*Pokes head up* Okay, okay, but before you get the pitchforks... can I interest you in some Lil' Cute Boy Ozpin?

22. Branwen

Six in the morning. The air was crisp and cool, the sky a mix of deep indigo to the west and pale blue to the east. Faint birdsong came from the forest nearby. The woods themselves were a dark silhouette, lost in shadow.

Oscar yawned.

He stumbled into the small shed out back, pulling tools off the rack and propping them against the side of the barn. Then he stretched and tried to shake himself the rest of the way awake. No such luck.

As he went about his chores, still clumsy with drowsiness, the sky slowly lightened. The first rays of sunlight peeked out over the trees. And, when he looked closer... he thought he saw some kind of bird. A really big bird, if he was judging the distance right.

An impossibly big bird. Oscar dropped a rake on the ground and sprinted towards the woods to get a better look. Already the speck had turned into a winged shape. Then, when it was still far in the distance but definitely not a bird of any kind, it dropped sharply below the treeline. Seconds later he heard a quiet thump—as if there had been a very loud impact somewhere very far away. He started to run.

It took a long time to find what he was looking for. He wandered in circles once he reached the area he thought he'd seen the winged thing fall, trying for a spiral pattern but constantly detouring around sharp rises and clumps of impassable undergrowth. Just as he waded through a small stream, he saw it. The top branches had been knocked off several trees. Oscar raised a finger and followed the swathe of destruction. Then he froze, his finger pointing at a large, mossy rock.

The rock twitched.

Oscar backed up a pace, alarmed, as the bizarre shape unfolded itself into a very familiar one. Two wings, like gigantic sails—one stretching overhead, the other lying flat on the forest floor. A long, thick tail that coiled in the grass. Gigantic flat paws, shaped like shovels and tipped with sharp claws.

And then it turned, and he stared into two ashen grey eyes. They regarded him for a long moment, unblinking... until a low rumble started in the dragon's chest, one that Oscar felt right down to his bones.

It tried to get up, stood for an instant on shaky legs. Then it collapsed onto its stomach, letting out a low, pained growl. The wing closest to Oscar pulled in towards its body, and he realized with a pang that there were several gashes in the thin membrane—one of them longer than his arm.

There, in the small forest north of his family farm, staring down a gigantic dragon that had just dropped out of the sky, Oscar did the only thing he could think of.

"Um... hello?"

The dragon's head lolled against the ground. A long, anguished moan was its only response. It tried to stand again, but it was obvious that at least one of its legs was hurt.

"Stay there!" Oscar inched closer, his heart beating in his throat. Where was its rider? Had they fallen off in the air? No, it didn't have a saddle on. How...?

But that wasn't really the point right now.

He knelt a few feet away, speaking softly. "Shh. It's alright. You're safe here."

The dragon groaned, its eyes sliding halfway shut. "Ozz," it mumbled. "Ozz..."

Oscar had never felt so lost in his life. "Do you need me to find someone?"

At that, a shudder went through the dragon, right from its nose to the tip of its tail. Then it howled. Birds erupted from the undergrowth, twittering in alarm. Oscar clamped both hands over his ears, tears pricking at his eyes as the horrible sound went on and on.

When it finally stopped, the dragon slumped into the dirt. Spent.

Oscar murmured soothing nonsense, the sorts of things he would've said to a spooked horse. The dragon watched him with glazed eyes, seeming to look straight through him to the vast, empty sky. Finally he abandoned caution and offered a hand to the creature, offering to let it smell him.

It closed its eyes, curling its tail around itself and drawing a wing over its body. He winced, closed his hand into a fist, and let it fall to earth with a quiet thump.

"I'm sorry..." There was a small rumble of acknowledgment.

Oscar glanced at the sky and said reluctantly, "I need to leave soon, or my aunt will panic."

The grey eyes opened again, fixing on his own.

"She'll know what to do," he promised. "We can get you some help—a doctor, or—"

"No!"

Oscar reeled back, his heart pounding. The dragon's ears pinned back against its head, and it bared its teeth. "They won't hurt you," he promised.

"No." Its voice was softer, this time. "Nnot safe."

"What? Why wouldn't it be safe?"

"No." A long, heavy sigh, as if it were already exhausted by talking. "No ahnt. No."

"I... okay." Oscar stood up, his hands trembling. "I won't tell anyone."

"Gud."

He took a few steps into the woods, then stopped. Turned. "I'm Oscar. What's your name?"

"Rrak-narr." Oscar turned the name over and over in his head as he walked back to the farm, wondering why it struck him as so familiar.

He kept wondering until late that evening, when his aunt turned on the news. A horrible sickening feeling settled in his stomach. And as he watched, he finally learned why a dragon had just crashed in his backyard.

"Go north," Ragnar had said. "Between the two tallest mountains. You'll come to a river. Follow it. Safe."

They'd already passed between the two tallest mountains. Storm scanned the sea of green beneath her, looking for a river. A stream. She'd take a pond, even. But all she could see were trees.

"Are you sure he said north?" asked Specter.

"Yes!" Storm said, annoyed. "We went the right way, I'm sure of it. Just help me look for the river!"

Specter seemed taken aback. "Right. Okay."

Storm's head fins drooped guiltily. "Sorry. I just..." She trailed off, but she got the feeling it didn't really need to be said. Not when they were all feeling it. Only a few hours ago, her home had been invaded. She was tired and hungry. Jaune was flying with her instead of Ruby.

Titan was gone.

Ruby's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She couldn't make out what she'd said, even though she'd been shouting—there was too much wind, and they were too far apart. Both Twiggy and Pit had been struggling for a while, now, and were flying all the way at the back. But then other dragons picked up the call, and it spread through the whole group.

Dragon. Council dragon.

There was no chance they'd be able to outfly it. Not unless they split up, and no one wanted to do that. Storm dropped back to where Twiggy and Ruby were, barking in alarm.

Pit began to glow, flapping harder than ever. Instead of pulling ahead, he went up, so that his back was skimming the bellies of the clouds. Storm tensed as she caught the scent of the unfamiliar dragon. It was close, now. She could hear its wingbeats.

Then Pit dropped like a stone, even as his freckles kept glowing. There was a panicked shriek from behind her. Storm risked a peek, struggling to keep herself from veering off-course. The council dragon was falling, one wing flapping frantically while the other was pulled back—as if an invisible hand had grabbed it. Just before the two would have hit the trees, Pit let go, giving them a few seconds to slow down before they crashed.

"Pit!" Storm felt a flush of relief. "That was amazing!"

All around, others added their agreement—even Barracuda and Mudslide. Pit didn't say anything. He just kept flying, his eyes fixed grimly on the horizon. Blake stroked his neck, soothing sore muscles as he dipped ever so slightly towards the ground.

Storm returned her attention to the forest below, searching for a glimmer of water. They had to find the safe place. Soon.

Mudslide could feel the human on her back shaking. It had been like that for hours, now, not that she could do much about it. When they landed, she could give the rider back to her team and their dragons. For now, she suppressed the urge to snap when she felt hands tightening on her shoulders.

She huffed irritably, scanning the ground for the stupid river that Storm insisted had to be around here somewhere. If they hadn't already passed it. If Ragnar had been telling the truth—what would he or Ozpin know about a safe place, anyway? Beacon was supposed to be safe for Tornado.

The wind changed, and a new scent on the air interrupted her thoughts. She perked up. "Dragons," she said, veering off to the east.

"Wait." Zircon stared apprehensively towards where the smell was coming from. "What if they're council dragons?"

"We should land," Jade suggested. "It'll be easier to sneak around under the trees. And... we probably can't keep flying much longer anyway."

Mudslide snorted. She could keep going all day, since she was strong and Pyrrha was much lighter than the weights she was used to carrying. It was Twiggy and Pit who were struggling. Still, the sooner they landed the sooner she could drop the human on her back. She didn't know what to do about the shaking—not when it was some stranger instead of Sky.

They touched down in a small clearing. Pit collapsed onto his stomach immediately, his tongue lolling. Twiggy limped over to Mudslide before she sat down hard on her haunches. She greeted Pyrrha with a nuzzle and a soft, pained whine. Then Jaune was there, pulling her into a tight hug and murmuring something in her ear. When they separated, he kept hold of her hand. Mudslide left them to it.

They walked side by side through the woods, the dragons in the lead lifting their heads to try and figure out where the strangers were. Barracuda and Tank walked with Mudslide, though both were paying more attention to their riders. They ran into a river, maybe the one Storm had been looking for, and followed it.

Their only warning was a twig snapping. Mudslide's head snapped up, just as strange dragon erupted from the bushes and landed in a crouch in their midst. He was gigantic for a wind dragon, with jagged scars running along the length of his nose and narrow, hostile yellow eyes. On his back was a human with a rifle that she pointed casually, almost lazily, in their direction.

"Look what I found," she drawled.

Then, she got a better look at their group. Her smirk faded. "Follow me," she said, her voice now wary, but respectful. "I'll take you to our camp."

Sun raised his hand. "Uh... what?"

The human didn't answer him. Her dragon let out a displeased hiss, then stalked towards the woods. They stopped at the edge of the treeline, the woman glancing over her shoulder and raising an eyebrow.

"Well? Are you coming or not?"

Several students exchanged incredulous looks. Storm broke the silence. "Go," she said. "Rrak-nar."

"Ragnar told you to go to them?" Ruby asked. "Who are they?"

Storm shook her head slowly. And, even though the riders wouldn't understand, "I don't know..."

Weiss made a face. "Does anyone have a better idea?"

No one spoke.

"I guess that settles it, then." Sun put his hands on his hips and grinned. "Take us to your leader!"

The walk was tense. Mudslide stuck with her siblings and, despite herself, kept gravitating towards where Pyrrha and Jaune were walking.

Ruby tried talking to the strange human. "I'm Ruby, and this is Storm. What about you two?"

She got a suspicious glare in response. Then, after a long moment. "Vernal." She patted her wind dragon's back. "He's Cyclone."

"So... your camp. Is it, like, you and a few friends, or...?"

"You'll find out."

"This is dumb," Huo grumbled. "Why are we following her?"

Storm flicked her tail anxiously. "Ragnar said we'd be safe out here."

Fang growled. "I don't trust them. He narrowed his eyes at the wind dragon. Cyclone glanced at him and snorted, tossing his head as though he was beneath his notice.

"Stop it," Pit said, before Fang could start anything. He still sounded exhausted. His tail dragged behind him like a limp rope.

Almost an hour later, their riders were starting to tire, too. Pyrrha stumbled on every other step, mostly because she wasn't watching where she was going. Eventually most of them remounted. Blake rode on Specter to let Pit rest a little longer. Mudslide decided to pick Pyrrha up again, since she was getting tired of watching her trip. Jaune insisted on walking beside them.

Mudslide kept an eye out as they drew closer to the 'camp,' whatever that was. She knew she wouldn't be able to convince the others to change their minds, and there was safety in numbers... but she was tense, ready to bolt if more dragons showed themselves—after she gave Pyrrha back to Twiggy. A whispered conversation got Barracuda and Tank on board, too.

She was still bristling when Vernal said, "We're close." Her ears twitched, taking in every sound. Her head moved this way and that. Every sense was on high-alert. She sniffed the air... and for a moment she couldn't recognize the smell. A wave of calm washed over her anyway, along with an unshakable certainty that yes, this place was safe.

A second later, she realized. She bolted towards the camp, heedless of Cyclone's enraged hiss. People called after her. Pyrrha snapped out of her fugue and tapped frantically at the back of her neck. That meant stop. Mudslide sped up.

She passed one sentry before she got to the source of the smell. They tried to block her way, and she jumped over them. She could see him now, struggling with a stack of wooden logs, just turning towards the commotion...

Mudslide pounced.

One instant, Sky was hauling an armful of firewood towards the center of camp. The next, the wood was scattered on the ground. Two massive paws pressed down on his chest, and two bright green eyes stared into his.

He made a confused, half-choked noise. Mudslide licked him.

"Hey girl," he managed. "I, uh... what—how the—?"

He squirmed, trying to look around, but she had him pinned. Sky sighed and let his head hit the dirt. Mudslide purred in his ear, and he didn't bother fighting the huge smile that spread across his face.

"Never mind. Let me up, will you? I wanna say hello back."

She stepped off his chest, letting him take her head in both hands and give her a scratch behind the ears. He pressed his forehead to her nose, humming in time with her purr. "Yeah," he murmured. "I missed you too."

When he looked up, he noticed that there were rather a lot of people staring at them. Vernal was the most immediate danger—she was glaring like he'd just dropped her tent into the river. And yet... Sky made startled eye contact with Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos, who was sitting on Mudslide's back. Staring at him like he was the weird one.

"Hey," he said, slightly miffed for some reason he couldn't quite pin down. "Where's—"

The look on her face told him.

"...Oh."

Wait, what? What happened to Titan? And since when were there this many dragons around—

Barracuda snapped at his hair. Tank hummed a greeting and gently tapped his shoulder with his nose. Sky blinked a few times, looking from them, to Mudslide, to Pyrrha. Now that he was paying more attention, he recognized a lot of his old classmates.

"Okay," he said slowly. "What the hell?"

"I think that's our line," Russel said, slapping him hard on the back. "Dude. How long have you been living with some secret bandit society without telling us?"

"Pretty much since I punched out Cardin." Sky tried to get up, but Mudslide pushed him back down with her nose. "Oof. Seriously though, what are you all doing here? How'd you even find this place?"

"Rrak-nar," Mudslide said.

"That explains jack and shit. What—"

Cyclone screeched. The babble of conversation died immediately, and Vernal's voice cut into the resulting silence. "You can catch up later," she snapped. "After we decide what we're going to do with you. Follow me. Now."

Mudslide growled. "Nno," she said, putting a paw down on Sky's stomach. He hadn't been planning on trying to get away, anyway. Well, not from Mudslide. With the way Vernal was glaring at him...

"Fine," she gritted out. "You, stay." She jabbed a finger at Mudslide. "Everyone else—"

"Can we stay too?" Russel asked. "He's our teammate."

"Not anymore." Her lip curled. "Do whatever you want, I don't care. The rest of you, get a move on."

It took a moment for Pyrrha to shake herself out of her daze and slide off Mudslide's back. Jaune linked a hand with hers as she moved away, both swinging between them as they followed Vernal further into the camp.

And then there were six.

"So," Sky scratched Mudslide under the chin. "What's new?"

Russel looked at Dove for a moment, then snorted. The snort turned into a laugh, which went on much too long.

"Shit," he said, once he'd gotten his breath back. "Where do I even start?"

Vernal led them to a tent in the center of the camp. It was bigger than all the others, cut from canvas that had once been a stark, intimidating black. Now it was faded grey in places, torn or patched in others. A symbol had been painted across the front in red, though by now it was hard to make out exactly what it was supposed to be. Yang squinted at it. It seemed familiar...

"Oh, shit," Sun said, in a very conspicuous whisper. "They really did take us to their leader." Blake elbowed him in the ribs.

Vernal disappeared inside, leaving them to stand in front of the tent in a confused clump. There were others watching them. Almost everyone in the camp was armed, and almost all of them stood next to a dragon. Yang was put a little at ease by the fact that there was no way they were working for the council—she could see a fire dragon who was missing both of its horns, and a water dragon whose vacant stare suggested it might be blind.

Ragnar said it was safe, she told herself. Probably. Assuming Ruby was right about what Storm had been trying to tell them, and Storm hadn't misunderstood Ragnar. And that they were actually in the right place.

Before she could get too nervous, the tent flap was pushed aside. A woman stepped out, holding a mask loosely in one hand, propping the other against her hip. For a second, Yang couldn't breathe. She stared at the tangled black hair that stuck up in the exact same places hers did. The rounded nose and chin. The red eyes.

Yang heard gasps from her friends, but she didn't look away from Raven. Both hands curled into fists. She hoped no one would notice them shaking. The silence stretched. Her mind spun, half a hundred things she wanted to say jumbled together until she couldn't speak.

Raven opened her mouth.

Before she could say a word, there was a joyful trumpeting noise from inside the tent. Raven had just enough time to jump out of the way before a beautiful golden fire dragon burst through the doorway and barreled towards her.

Yang froze as the dragon skidded to a halt in front of her. She peered at her curiously, butting her head against her shoulder and sniffing. Then, she licked her face and said, "Ang!"

"Hi, Phoenix." It took a couple tries to get the words out.

The dragon rumbled deep in her throat. She paused briefly to look at the others, and to touch Ruby lightly with her nose. Then she returned her attention to Yang, humming contentedly and huffing out a hot breath that ruffled her hair.

Behind Yang, Fang hissed indignantly. Phoenix reared up in surprise. Then she greeted him, too, her tail curling upwards as she let out an excited bark.

Raven cleared her throat. Immediately Phoenix jerked to attention, sitting on her haunches and giving her rider an apologetic look.

Everything was still tangled up in her head. She couldn't pull out a single question without dragging all the others with it, tumbling around one another until they turned into an incoherent mess. Raven didn't speak either. She just crooked her fingers and jerked her head towards the tent, disappearing inside and indicating that Yang should follow.

Ruby grabbed her hand and squeezed. "Do you want us to wait outside?"

Yang squeezed back. "Definitely not."

She brought only the riders of her team, leaving the rest to mill around outside. Yang winced as she realized that she'd have to explain what was going on to all of them, as soon as she was done here.

The furnishings inside were simple. Just a rug, a small square table, and a sleeping bag in one corner. Raven sat cross-legged on one side of the table, and gestured for them to do the same. When they did, she rested her hands on her knees and spoke for the first time.

"You found me."

"...Yeah. I guess I did."

There was a long silence.

"Not to interrupt," Weiss said, grimacing, "but... who are you, exactly?"

"My mom," Yang explained tersely.

"How did you know where we were?" Raven asked.

Ruby answered that one. "Ragnar told Storm—um, my dragon."

Raven grimaced. "Then I assume Ozpin knows where I am?"

"No." Yang gripped the edge of the table. "He's dead."

"How did it happen?"

Blake shifted uneasily where she sat and said, "The council attacked Beacon. We... weren't sure where else to go."

Raven nodded slowly, as if absorbing that information. "If you're going to stay with us, you'll make yourselves useful. Vernal will make sure you have something to do." She stood up, folded both arms across her chest. A dismissal.

Yang got to her feet, but stayed right where she was. She mirrored Raven's posture. "Seriously? That's it?"

"Was there something else?" Raven's stare was a challenge.

"No." She turned and left the tent, shoving the flap aside with much more force than necessary.

Phoenix swiveled her head around to stare as they left the tent. She sat near Fang, and had obviously just stopped in the middle of a conversation with him.

Yang squared her shoulders and marched towards Vernal. She'd ask what they were supposed to do while they stayed here, and hopefully it would be something they could do far away from camp. This was only temporary. Better than being alone in the woods with the council hunting them.

Phoenix made a quizzical noise. Unbidden, Yang's hand reached out to touch her snout as she passed. At least someone wanted to say hello.

Quick heads up: After looking at plans I have for future plotlines, I made a minor retcon to chapter 20. Namely, May doesn't make the connection between the voice on the phone and the one she heard at the Vytal festival. I feel like it makes more sense for Cinder to take steps to stay anonymous anyway, since from her perspective the less May knows the better. Also, by minor I mean that I deleted a sentence, so there's no need to go back and reread or anything.