and the most powerful free magic user in the world were also listening, bent over plates of half finished naan bread and butter chicken, having been mid meal when the song started up. The two women recognized the voice, and exchanged knowing, concerned glances, while the heavily scarred, shirtless man furiously began to finish his dinner, aware that conflict was at hand and he might need the fuel.
Deep in the Forever Fall forest, a little Grimm heard the frightening chords and popped his head above the red canopy, sitting up in his tree as he stared down towards the city of emerald lights; he listened attentively, before dropping down and hurrying into the tittering dark once again.
Within the dorms of Beacon, one renegade apprentice sat at the foot of her bunk bed, staring out the window into the shadows below, looking uncharacteristically nervous as she played with pieces of rounded mirror in her hands.
And within the halls of the Speculorum? Two different strangers gave pause.
The first, a child with snowy white hair and small goat horns froze with a small gasp, silver eyes widening behind his spectacles. He listened nervously and after some quick consideration decided, quite wisely, to make himself scarce; a black, smiling cat followed in his footsteps, tail waving in rhythm to the chords.
The second, an anonymous figure with no name and no face, halted in their tireless game of hide and seek; and turned to listen to the voice, their unquenchable curiosity peaked.
Someone was Hunting . They did not care who heard them, and was warning those who could? Not to try it. Not tonight.
Because tonight they were singing a curse of binding.
Not on a place, no, but on a person . Attempting to furiously drag them out into the open and cripple their magic.
It was a spell of raw fury, not something to be attempted by the faint of heart or inept; binding spells performed by this branch of magic are always potent, but also extremely unpredictable and not without a price. However, the voice behind this binding was not without power, and was guided by a palpable sense of righteous fury.
It was perhaps a good thing not many people could hear it.
The STRQ household was in a state of emergency. Frankly, they'd already been in a state of emergency, and this had simply rolled over into a renewed, fresher state of emergency. It was like the sensation one got when you were already running on fumes and then drank an immense amount of caffeine, or partook perhaps in something a little stronger so you could physically keep going; not a great sensation to say the least.
This new and exciting phase of emergency had started when Summer had woken near midnight, her mirror piece she kept under pillow - the twin piece of which she had given to her sister - having conveyed a panicked, interrupted message by Reinhardt, before said piece was possibly destroyed.
Despite the no magical horseshit ban that had been placed on the team by Taiyang, Summer vetoed the rule in face of catastrophe; and after placing as many protections on the room and mirrors as she and Raven possibly could, entered the Mirrorways in an attempt to hopefully locate Sigyn's mirror-piece or its remains, as that would be the fastest way to reach the others.
The rest of STRQ investigated ARSN's room and found their weapons had been left behind, perhaps as a part of disguising themselves so they'd stand out less; besides those weapons though, there was no other hint as to where their friends had gone, besides the address and location Reinhardt had supplied before being cut out. They decided to wait for Summer to return from the Mirrorways before physically going to investigate the locations themselves.
However, in Summer's absence, the room quickly devolved into panic and emotionally upset. The fact that ARSN had trailed Verdant was one of the biggest fixations here, on top of the fact that apparently said man had been sneaking onto campus and spying on them in some fashion; and in the mess that was this situation, of course, it came to light that Raven had been planning on assassinating the Serviceman and ARSN had effectively pulled this information from her and volunteered to assist despite her many, many protests.
And had now, potentially, paid the price.
"What the fuck were you thinkin?!"
Qrow was pacing, his eyes wide, looking at his sister in near panic.
"Are you fucking KIDDIN ME?! YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD KILL HIM, FOR REAL?!" he shouted, hands splayed as he fought the urge to shake her shoulders.
Raven had said nothing for the last ten minutes, and was sitting stony as a rock.
"YOU FUCKIN IDIOT! HE KILLED YOU - ON ACCIDENT! What makes you think you could do this on your own? WHY THE FUCK DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING?!"
"You know why," Raven said finally. She almost sounded bored.
Qrow paused, looking angry and afraid, though if it was for her or for different reasons was hard to determine.
"I -, No! Raven, this was a fuckin insane ass thing to do!"
No upset reaction to that accusation. She was staring at him now, or perhaps through him; her expression a mask.
"You're one to talk," she drawled, again sounding too detached.
Qrow paused, anger and fear warring across his face.
"...What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" he growled, pausing in his frantic pacing.
"You wanted to kill him yourself," she tilted her head slightly, eying him "The only difference is that I actually did something about it."
He mouthed a little, surprised.
"It - ok, real talk? I wasn't in the right space of mind! And fifty lien says you aren't either right now!"
"You don't know that, " she flatly dismissed his opinion. "You don't know what state of mind I'm in. Fifty lien says you're projecting."
Qrow sneered at her tone, instinctively ruffling up.
"I am not FUCKING. PROJECTING. Why are you actin like this?! Our fucking friends could be dead!"
She glanced at him, her face still conveying next to no emotion.
"And it's my fault?"
"No! Gods damnit, look!" Qrow pushed hair anxiously out of his face. "I wanted to kill him initially, yea, but I got over that dumb shit and agreed with Ma and Cici! Letting them deal with it is the right choice, it's the most logical choice!"
"No you didn't, and no, it's not," Raven countered dryly.
Qrow's face was genuinely angry now.
"Ok, Rae? You're really pissin me the fuck off-"
"Oh? I hadn't noticed you were angry. Maybe you should keep shouting and waving your arms, while vomiting everything else you actually feel over my Semblance connection," Raven stood up slowly. She was currently dressed, her sword at her hip.
He blinked as if she'd slapped him. He had gotten lost in his own emotions and forgotten she could also feel what he was feeling.
"I…"
"You fucking what? Qrow?" Raven drawled. Laconic. "You want to blame me for this? But you're too scared and embarrassed to say it, so you're just making a lot of stupid fucking sounds?"
A wince.
"That is not true. I don't want to blame you, and I don't blame you-"
She inspected a couple of items on her belt, doing an inventory check. As if preparing to march out the door and off on a hunt.
"Or is it because you think I'm like him?" she glanced up at him for a moment. "And it's scaring you?"
"I do not think that," he said, an undercurrent of pain there. "At all. You're picking up on shit I'm feelin, but you aren't getting the actual context that goes with it, ok?"
She smirked, but it was dead cold.
"I think the context is fairly apparent at this point, don't you?"
Qrow looked almost nauseous, his face paler than ever.
"Hey? Guys?"
The twins glanced towards Taiyang, who was leaning on the desk, observing. He hadn't tried to moderate between them or control the conversation up until this point, and going off his expression, he seemed to understand the delicacy of the situation. Saying the wrong thing here, could potentially lead to disaster.
"I know things are really bad right now, and we're all freaked out. But lashing out at each other is going to help him, and is probably what he wants," Tai said, still leaning on the table. He sounded far more serious than normal, but calm. "Letting him get into our heads and divide us is handing him power over us. Let's not make it easier for him. Ok?"
Qrow exhaled through his nose, still visibly rattled while Raven eyed him.
"From Reinhardt's message, he's been on campus stalking us, learning about us, and our friends, and who knows what else - but the motive there is pretty obvious. He is trying to study us to find our weaknesses and what hurts us," Taiyang pushed off the desk finally, moving closer to them.
Neither twin moved away or closed off physically from this proximity.
"What he can use to manipulate us into getting what he wants; and he has decided that it is our friends, and the people we love, that he can use. And to be frank? He probably would have done something like this whether Raven tried to plan a hit on him or not. And ARSN might not have gotten any warning at all before it happened - he could have just nabbed one of them, or several, and then disappeared without a trace. We wouldn't know what happened either, not until it was too late. It's not ideal, at all, but at least we have some warning, and an idea of where they are."
Qrow rubbed the back of his head thoughtfully, while Raven's masking slipped a little and a bit of surprise showed through. She had perhaps not expected him to be in her corner.
"He isn't waiting around for the King's permission or for us to fuck up - he's taking action to insure that he gets what he wants," Taiyang insisted, before placing his palms gently on both of their shoulders. "So? What does Verdant want ? How do we get in his fucking head? And use it against him?"
Qrow winced, a storm of disgust and anger warring across his face as he thought about Verdant's mentality.
"I don't fuckin know what that freak wants," Qrow growled, ruffling up. He pulled out his flask and took a swig, sighing loudly to chase the fear away. "I really, really don't. He kept rantin about fixin things and, us needing to talk to him - even when he was interrogating me, he kept pushing that idea! Like, dipshit, you threw US away! Why the fuck do you wanna do a takes-backsies now?! It doesn't make any fuckin sense!"
Raven kept fidgeting with her Dust chamber instead of the Nevermore feathers; however, after putting some consideration into it, she spoke up.
"I know that his greater goal is decreasing Grimm through systemic change; and he partially blames marginalized or desperate people's reactions to our oppression for the surplus of Grimm," Raven added, her voice still coldly impersonal. Her eyes had a familiar spark in them though, electric. "Meaning he blames himself as well, he has to. But he also thinks if we are useful enough to people in power, then it doesn't matter how fucked up we are or what we've done, so long as we toe the line now. As to how that relates to us, I think, that's what he wants. For us to toe the line and work for him against-"
Raven trailed off for a moment, her eyes narrowing in thought, sharpening. The boys exchanged looks.
"What was it he said to Summer?" she whispered, half to herself as she tried to recall what the other girl had told her about their confrontation and the one sided conversation they'd had. "'There is the side of Life and the side of Decay….you're a productive member of society or...you are a pawn for Decay...and the death she brings."
Raven's face had shifted from frigid marble to something more familiar; stoic, but cunning and urgent.
"I know why he's doing this," she announced, glancing between the two of them, gaze electric.
"Uh. Ok?" Qrow eyed her. "Ya gonna share with the class, orrrr-"
"He's scared of Decay," Raven asserted firmly.
The boys blinked, nonplussed. She stared back at them.
"Decay. The source of the corruption? The," Raven waved her hand insistently. "The thing that has Set, our parents and rest of the free elders so scared - that thing, that Decay! The witch ."
Qrow nodded a little uncertainly, while Taiyang folded his arms in bemusement.
"...Fuck, ok," Raven rubbed her brow, realizing that perhaps she had forgotten to update them on certain things. Or realized that perhaps, especially in the case of her brother, they weren't obsessively cataloging these things like she was. "Uh, long story short, sometimes Set comes to me in my dreams and shows me weird magical plane shit and prophetic visions-"
Their eyes widened in unison.
"Uhhhhhh?" "He shows you his what ?!"
"And one of the things he revealed more to me was the witch and the warlock. Which, Qrow, you already know some of this from the jiani and our parents, so I don't know why you're acting shocked-"
"Wrong! I know fuck all, ok! The Jiani are all impossible to understand and Mom and Cici don't tell me shit!" Qrow interrupted irritably. "Now about Set! The fuck-"
"No time for Set!" Raven interrupted him right back. "We can't get hung up on Set right now! My point is that he tells me things sometimes when he's being an instigating little shit, and one of the things he has informed me about, to a small degree, is the witch. And that she is corrupting dead spirits, and making more Grimm, or - she's making more than there are supposed to be , somehow. He's terrible at details."
Taiyang's eyebrows rose until they disappeared behind his bangs, and Qrow, while not apparently shocked by this revelation, still seemed more hung up on the idea that Raven had conversations with Set once in a while.
"Woa. Ok," Tai rubbed the back of his neck. "So that's - why hasn't anyone stopped her, then? If she's supposedly doing that, why let her keep at it?"
A chill settled in the room. The young Hunters moved a little closer to one another, though they were unaware of it.
"Guessin it's pretty hard to stop her," Qrow drawled. "If she can make Grimm out of dead people, then she's probably…."
Another sinking pause, as if collectively listening for footsteps in the hallway, or the slithering of soft scales through the grass.
"I think it's safe to say she's another magic user, considering her title. Though what magic she has access too is...I don't think she's supposed to have it. Like she stole it or committed some….taboo to acquire it," Raven admitted.
Another heavy silence, menacing in its soft weight.
"Wait, how could she have - this problem with too many Grimm has been going on for all of recorded history," Taiyang shook his head, blue eyes screwing up as the scope began to really settle. "There have always been too many Grimm. She would have to be thousands of years old - older actually - for that to be fucking possible."
"Well. Maybe she is?" Qrow suggested with a too casual shrug, though his eyes were shining with anxiety. Raven and Taiyang exchanged glances, subtly pressing just a little closer to each other once again.
"How though?" Tai kept worrying that idea, over and over. "How could she theoretically live for that long? Magic can't make people immortal, right? Like, can magic make people immortal? Do we know that it can't? Or maybe she just has a Semblance that makes her live a long fucking time unless you kill her? Like a lobster?"
"A lobster witch?" Qrow droned, raising an eyebrow.
"Hey, nothing is impossible apparently! But that makes more sense to me than magic giving you immortality - because if it did, besides all the other obvious reasons, then why don't the free people have access to that knowledge too?" Tai floundered, looking at her for answers on the subject. "You see what I mean? Wouldn't that be extremely useful for a people that are always at the brink of being wiped out, and losing all of their knowledge and heritage?"
Raven brushed a hand against Tai's arm, her face tense.
"I don't have the answer to that. At least not yet. But I know who does ," she grimaced, her eyes darkening. "And I will try to get it out of him somehow, if I can. However, right now, what matters about the witch is that Verdant is likely scared of her. So scared of her, or impressed by the threat she is, that he did a complete 180 from the….man he used to be, or the one I remember...and became this."
"Did he do a 180, though?" Qrow grumbled, giving his sister a skeptical glare. "Cuz he was always a fucking cunt."
"I'm not disagreeing with you on that," she drawled wryly. "But the man from that time didn't have any concrete values or goals beyond making it to his next high, to the next day, to the next score. It's like that saying Bre loves, you know? He was busy chasing sunlight, but could never catch it. Beyond that, he didn't take risks like this, or ones that weren't entirely self-serving - at least from what I remember. Which isn't much, I'll be honest. I blocked most of him and that….tribe out."
Qrow scratched at his unshaved cheek, biting his bottom lip as he tried to put together the pieces.
"Most of what I remember, he was always bottom of the barrel. The other CromCruach never respected him, or us, and that used to piss him off real, real bad. Cuz he didn't have a Semblance or aura, I think was the biggest issue. And mine uh….caused problems. So our family was seen as like, a um. A burden," he muttered, squinting a little as he dredged the memories up from the bottom of time's river. "Or bad luck."
"Sooo," Tai started cautiously, well aware of the sensitivity of the subject at hand. "Basically, the CromCruach were shitty to you guys, for things you couldn't actually control. And when shit really hit the fan...they left you guys holding the bag?"
The twins were both visibly uncomfortable with this conversation, but nodded in concurrence.
"I think that's how it played out, yea," Qrow said quietly, after a pause. "We got caught between these Grimm packs and then us and the tribe split. Our little band drew the most Grimm, while the rest got away and then. The Hunters showed up. And then they forked us over, and...the rest is history, I guess."
Tai looked like he wanted to hug him, and Raven too; he settled for placing a warm palm on his shoulder, and an arm around Raven's waist. There was a solemn lull, before anyone spoke again.
"It must have happened after that ," Raven muttered finally. "And soon, for him to have had enough time to build all this over here, and abduct all of the skinchangers. He must have seen something, learned something, that drove him to this; and it's likely related to this witch."
"And got his aura and Semblance to unlock, maybe," Qrow cocked his head. "On top of getting suddenly chosen as a skinchanger - damn, he musta got it all at once huh?"
"Maybe lobster witch just scared him that badly?" Tai suggested.
Another eerie chill, ghosting down their collective spines.
"I'm not sure how it played out, or if we'll ever really know; but maybe we can use it to our advantage," Raven insisted finally, eyes narrowing.
"Aight. How?" Qrow grunted.
"Well, he wants to talk to us so badly?" Raven started. "Perhaps this will give him something worth talking about?"
Next to her, Taiyang immediately scowled.
"Uh uh," he shook his blonde head fiercely. "Uh uh no, veto. Veto hardcore."
"You didn't even let me finish," she groused, glaring up at him. He had about two inches of height on her, and it visibly irritated her at times. "Also, who put you in charge of vetos?"
"I did. Me. I am in charge of vetoes while Summer is gone, and she agreed with me," Tai nodded. "Because I am the most mature, obviously."
The twins glared at him.
"Oh, obviously . Are you going to let me finish my idea?" Raven drawled facetiously. "Or just keep shaking your head no?"
He continued to shake his head no, pursing his lips.
"Uh uh. He gets into both of your heads way too fast for this to be a safe bet," Tai persisted. "And there's no guarantee that he'll play fair-"
"I'm not planning on playing fair either, though, is the thing," Raven droned.
"- and Summer says he's got a Semblance that apparently allows him to control people, in some way!"
"Which he refused to use on us," Raven countered. "Because he knows, the second he fucking does, he won't be able to genuinely win us over. We'll never trust him, and he'll never be able to trust us; I doubt he'll use it unless given no other option, so our best bet-"
"Which means he is going to try to emotionally manipulate you!" Taiyang countered.
"You were the one who literally suggested we get in his head!" Raven exclaimed, pulling back as she glared at him in confusion.
"Yea, and come up with a viable strategy to outmaneuver him! Not put yourselves at risk for further abuse!" Taiyang exclaimed passionately.
"Taiyang? He is going to fucking kill our friends if we don't come up with something!" Raven shouted back, a break of genuine pain flashing across her face for a moment. "I'm not just blindly jumping on the grenade with this! I am genuinely trying to come up with a plan that will get him in an environment we can control where we can outplay him - and baiting him with an offer for peace talks is one way to do that! Maybe the only way, to be fucking honest, because that? That is what he wants ! And anything else, isn't going to probably cut it!"
Taiyang's fingers were clenching and unclenching in agitation as he began to pace, trying to self-soothe. Qrow's eyes were wide with concern as he glanced between his partner and his sister.
"He's going to expect a trap!" Tai insisted urgently. "And plan for that! Like, surely you see how this is a dangerous fucking idea that could get out of our control in a second!? All he has to do is involve the rest of the Service, if he hasn't already! He's bad enough on his own, but with all of them? It'll be next to impossible!"
"I meeean, if he had, they'd be dragging us down the hallway in cuffs already. Soooo," Qrow coughed awkwardly as his partner glared at him. "Just sayin! He seems to be flyin solo on this for now!"
"He has to be solo on this, actually. If they knew he'd been sneaking around on campus, or that we knew that, they'd probably be extremely pissed at him. Because if the Headmaster found out, then he could take further legal action against them and make them look like total fools in front of their King," Raven nodded thoughtfully, her eyes gleaming.
Taiyang floundered for a moment, before grasping at that.
"Ok. Really, really not ideal, considering what a manipulative shithead he is who will definitely hold it over us, but why don't we do that? Why don't we involve O-"
Quick as a flash, Raven placed a palm over his mouth, earning an outraged expression and noise. She winced apologetically.
"Sorry. I'm sorry, I know that was rude. But please don't say his name."
She pulled her hand back, noted it was covered in saliva from where he'd licked her, and made a face. He folded his arms, essentially pouting.
"And why can't we say his name?" Taiyang asked huffily.
"Because it draws his attention to the conversation, apparently," she insisted, wiping her hand on her combat skirt from where he had licked her. "And I don't want him to spy on us more like a Dust damn weirdo."
Tai and Qrow exchanged looks, mirroring one another's expressions.
"Did uhhh, Set tell you that one too?" Qrow prompted.
She rubbed her brow with her fingers.
"Yes. Yes he did."
The boys were apparently unimpressed.
"Dude, you've really gotta spill the rest of this shit. Cuz like, this gettin kinda ridiculous. You sound like mom right now," Qrow drawled, earning a grumpy sneer. "Yea? You sound just like mom-"
"Oh fuck off, I do not," she huffed.
"Yea you do," Qrow insisted, nodding.
"Look, I'm trying ok! It's just that a lot of bullshit keeps happening, and then I'm trying to keep up with it all, while trying to parse out what is true and an actual threat, or a lie, or if it's all in my head and not actually worth involving everyone else and it all gets backlogged really fast!" she gestured sharply, having ruffled up. "I'm not always trying to hide things, I promise, I'm just trying to filter out the white noise!"
Taiyang held up his palms while Qrow muttered something.
"Hey, I never said you weren't trying. I can see you're trying; this sounds like a lot," Tai brushed a hand along her shoulder in an effort to soothe. "But you know you can process stuff with us right? You don't have to try to filter it out all by yourself."
Some of the tension melted out of her frame, and Raven glanced off briefly, before looking back at him.
"Once we get a handle on this situation with Verdant? We all need to sit down and make sure we're on the same page in terms of what we all know and what's going on," she insisted, meeting the boys' gazes firmly. "Because I don't think this pace is going to slow, in terms of mystical information bombardment. But first? We have to save our fucking friends from a crazy piece of shit, and not get killed, captured or psychology abused in the process. So how do we do that ?"
The boys shared a look, before Qrow suddenly smirked and turned to his sister.
"Maybe Sum can pull his ass into the Mirrorways and just like, leave him there?"
Raven's head tilted, a shocked smile spreading across her face that quickly changed into something rather devious.
"Hmm. That could do it."
"Or? It could drive him even crazier , and if he gets out somehow, then we might be really fucked," Tai countered, observing the little grins on his teammates with mild concern. "We shouldn't leave him as an open end like that; we need a permanent solution to the Verdant problem."
"The permanent solution is death," Raven drawled sardonically. "But everyone criticized that when it was my idea."
"NO, we criticized that you tried to plot to kill him on your own without tellin us," Qrow countered irritably.
Raven rounded on him immediately, and Taiyang sighed.
"No, you said it was an insane ass idea to try to kill him!"
"Yea! And I stand by that!"
"But leaving him in the Mirrorways, OH! THAT'S JUST FIIIINE!" Raven exclaimed, tossing her hand in frustration as Qrow sneered. "That's soooo much better than death! You've never even been in there -Trust me, my idea was leagues kinder! Yours? Yours is eternal torment and madness!"
"Good, he deserves it!" Qroiw practically stomped his foot.
"YOU ARE SUCH A FUCKING HYPOCRITE-"
A spritz of water smacked both twin's in the face.
The twins fumed at each other for a moment, before turning to glare at the unrepentant blonde with the spray bottle; he waved it menacingly.
"Stop it," he instructed. The pair glared at him, and he lifted it in warning. "Uh uh. No. Stop it."
Raven wiped her face with her sleeve, glaring daggers at her boyfriend, while Qrow wiped his face with his palm and smeared the rest on his sister, who immediately shoved him in retaliation. Taiyang sprayed water in the air like a warning shot across the bow, and the twins sulked and fumed in concert.
"Be nice to each other," he insisted seriously, despite menacing them with a silly spray bottle. "Now - maybe the Mirrorways idea isn't so bad, at least in terms of getting him in an environment we can control? But we probably shouldn't leave him there; because he'll be a loose end, and like you said, it's probably an extremely cruel thing to do. And we are better than that."
"Tch, speak for yourself, Vanilla," Qrow grumbled, still sulking at having been sprayed.
"We need Summer here to go over the logistics of that," Raven continued, glancing at the mirror piece on her girlfriend's bed, lines of concern pulling on her face. "We could also use my Semblance as well, or Taiyang's; those have less chance for sudden mental breakdowns for the three of us, afterall, and are safer for us to use. But if we were to portal him somewhere, where would it be?"
The trio paused as they tried to come up with secure locations to deposit a genocidal skinchanger with government connections, authority, a dominating Semblance and a will to systemically restructure all of Remnant.
"The bottom of the ocean," Qrow drawled. "The moon. O- uh, the Headmasters office. Joan's office. Prison won't work - Mom's tent. We just drop his ass, boop, right there, and Cici, Nwyfre and the others rip him into funfetti."
"Hold on," Raven raised a scarred finger. "Involving other people will expose them to his Semblance, which we don't know how powerful it is - but if he could take down all of ARSN? Even if they were unarmed, it wouldn't have been easy, especially with Sigyn and Natalia - they'd fight back with nothing but a toothpick and their bare hands, and are feral enough to probably win. Even if he got the drop on them, his Semblance has to be broken as shit to be able to pull that off."
"He can also, in case you have both forgotten, turn into a fucking werewolf," Taiyang reminded them helpfully.
Raven fidgeted at that, glancing at her fingers for whatever reason.
"Yea, and you beat the fur off his ass," Qrow shrugged. "I think we can collectively handle him."
"Not to like, downplay my skills or whatever, because I know I'm pretty badass? But he had next to no aura, while I was running on full juice. I don't even think he could use his Semblance when we fought, or he absolutely would have. He was pissed off and wanted to kill me, no doubt," Tai insisted, his blue eyes clouding in thought. "So I think he has to have a lot of gas in the tank to use that Semblance for long. Meaning he'll probably need a lot of aura boosters to keep it running in a serious fight. We can use that against him if we keep the pressure on, nonstop."
Raven hummed in agreement, playing with her hilt, while Qrow glanced up.
"That's a good point. He doesn't soak damage forever, either," Qrow brought up, playing with his necklace pensively. "When I fought him, he mostly tried to dodge or deflect my strikes, tryin to conserve aura as much as he could; and then the bitch went and poisoned me."
"He fights dirty," Raven raised a brow in understanding. "It's how he survived for so long without power. But so do I."
"Yea, and he expects you to. Like, he wants you to be like him, it validates him," Qrow rasped, frustration and exhaustion making his voice rougher. "It validates his shitty little worldview if you mirror him - "
"Which, we could use against him, I'm just saying," Raven insisted. "He's so desperate for us to be like him and validate his damage? That we could use that to manipulate him."
"Yeaaa, but also, gross?"
Raven hesitated.
"Yea," she conceded after a moment, looking uncomfortable. "Fair point."
"What if we hand him over to Tormund, and let the Witchfingers deal with him?" Taiyang suggested suddenly, glancing between the pair. "We beat him up, rescue our friends, turn him over to them, and they take care of it?"
Raven blinked, tilting her head a little in thought before nodding along, while Qrow seemed equally agreeable to this idea.
"Tormund was...well, technically he was supplying me for my assassination attempt," she admitted ruefully. The boys did not seem surprised by this information, but neither were they impressed by it. "I would have suggested involving him sooner, but I wasn't supposed to tell any of you about this - and especially not ARSN. He's going to be extremely pissed off about Sigyn. I don't know if he'll blame me or not, but I'm not eager to find out."
"Well, he can get his sunny little ass the fuck over it," Tai chimed immediately. "So wait, he was letting you take all the real risk on this? By yourself?"
"No. I went to him for advice and supplies," Raven rubbed her forehead. "Which was apparently not the best move on my part, because Summer is probably not going to like that very much."
"Nope. Probably not," Qrow drawled, earning a glare. He shrugged, but gave her a sincere look. "Still, Tormund's just as guilty here. He knew Verdant was a threat. Otherwise he wouldn't have gone along with this shit, let alone funded it. But instead of interfering or informing anyone else about what you were doing, he let you do all the heavy liftin by yourself. Cuz he didn't want his daughters involved, which - I mean, I get that, I guess. But you're somebody's daughter, too. Not an adult Witchfinger or, well, the Morrigan. Not yet, anyways."
Raven gave her brother a skeptical stare and folded her arms.
"We are not children. I am not a child, and Tormund respects that. The man has most government agencies monitoring his daily activities already, and just meeting with me was a huge risk. He wasn't manipulating me, it wasn't his idea in the first place; and if Sigyn or Summer had gone to him, I bet he would have done the same thing."
"No," Tai shook his head firmly. "I don't think he would have. No way would he have let them do it alone. Qrow's right. So yea, he totally owes us for this shit. And if he tries to blame you for what Verdant's done, or Sigyn or ARSN, then he's fucking full of it."
Raven snorted.
"You know, I'd pay real money to see you tell him that to his face."
"Bet," Taiyang stuck his hand out. "Bet me. I'll tell him straight to his face."
"Uh huh. Remember the last time you tried to pick a fight with a Witchfinger?" Raven drawled, cocking her hip. "And how that played out?"
"Nope. I don't remember shit," Taiyang beamed playfully.
"That's probably cuz of the concussion," Qrow droned.
"Let's get back on track," Raven rolled her eyes, though there was no heat there. "So our working plan is we rescue our friends and somehow subdue Verdant, turn him over to the Witchfingers in secret, all before the school day starts in a few hours and the Headmaster notices we're missing or can prove we're up to magical bullshit he won't approve of after he yelled at us about it?"
"Yep." "Sounds like a plan."
"Ok," Raven nodded, her fingers still grasping her hilt. The trio appraised one another, before glancing at the mirror piece on Summer's bed; it had begun to shine, giving a little warning flash as the aetheri approached.
"Then let's do it."