So, there are a few people who seem to think I'm going on some "bashing Ozpin" spree with this story. I've even had some suggest in PMs that I "hate on Ozpin in every story", despite there only being one where he is painted as anything other than a hero, and even in that one (Relic of the Future) he's painted more as a hero willing to go to any lengths, some of them too far for Jaune's character.

Some people need to relax a little. It's not `bashing` to have Jaune and Glynda point out that Ozpin isn't telling them enough – that's fact, and something explored in the show – nor is it bashing to have them say that Ozpin could learn to trust them a little more.

The fact they want Ozpin back in Beacon with them should be sign enough of how much they respect and trust him. Otherwise, they'd just leave him and Oscar walking around Mistral. They want Ozpin back so that they can all work together again. They're just aware that Ozpin might not accept that, seeing as how HE has other plans.

Cover Art: Mystery White Flame

Chapter 13

Bullhead rides were awkward at the best of times. When your name was Jaune Arc, they could be downright dangerous. If it wasn't enough that his stomach was wrapping itself around his throat and trying to expel its contents, he had Glynda sat next to him with her hands in her lap and a prim and proper expression on her face, all the while she refused to so much as look at him. On his other side, Neo sat, initially content to be next to him but now reconsidering her options and leaning as far away from him as her safety harness allowed.

The way she kept eyeing the window suggested she was considering her odds of survival jumping out if he lost it. Or of throwing him out.

Opposite him, Yang continued to chatter about how awesome she was. Oh, she didn't say it like that, but she was talking about all the cool things she got up to in Signal, with Ruby chiming in like Ren would to Nora, correcting the more fanciful stories. Yang glowered at her sister each and every time.

Blake was busy staring out a window. Her thoughts were a mystery to no one. White Fang, White Fang, White Fang and, he was sure, a current plan for how to sneak away from her team and interrupt the meeting between him and the White Fang. Meanwhile, as if to mock his suffering further still, Pyrrha was humming happily and tapping her foot on the floor.

The beat dug directly into his brain.

"You okay, prof?" Yang asked. "You don't look so hot." She winked. "I can warm you up if you like."

Glynda coughed loudly.

Neo echoed her silently.

"Maybe he's just hungry," Nora said. She rummaged in her pocket. "Here, I've got a cheese and egg sandwich."

The smell hit his nostrils. His hands hit his mouth.

"Urp."

/-/

Ten pale people and a shaking Nevermore stepped off a Bullhead that had landed in the outskirts of Mistral, at a small regional landing strip. The pilot stepped off too, walking several metres away placing her hands on her knees and heaving for air. The students weren't much better, though Glynda fought to maintain her composure and suffered in silence. Meanwhile, Jaune stumbled off with a brown paper bag in one hand, heavy and ominously sloshing.

"May I take your bag, sir?" an attendant asked politely.

Jaune looked at it. "No. That's fine."

"Please, sir, I insist." The man took it with a pleasant smile. One that died a second later as he felt the contents move around. His face paled and he made to hand it back to him, only for Jaune to turn his back and pointedly start talking to his students.

He heard the man run away, hand over her nose.

"Right, well. Here we are. Mistral."

"How-?" Yang wheezed on her hands and knees. "W-Was that a Semblance? A biological, weaponised, Semblance? Is that why we've never seen you use your Semblance before?"

"It's just like Misenwood!" Nora wailed.

"Nora." Ren pointed. "There's some on your skirt."

"Arghhhh!" Nora threw herself to the ground and rolled around. "Stop, drop and roll! Stop, drop and roll!"

"It's not fire…"

"Every man has his weaknesses," Jaune grumbled, all too aware that he had numerous. "Bullheads just happen to be mine. Everyone's a critic." With a shake of his head, he addressed the two teams. "Right. As you've no doubt noticed, we've landed outside Mistral instead of in it. I'm sure you're wondering why."

"Not really," Pyrrha said, all smiles. "I just assumed it was the pilot pulling emergency manoeuvres to get us off before we all suffocated in a hazy miasma of your gastric juices."

"How are you saying that with such a smile on your face?" Velvet whimpered.

"I'm just happy to be on a mission!" Pyrrha cheered brightly.

Kids. He was never having kids. And to hell with them being the same age as he was. "Anyway," he said, fighting to bring the conversation away from his unfortunate discharge. "The point I was trying to make is that we're actually doing this mission a little incognito. We can't afford to be seen ahead of time, at least not by anyone important."

"Because of the White Fang?" Blake guessed.

"Actually, no. We're fine on that front. It's the other task." The one he and Glynda hadn't shared with Team RWBY or JNPR because really, how did you explain child abduction without it sounding all kinds of wrong?

"You are to secure and extract a VIP from Haven," Glynda said. "Someone who is on our side, yet understandably nervous about being exposed. They have a cover to keep in the face of certain enemies of ours."

Huh. That… was a surprisingly good lie.

"Like a spy mission?" Ruby asked with shining eyes.

"Yes, Miss Rose. Like a spy mission."

"Eeeeee!"

"Can we swap missions?" Nora asked. "That sounds awesome!"

"I'll swap," Blake said hopefully.

"Denied!" Glynda snapped. "I will file a restraining order on you on the White Fang's behalf if I must, Miss Belladonna. Also, Team RWBY was intentionally selected for this mission because the agent we are extracting requested you by name."

That got their attention. "Really?" Yang asked. "We know 'em?"

"Oh God. It's Sun." Blake clung to her ears. "No, no, no…"

"It's not Mr Wukong either," Glynda said, drawing a sigh of relief from Blake. "You've not met the person before, but they know of you. Unfortunately, we don't have an image to provide you."

"Then how will we know them?" Yang asked. "I'm assuming since you mentioned going incognito that you won't be coming with us."

"Correct. If Jaune or I show our faces, our enemies are sure to react and the agent – for his own safety – will go to ground." It was as good an explanation as any for why Ozpin might run. "Fortunately, you'll be escorted by a huntsman the agent will be willing to make contact with. Qrow Branwen."

"Uncle is here?"

"Or on his way," Jaune said, taking over. "Anyway, your contact is one Oscar Pine. He'll find you. Or Leonardo Lionheart, the headmaster of Haven, will take you to him. Your cover is that you're going to go out on a huntsman mission with him to his village. That's what you have to pretend is happening, even to him! Don't question anything he says, just agree and let Qrow do all the talking."

"What's our real job?" Yang asked. "Bring him back here?"

"Exactly."

"Why can't we just tell that to him?"

Good question.

"Because, Miss Xiao-Long, there may well be spies in Haven." Glynda lied. "What with the attack on Beacon, it would make sense for Cinder to try the same in another academy."

"Ohhh…"

"Makes sense."

"Is Haven in danger?"

The questions came from each member of Team RWBY.

"Not if we get Oscar Pine back with us," Glynda said. "He has valuable information that will better allow us to react to the enemy's plans. But you cannot make it seem like that is the case."

"Or he'll be in danger," Blake finished, connecting the dots and coming straight to the conclusion Glynda wanted her to. "He's an informant. I get it. We did the same thing with the White Fang at times, having sympathetic agents we'd have to meet with. We even had to pretend to `kidnap` some, just to get them out of dangerous situations without breaking their cover."

"That is exactly what's going on here!" Jaune said, happy to jump on the life raft Blake had offered him. "Your job is to work with Qrow to get him out and bring him back to us without him or anyone else knowing we're here. Once you do, we'll talk to Oscar and explain the situation and it'll be mission success."

"Cool. Any chance of enemies?" Yang asked.

"Unknown," Glynda said quickly. "Haven should be safe, but them so should have Beacon. The headmaster and I shall be waiting in the forest on the outskirts of Haven, staying hidden. If the worst comes to pass, your priority is getting Mr Pine out of there. Understood? He is not a combatant and Qrow Branwen can flee at his leisure thanks to his unique abilities. Staying to fight only places you, Oscar and Qrow in danger. Am I understood, Miss Rose?"

"W-Why are you asking that only to me?" Ruby whined.

"Am I understood, Miss Rose?"

"She understands," Yang said. "Protect the innocent, trust Uncle Qrow to handle anything bad and escort the VIP into the woods to find you. Tell no one, not even the VIP, and act like we're on a typical Grimm-killing mission. We got it."

"Good. Team RVNN's mission will take place one this one has been concluded, so until then you're free to do as you wish. Team RWBY will have off-time while Team RVNN handle their assorted tasks. Until then, I suppose we should find Qrow." Glynda hummed. "He should be somewhere in town."

"Bar," Ruby and Yang said in perfect unison.

"Sounds about right." Jaune sighed. "Fine. I'll go find him. Ren, do you-"

"With all due respect, sir, I remember what happened the last time I was at a bar with you and Mr Branwen. I would rather not experience that again."

Glynda looked to Jaune, giving him an incredulous `tell me you did not get a student drunk` look.

"Ahem." Jaune failed to meet her eyes and coughed into one hand. "W-Well then, I guess Neo and I will go find him. The rest of you can follow Glynda to the hotel we arranged for and we'll meet you there later tonight. You'll be making your way to Haven on foot tomorrow."

Jaune beat a hasty retreat as Glynda continued to glare at him for being so irresponsible. He didn't think that saying it was Qrow and Taiyang's fault would really save him, especially when he was supposed to be the responsible adult looking after Team RVNN at the time. Everything had ended alright, though. A town riot, mob justice, Velvet nearly being killed and dissected by some faunus-obsessed psychopath.

Normal stuff.

It wasn't hard to find the small town's watering hole. It was slap bang in the centre of town with some local workers out on the wooden benches laughing and drinking. Making his way inside, his fancy clothes earned a few looks but little more. There at the bar, he spied a familiar figure slumped over. Jaune made his way over and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Hey. Glad you could make it."

"You too," Qrow mumbled, taking a long drink. "And your owner," he added, nodding to Neo. Neo grinned back, stealing a cracker and offering it to her Nevermore, perched on her shoulder. Come to think of it, it was probably the Grimm getting more looks than his outfit.

The people dismissed it, though. Not because they trusted him or Neo, but because what they thought they were seeing – a tamed Grimm – was so impossible that they figured it must have been a trick. A prop, animatronic or even just a regular bird with a mask on.

The Nevermore, still unnamed, munched happily on the cracker.

"You okay?" Jaune asked, knowing the man wasn't. He held up a hand. "Three drinks please. Vodka mixers."

"Might wanna order some for yourself too."

"Yikes. That bad? What, did Raven stab you or something?"

"Or something," Qrow muttered. "Might as well take a seat, I'm not going anywhere until I'm well and truly blitzed." Qrow took one of the new drinks and took a long sip. The smell of his breath said he'd been deep in his cups already before Jaune and Neo arrived. "You know, I always thought it was a bitch move how Raven just up and left. Never said anything to any of us and never gave us a chance to talk to her. Just left one day and never came back. I thought it was the worst betrayal."

"I can understand why. She abandoned your best friend and your niece." Jaune sat and sipped his own drink, leaving Neo to do the same on the other side, now letting her pet Grimm try some vodka. "No matter her reasons, that was a horrible thing to do."

"Yeah." Qrow grimaced. "Thing is, looks like I might have been wrong on that front. Turns out Raven spent months trying to talk to us, and we up and ignored her." He let the empty glass clatter down and ran a finger around the rim. Without being asked to, the bartender refilled it. "Months when she was pregnant, too. I can remember it, looking back. She would question why Ozpin was doing what he was doing, why we trusted him. Kept telling us to think for ourselves and that she didn't want the team involved. That Ozpin couldn't be trusted."

"And what happened?"

"Nothing." Qrow grimaced. "Fucking nothing. I… I don't even remember if I talked to her about it. I remember arguing over the clan and accusing her of wanting to run back to them. That pissed her off. I remember Summer just saying we could trust Oz and… well, Summer was our team leader. I just sorta followed her lead. Taiyang did, too. We all believed in Ozpin. All of us except Raven."

"Did she ever say why? Back then, I mean."

"I dunno. According to her, yeah, but… that's what sucks, Jaune. I just don't know. If she did, I obviously didn't listen to her. No one did. Or if we did, we dismissed what she was saying, either as paranoia or pregnancy hormones." Qrow shook his head. "I'd get into arguments with her. Summer would laugh it off and Taiyang would just tell her it'd all be okay. No one actually took the time to sort it out or help her, we just dismissed whatever she said as nonsense and left it at that."

Taking his fresh drink, he took a long sip, draining it all in one go and slamming the glass down again. The bartender looked to Jaune, who nodded and pushed some lien across the table. Enough to cover this, the next and a good five or six rounds after. "You trusted Ozpin," Jaune said. "I don't think you made the wrong decision. As much as we're going against him here, it's only because we want him working with us. What else could you do? Join the enemy? That would be even worse."

"I get that. I don't regret trusting Ozpin, even now. Summer died knowing the risks and Ozpin was as broken up about it as I was. He wants the best for people, Jaune, he really does."

"I know. I believe in him."

"It's just… Just…" Qrow groaned, took the fresh drink and had half. There was no telling how much he'd had before. "Even if Raven was wrong, we should have listened. Shouldn't we? Should have done something to address the issue and convinced her to put some faith in him. But we didn't. We just laughed it off, ignored it or told her not to worry."

"I remember that after a while she just stopped bringing it up. Stopped mentioning it. Stopped talking to us about it, or about anything. Raven would just nod her head and agree with whatever we said." His fist slammed onto the bar. "Fuck. I remember thinking she'd got over it. That she'd stopped being so paranoid. Now I realise that was when she gave up on us, when she realised none of us were going to listen to her. When she realised her opinion didn't matter. That she didn't matter, for all that we said she did."

"Qrow. I'm sure it wasn't like that."

"It wasn't!" he spat. "Of course it wasn't! But what was she supposed to think? Me and Raven, we didn't grow up like normal people. We were messed up kids when we got to Beacon and only started getting more normal after a year of that. We weren't taught to come to people with problems, let alone insecurities. When Raven did, that should have been a big thing. We should have listened. Should have encouraged her and proved we could be trusted. Fuck, Taiyang was her husband and he didn't. I can't even blame him since Summer and I didn't either, and I was her brother. What was she supposed to do when everyone was just ignoring her opinion and running over her?"

"Not run away," Jaune pointed out. "Not abandon her husband and child."

"Yeah." Qrow drank a little more. "Yeah, you got a point there. There's no forgiving that. Yang didn't do anything wrong. But even if Raven messed that up, doesn't change the fact we messed up too."

"It doesn't," Jaune admitted, because as much as he liked Qrow and Taiyang, he could understand why ignoring Raven's concerns would be a bad thing. "But that doesn't make everything your fault, either. People make mistakes. Kids make mistakes. You were teenagers."

"Young adults. We were twenty-one."

"Barely out of your teens," Jaune said with a roll of his eyes. "People aren't perfect and it's easy to spot mistakes looking back."

"You realise you're only eighteen," Qrow slurred. "Yet you're talking about us like we were kids."

"I feel older sometimes." When he wasn't throwing up in airships. "Plus, I'm probably the most experienced man you'll ever find on making mistakes. I mean, my life is basically one long list of them at the moment."

"Heh. You know, Ozpin used to say the same thing. How he's made more mistakes than any man alive."

"Considering he gets to come back from the dead, I wouldn't read into that. A little unfair to say he's the worst when he's probably had, like, a hundred lifetimes to make them." Jaune grinned. "One lifetime on one, I reckon I can beat him."

"Ha!" Qrow drank. "Maybe."

"Do you still trust Ozpin, with everything you learned from Raven?"

"Yeah. I guess I do. Is that bad? Raven finally got her piece out and I finally listened, but in the end I still trust him. Is that wrong?"

Jaune shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think so. What you all did wrong with Raven was refuse to listen to her. It wasn't refusing to believe her. You've listened to her now. A decade or two late, sure, but you still get to make your own mind up on what she says."

"Yeah." Qrow sighed. "Yeah, you're right. It was a bitch move of us to ignore her, but just as bitch for her to run out on Tai and Yang. And I think even if I had listened, I'd have still sided with Ozpin. Just… maybe we could have helped Raven past her issues. Helped her come to trust him and stay with us."

"Maybe. But then maybe Ruby wouldn't be alive. The past is the past, Qrow. Not much point dwelling on it."

"Heh." Qrow turned. To Jaune's relief, the same self-hate was diminished. Still there, and likely to be there until Qrow could speak with Taiyang and they could go over it, blame themselves and get over it in their own time, but it was lessened. "Look at you, old man. Half my age and offering me advice at a bar."

"Hey. Ozpin did make me student counsellor. And you were once a student."

"You sure you're not trying to pick me up? I warn you, it takes more than buying me a few drinks to get in my pants."

Jaune laughed, seeing the change in subject for what it was. Qrow would be okay. In his own time and with a few days to work over everything he'd learned. "You caught me. I take it you'll be able to give us a report on what Raven said about things once we're back in Beacon?"

"Yeah. Give it a few days and I'll have something ready. It's not much we didn't already know, but there are a few things to worry about. Nothing immediate, though." Qrow picked up his drink and held it out to him. "For now, how about a toast?"

Shrugging, Jaune brought his glass up, while Neo leaned over to do the same, her Nevermore swaying precariously on her arm.

"What are we toasting?"

"Fuck knows. Getting piss drunk?"

"Cheers!"

Neo cheered silently, clinking her glass against his and Qrow's.

/-/

Jaune woke up with a splitting headache and to a foot nudging his shoulder. He groaned.

"Oh, they're alive. That's good."

"Unfortunately for them," a far icier voice replied, one that was ominously familiar. "This is quite the image to be presenting to your students, headmaster. Quite the image indeed."

"Ugh." Jaune opened his eyes, saw Glynda and closed them again. "W-What happened?"

"I was hoping you might tell me, headmaster."

"It looks like the most confusing orgy known to man," someone – probably Yang – said none-too-quietly.

Jaune's eyes cracked open again, taking in his position. There was something heavy and warm on his chest. Looking down, he saw the top of Neo's hair, the rest of her hidden behind pink and brown fuzz, although he could feel her splayed out on top of him, head resting on his chest. Nothing unusual there; he was often a pillow for her.

The Nevermore on her back was a little different. The thing was equally spread, wings laid haphazardly as it slumped over her back, tailfeathers in the back of Neo's hair and its little chest rising and falling.

For some reason, their bedroom had an open ceiling looking directly up into the sky.

"Where am I?" he mumbled. "Where's Qrow?"

A groan from underneath him answered that question.

"Oh…"

"To be fair, they almost made it to the hotel," Pyrrha said, still sounding remarkably chipper about everything. "Only about fifty more metres to the front door."

"That does little to solve the issue of our esteemed headmaster laying flat-out drunk and asleep in the middle of the street, Miss Nikos. Very little at all." Past Glynda's icy tone, Jaune could hear Nora and Yang snickering. "I hope you don't expect the morning off, headmaster. We have work to do. As does Mr Branwen."

"Gl-Gly-Glen?" Qrow tried. "Izzat Glen?"

"Glynda."

"S'what I said." Qrow's lips smacked loudly. "Ugh, I feel wrecked. What happened? Did I get laid?"

"You got laid out," Yang said unhelpfully.

"Ugh. Is that my least favourite niece?"

"Yang's just jealous you scored the headmaster before she could," Velvet said.

"Scored-?" Qrow opened his eyes and looked down. "Oh hell. Wait, there's one girl there. Dude, I know she's short but tell me she's legal. It's okay if it's in a three-"

"Qrow!" Glynda snapped.

"Fine. Fine." Qrow extricated himself with a yawn. "I was only messin'. You don't drink as much as I do and not get used to waking up with a hangover."

"I'd imagine waking up sober is more startling," Glynda growled.

"Pretty much. So, me and the kiddos off to collect-"

"Oscar," Glynda interrupted quickly, before Qrow could blow the game.

"Right. Oscar. Cool. Okay, Yang, Ruby, Bake-"

"Blake."

"S'what I said. First lesson of the day, how to support a wounded huntsman through Grimm territory. Second lesson, amateur first aid." Qrow caught the headache tablets Ruby tossed him. "Huh. You pass with flying colours. Not bad."

Glynda was shaking badly.

Wanting to prevent a massacre, Jaune fumbled his way up, having to bodily lift a clingy Neo who refused to let go, and an even clingier Nevermore who hooked its talons into Neo's jacket and hung upside down like a bat, all without waking up. His arms were full, which meant the headache pills kindly offered by Ruby bounced off his forehead.

"Thanks," he mumbled anyway. "Okay, mission is a go. Qrow and Team RWBY go find Oz-car," he said at Glynda's stern glare. "Oscar. We'll wait in the woods out of sight. Team JNPR can come with us, but our goals are not to draw attention. Once Qrow and Team RWBY get Oscar and convince him to come with them, you meet with us and we get out of there. Any questions?"

"When will you be meeting with the White Fang?"

"Any questions not from Blake?" He looked around, ignoring Blake's scowl. "No? Great. Let's get this show on the road."

/-/

"Get up to anything interesting last night?" Yang teased.

"Define interesting," Qrow mumbled. "And none of your business, brat. See, this is why Ruby is my favourite niece. She's less nosey."

Yang stuck her tongue out at him.

"Anything we should know about this Oscar person?" Blake asked. "Anything we can know?"

"He's fourteen or fifteen, probably quite short. Talks a bit like an old man at times. Leonardo Lionheart is our contact at Haven and he'll be able to point us in the right direction. The problem isn't finding Oscar, more getting him out without causing a fuss."

"Miss Goodwitch said to let you handle the talking," Ruby said.

"Did she now? First I heard of it." Qrow sighed. "But I guess she's right. Oscar trusts me."

"Is he your illegitimate lovechild?" Yang asked. "Have you been having an affair, Uncle Qrow?"

"Can't have an affair without a wife, can I, brat?" he asked, swatting for Yang's head. She ducked away, laughing happily. "He's not a distant relative of yours, no. Just some poor kid in over his head. Take it easy on him, alright? None of your usual shenanigans."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll show him some Xiao-Long charm."

"That's what I'm afraid of…"

Oh well, Ozpin could handle it. He hoped. Important thing was getting the old man back to Beacon and set up again, then they could start working on how to hold off Salem. Ozpin was going to be annoyed at them going behind his back, but he'd calm down once they explained.

Safer this way than waiting for one of their enemies to find him.

/-/

Ozpin stood in control of Oscar's body as he followed Leonardo through the halls of Haven. It had been agreed upon before that he would stay in control for their first meeting with Qrow and Team RWBY. There would need to be explanations, some of which might take some time.

"I have them waiting in a meeting room," Leonardo explained. "I wasn't sure whether you wanted this keeping quiet or not but erred on the side of caution."

"Thank you. I believe it would be best if their arrival and my exit are not seen by our enemies."

"Oh, you won't have to worry about that."

Turning away from areas meant for students, Ozpin and Leonardo walked side by side through quieter parts of the school, away from classrooms, public hallways and dorms and towards areas reserved for private visitors, VIPs or important conferences. Beacon had its own facilities of that kind. Or had them. There was little telling if they were still functional.

"So, Team Ruby…" Oscar began.

"RWBY, Oscar. With a W."

"Why?"

"You would have had to be there to understand. Regardless, as I understand it, the W from their team is currently missing, so it would be more accurate to call it Team RBY. I'll need to ask you not to stare or do anything foolish in their presence. While I am aware that they are young woman, and you are a young man, and thus prone to becoming attracted to any female with a pulse-"

"I'm not that bad!"

"The point remains that we must work with them on a task of utmost importance. We cannot afford any distractions, not even for your hormones."

"Hate you so much…"

"I'm sure you'll get over it."

Or he wouldn't and he would be absorbed into Ozpin's psyche. Either option was more likely at this point, especially since there was no hard rule on when or how that would happen. It was something he particularly detested – not because it was a painful or harrowing experience, but because it essentially erased the person who had inhabited the body before. If two became one, then that was still, in essence, the death of one.

The Gods had chosen to punish him. He understood that. But why, oh why, did they have to punish others at the same time? What had Oscar done to deserve this? What had Ozpin – the real Ozpin – done before him?

Nothing. Their only crime was in having the potential to do good.

It's times like this I agree with Salem's thoughts on the Gods. We truly are better off without them.

If only Salem had understood that, and not sought to become one such herself. Alas, the past was the past and regrets would do little to change that now. All that could be done was to work toward protecting the people of Remnant.

In that regard, he was grateful to have allies like Leonardo Lionheart.

"They're in here," Leo said, placing a hand on the door and pushing it open. "They've been waiting for you for some time. I'm sure you've plenty to catch up on."

"I'm sure we have," Ozpin said, entering with Leonardo coming behind. "It is-"

Ozpin froze.

Cinder Fall stood from the desk she was sat at, smiling cruelly at him, half her face scarred beyond recognition and one eye missing. Beside her and sat at the table, Hazel Rainart and Tyrian Callows sat, the latter with his feet kicked up onto the woodwork, the former watching Ozpin with a piercing expression.

"Hello Ozpin," Cinder said. "It's good to see you again."

Behind him, the door locked shut. Leonardo guarded the only exit, arms crossed.

Betrayal.

"So…" Oscar said. "Which one of them is Ruby?"

The one with the dark hair, obviously.

Poor Oscar. He really is in over his head. I was kinda expecting more character from him in the show for that, but he just became competent just about straight away, and just had a half-arsed conflict later on, which was solved off-screen in the space of a single episode.

Omake:

"Is it just me or have Qrow and Raven been… different since Ozpin gave them bird powers?"

"What do you mean?" Taiyang asked, looking up from the homework he'd been busy procrastinating over. "Raven is crabby even as a bird. If I so much as go near her, she glares at me until I feel about two inches tall." He shrugged. "Feels normal to me."

"Okay, sure, in that regard." Also normal in the regard that Taiyang wouldn't notice her if she paraded naked in front of him. Stupid love triangles. "But I'm just… I just think they're acting a little... Odd."

Taiyang gave up on pretending to do his work and turned to her. "How so?"

"Well…"

Summer tuned toward the window.

"BACK OFF!" Raven roared, hurling a pencil sharpener out the window. With a loud amount of screeching, several birds took off and flew by. "This is my territory! You're not strong enough to take it!"

Summer looked back to Taiyang, eyebrow raised.

Taiyang shrugged. "She's always been territorial. Don't you remember when you accidentally slept in her bed?"

"It's not just that…"

"My bath!" Raven gasped. In a second, she had one foot up on the windowsill. The next, she was free-falling toward the ground, shouting angrily.

"Bath…?" Taiyang asked Summer.

"A birdbath…"

"Okay, I'll admit that's a little unusual. But like I said, Raven's always been unique. It's part of her charm." His expression turned dopey, a loving sigh slipping from his lips. Summer wanted to shove a pillow in his face and smother him.

"Tai, she's attacking birds."

"It's fine."

"Tai, I found her yesterday trying to work her fingers through a bird feeder."

"Seeds are healthy for humans to eat as well."

"Tai! Raven tried to preen me yesterday!"

"She doesn't have hands. What else is she to use but her beak?"

"IN HUMAN FORM!" Summer roared. "She just… sat me down in front of her and started rummaging through my hair."

"Hey, birds only do that to ones they consider close friends or family." Taiyang missed her murderous expression. "That's kinda cute."

"Tai, I'm going to stab you…"

"I'm back," Raven said, pushing through the door with a bird feeder in one hand and feathers sticking out from her hair. "Showed those bastards exactly who they're dealing with. They won't come shake their tail feathers around here again." Growling to herself, Raven tore the end of the bird feeder and poured some into her mouth.

Summer looked to Tai pointedly.

He nodded back and turned to Raven. "Hey, if you're hungry, you and I could go get some food out in town. I know a nice place."

"No."

Taiyang wilted.

Summer slapped a hand into her forehead.

Damn it, Tai…

/-/

"And he can't see anything wrong with what she's doing!" Summer complained to Glynda, the two girls sat together in the common room, the latter – and older by two years – sharing some ice-cream with the younger student. "It's just… There's no one else I can go to with this. The only ones who even know are Ozpin, our team and you. Taiyang acts like it's totally normal."

"Taiyang is a fool in love," Glynda snorted. "Your partner could hang from the ceiling and poo on his bed, and he'd somehow find it endearing."

Summer giggled at the image. "Yeah…"

"I don't see what you like so much about him."

"L-Let's not get into my feelings. I'm talking about Raven."

"And Qrow?" Glynda asked.

"Actually, he's been okay. I think. He's been going out a lot lately during the day, but at least he doesn't come back with birdseed, or we don't find him guarding a birdbath with his sword drawn. He eats chicken still, too, unlike Raven who professed us all monsters and stormed out the cafeteria promising her revenge on the dinner ladies."

"Really? That is worrying."

"I know!" Summer wailed. "And no one else seems capable of seeing it! I'm worried I'll come back to the dorm one day to find Raven has built a nest in the corner or something."

Glynda chuckled. "I'm sure it won't progress that far. Something to do with instincts bleeding through. If Qrow isn't going through the same, I'm sure Raven will come around eventually. Just give her time to differentiate between the human and… avian side of her mind."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Find her a nice male raven and take Taiyang for yourself?"

Summer rubbed her chin.

"That was a joke, Summer. A joke."

"R-Right. I knew that."

"Really, I wouldn't worry. At least Qrow isn't using his powers for such foolish pursuits."

At that moment, the door to the common room burst open and Satin Scarlatina strode in, long ears twitching angrily. The girl was wet, as if someone had dumped a bucket of water over her, except that her clothing was, for the most part, still dry. Her hair on the other hand, was a complete mess.

"Problems, Satin?" Glynda asked her teammate.

"Oh, nothing. Just some stupid bird that got stuck in the women's changing room. That's the third day in a row now."

Summer groaned. "A raven?"

"Nah. It was a crow, I think. Just keeps leering at us all."

Summer's chair clattered down. Her eyes twitched.

"Excuse me, girls, there's a certain someone I need to have a few words with."

Caw! Caw!

Next Chapter: 6th June

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