Music Choices: The Hero, The Saint, The Tyrant and The Terrorist by The Reign of Kindo

Eclipse

Chapter 13

Feathers Part IV

Raven and Taiyang cleared the floor of the abandoned office building they'd temporarily taken refuge in, determining it was safe for now. They weren't sure what capabilities those other skinchangers had, but if they had someone who could suppress Semblances, then they needed to stay on their game and keep moving. They also needed to decide on whether they should take the Macmillan kids back to Beacon.

Beacon was the safest place within Kingdom territory, more so perhaps even then the castle. With the combination of Oz's drones, unknown glyph and technological defenses, Hunters in training and instructors, trying to break in would be nearly impossible; unless you were a witchfinger, or someone of equal skill.

Even then, it would be nigh impossible for anyone to yank four screaming kids out of the dorm room with a floor of junior Hunters protecting them; however, there would certainly be questions as to why a posse of scruffy toddlers were hiding in their room if the wrong people came around. Beacon could not be a permanent shelter; not unless they wanted the children to ultimately wind up in Vale's foster system. Then there would be no hope of them finding their family again.

The Macmillan children plopped down in a huddle together, watching them with tired, wary eyes. Taiyang quietly sat down across from them, smiling genuinely. Ingrid glared at him.

"Do you want to tell us what happened?" he asked calmly.

Raven stayed standing, watching the entrances and pacing slowly, peering out the windows occasionally. A pigeon flew by, and she stilled. She really needed to figure this out. How could she tell what was what?

"We was scavenging within the walls with our parents," Connor offered up finally. "Our tribe's been hurting late with no chief and Dad said we'd be ok. People wouldn't notice us, cause we can hide with our second skins and most cagers are headblind."

"Don't tell them that," hissed Ingrid.

"What?" chirped Connor.

"That we got no chief!"

"Why?" asked Connor, his face bewildered. "We don't!"

Raven glanced their way, certain facts quickly beginning to fall in place. Taiyang held his palms up soothingly.

"Hey, it's ok. We understand," he showed them the tattoo on his arm, the one 'gifted' to him by Chen. "We have ties with all kinds of free people, alright? We aren't here to take advantage; we just want to help. It sounds like your family was having a really hard time."

The siblings stared at the ink with recognition, sharing curious looks. The Red Flags were well known across Remnant. Connor finally bobbed, wiping his nose habitually. Ingrid grumbled something, looking away from her younger siblings. The two smallest ones had stayed quiet throughout this and were instinctively doing their best to look smaller.

"Yeh. Dad and Momma was really worried. Our scouts kept disappearing on their flights, and then Grimm could sneak up more and more. All our friends were too far away to help. So we come down here to get supplies and food, and things were good for a while. But then those other shifters attacked us and kept finding us. We tried to leave, but they was watching all the gates and ferry's out, and we can't fly yet."

Raven frowned at that, deeply disturbed. That didn't sound like another tribe to her at all. Only the desperate would risk scavenging inside a Kingdom anyways; and she couldn't think of any Valish tribe that would attack starving parents and their children on a mission to share wealth with their people. Let alone work to keep them within Kingdom territory.

"So they hid you at Beacon?" Tai prodded after Connor trailed off. The little boy looked so serious and kept swallowing nervously as he talked.

"Yeh. Those others wouldn't go near it, and it was the only ferry they weren't guarding. Dad and Momma told us to stay put til they found a way out; but they…they didn't come back."

"How long ago was that?" Taiyang asked gently.

"Couple days," Connor mumbled. "I think those others caught them."

"The ones chasing you. They were hawks?" Raven asked, glancing at the kids.

"Not all, but some. There was that scary falcon, too; she leads them. We thought they was another tribe at first, but Momma said they couldn't be. It's why when you found us we wasn't sure what to do or who you was with."

Raven played with her Nevermore feathers thoughtfully, turning to look out the window again. What if there were skinchangers who weren't free people, but another faction entirely? But even if that were so, who in the hell were they and why didn't the other tribes know this?

"Well look, we aren't going to let anything happen to you guys, ok?" Taiyang smiled warmly. His sincerity was getting to them, and their scrappy little frames were beginning to relax.

"You aren't gonna to turn us in?" Ingrid asked skeptically.

"Nope," Tai shook his head. "I'll tell you what we are gonna do though."

The four shuffled anxiously.

"What?" asked the youngest boy. His hair was bright, bright red, and shaved in a near mohawk.

"Get something for you kids to eat other than soggy dogfood," he laughed. "Seriously, I feel really, really bad! We honestly had no clue. Also, you four would probably appreciate some baths, huh?"

The four feral munchkins sighed in unison, a mixture of relief and chagrin. Raven felt her mouth pull in a slight smile as she stared out at the streets. They needed to get moving again. Checking her bonds, she realized that Summer and Qrow had moved across the grounds and were no longer in class.

"Tai," she glanced at him. "The others are out. I'll get one of them to go back to the room."

If these antagonists were afraid to approach Beacon, then it really was the safest place for them while the team figured out what to do. They would just have to find a way to hide them. Taiyang dusted his hands, popping to his feet gracefully.

"Sounds good."

Nodding, Raven swept her blade free of its scabbard and sliced; a vortex sprang to life, one leading her to her brother. The bond responded, her brother's curiosity and surprise trickling over it. Behind her, she heard the youngest boy exclaim.

"Magic sword!"

"No Culann, it's not magic," groused Ingrid.

"Magic sword," Culann insisted.

"NO."

Raven snorted, trotting through the vortex and over the wasteland between. Today, the bizarre dimension that connected her portals was midafternoon bright; the structure that always hovered in the distance seemed closer. She realized that it was actually quite immense; she still needed to investigate it one of these days, but doing so might be a huge drain on her aura for no practical reason.

Shaking her observations off, she exited the nether realm and found herself on the grass by one of the team's favorite trees; sometimes they liked to lounge beneath it between classes, and that appeared to be what Summer and Qrow had been up to.

"Hey sis," Qrow waved, still stretched out in the shade. "How'd it go? They ok?"

Raven shook her head, pushing her hair out of her face habitually.

"I need one of you to go back to the dorm room."

"Why?" Summer asked, her ears flipping up.

"They are apparently not birds."

Qrow blinked slowly, still confused.

"The hell do you mean they aren't birds?"

"I mean they aren't fucking birds. We almost took a bunch of toddlers to an animal shelter," Raven grimaced. "They're tiny skinchangers."

This was a weird day; and she was not someone unaccustomed to weird days.

Qrow's eyes slowly rounded as he realized what had happened.

"Noooo. No shit?"

"Yep," she drew out.

Qrow slapped his palm to his forehead, sitting up quickly.

"That's why they sounded like little kids!"

"Yeeeeep."

"Oh. Dude, we fed them dog food!" he pulled at his hair. "Fuck!"

Summer's eyes were huge and shiny with the implications.

"We are literally the worst!"

"Qrow, snap out of it, we can be the worst later. I need one of you to go right now, because someone is after them, and now apparently us. Tai and I can only be angry hobbit vanguard for so long," Raven huffed.

"I'll come with you!" Summer exclaimed, leaping to her feet. "Qrow, go! Go go!"

Qrow shifted skins and took off towards the dorm, cawing occasionally. Fortunately, no one was around to see him; they needed to be even more reserved with their abilities, until they understood what was going on.

Raven studied the sky carefully, before grabbing Summer's hand and darting back into the vortex. They trotted over the sands before exiting in the abandoned office building; in the brief space of the time she had been gone, a squabble had broken out between the siblings over something ridiculous and Taiyang was the poor soul trying to separate them.

"Hey, don't hit your sister!"

"You're not my DA! You don't tell me what to do!"

"Do you all want go back in the box again for time out? Hey, don't bite me either!"

"INGI IS MEAN!"

"NO I'M NOT, MAIZY! YOU SHUT UP!"

"Mean, meanie meanie Mcmeanie head!"

Summer stood next to Raven, staring as her boyfriend held two wildlings by the scruff to keep them form hurting each other. Both Ingrid and her little sister were spitting and snarling like cats. Connor was trying to help Taiyang as keeper of the peace, and the youngest boy seemed to enjoy egging his sisters on, because all two-year olds are agents of chaos.

"Oh my Dust," Summer whispered, a huge grin breaking out on her face. "They really frickin are little kids."

"Don't get too excited," Raven drawled. "They're tribe, so a pack of starving coyotes would probably be more manageable."

Summer shot her a very amused look, one that caused Raven's cheeks to warm.

"I mean, we already manage with you and Qrow, sooo," Summer shrugged, eyes impish.

"Screw you," Raven chuckled.

"Ooh, maybe later," Summer teased.

"Could you two actually assist me or something?" Taiyang asked, looking overwhelmed. "They are way stronger than they look."

"TAKE IT BACK!"

"NOOO!"

"Hey!" Raven barked. "Quit your fucking bullshit!"

Damn, I sound just like my mother. She can't find out about this; I'll never hear the end of it.

The sisters quit clawing at each other, frozen as they glanced her way. The boys immediately straightened up, shuffling away from the conflict.

"If you four want to eat like real people, then I suggest acting like people and not a couple of racoons in a tumble dryer," Raven snapped. "Otherwise, I'm sure we still have some dog food somewhere."

Summer gave her a dry stare, while Taiyang looked horrified, but the siblings immediately let go of whatever grudge they had, faces brightening at the idea of food. Except for Maizy, who tossed her hands into the air and began chanting.

"Dog food! Dog food! Dog food!"

"Maizy, no!" Ingrid exclaimed, looking far too exasperated for a six-year-old. "You need to eat like a people!"

"I'm not a people! I'm a bird people!" Maizy laughed maniacally. "CAW CAW!"

Summer immediately hid a giggle behind her hand.

"Hey, shut it," Raven interrupted them, before they could devolve into another senseless fight. "We're going back to the dorm room. Which means? What?"

"We gotta be quiet," Connor offered immediately, eying his sisters.

"Exactly," Raven folded her arms. "Can you guys do that?"

"I can," Ingrid grumbled, glaring at her little sister. Maizy promptly blew a raspberry, but stopped once she saw the look on Raven's face. She let her tongue dangle comically before giving her a thumbs up. Connor and Culain both bobbed silently. Raven somehow resisted the urge to massage her temple.

"Alright then. Good."

Summer was still smiling at the kids, who were finally beginning to take notice of her, when her ears flicked backwards; she moved before Raven could fully register the motion, right as the link with her brother was forcefully blocked off.

The portal behind them snapped shut; Raven stumbled as blinding pain exploded in her temple, while Taiyang's aura blazed to life, golden waves engulfing his figure as he shielded the children in his arms.

"SHIT!" Raven fell to her knee, engaging her damaged aura. She shook her head rapidly, trying to clear it.

Summer had burst into a cloud of petals, swarming towards the room's entrance. Raven could hear Dustfire and her adrenaline kicked in as she finally forced herself back to her feet. Whatever had just happened had cost her heavily, her aura falling below fifty percent.

Taiyang had bodily thrown himself behind several overturned desks, dragging the Macmillan kids with him; Raven got between them with her sword in hand, trying to get her bearings while cursing herself for not paying better attention.

Her Semblance was being blocked, and it seemed that Tai's was as well; however, Summer's was not. Her partner was blurring around several figures that had crept up on them, tiger hooks flashing intermittently.

Whoever can block our Semblances has limitations, then. Likely line of sight or targeting over two. So which one are they-

A Dust round cracked brilliantly over her head. Snarling, she changed her sword's coating to blue, drew her blade again and triggered the Dust as she swept an arc before her; hefty spires of ice erupted up and outwards, creating a bristling wall of frost between herself and the shooters. She checked her bonds, and realized they were still blocked.

Perhaps not line of sight then.

She managed a quick head count as she peered around the glacial slab; there were four other people that she could see. Summer had engaged three of them with all the fury of a small hurricane. Dust rounds exploded heavily against the protective barrier that Raven had raised; chunks of ice and water rained down on her head.

Behind herself and the glacial barrier, Taiyang was working on getting the kids out of danger while not getting himself shot in the process. He snatched up one of the heavy metal desks and caveman hefted it over his head, burning with aura. With a shout, he twirled it by a leg and smashed it into the flimsy wall connecting to the adjoining room. It tore a hole through big enough for them to climb through.

Raven ducked behind the ice shield as her opponent attempted to blow her head off. With her aura this low, she wouldn't be able to take many direct hits from that; and if they had any aural piercing rounds about, she was a goner.

Taiyang dropped down low, disappearing behind the desks, before reappearing with four kids in his arms; Raven deflected a shot aimed at his back with a sweep of ice, inadvertently causing a window to her left to explode; finally, Tai shoved the little Macmillan's through the newly made door, shielding them with his body.

Raven raised another ice barrier as her first one began to give way, water flowing across the tiles from the heat. She paused, studying the small lake. Her attacker was getting closer, Dust shotgun cradled in his arms; he was dressed in plains clothes, like any joe off the street outside.

Raven searched around swiftly, spotting several cement blocks that rose easily above the puddle spreading over the ground. She hopped on top of them, sheathing her sword and spinning the Dust chamber to a new coating; then she waited, watching the man's figure approaching through the ice, ears straining. She heard his boots splashing.

Drawing her sword, she touched the tip of the weapon to the water below, triggering the electric Dust. It crackled eagerly, bolts of electricity swarming outwards and across the water. Her opponent's aura lit up as he was engulfed in enough current to roast an Ursa; she heard him screaming, but he was stuck now, unable to pull away as the electricity froze his limbs. She smelled burning hair.

After several seconds, she let the lightening in her hands die out; his body collapsed into the water as she darted out from behind her melting ice shield. She didn't bother to check if he was alive or not.

Across the office space, Summer had taken down one of their attackers, and was busy keeping the last two on their toes; Raven took a running a leap, landing on an upright desk before springing atop another. She pushed off the second, crouching behind a woman with short green hair and a long navy coat.

The woman spun her rifle, sending the stock towards Raven's head; Summer took that moment to hook her behind the knee and trip her, allowing Raven to dodge. The woman recovered her balance, trying to punch the barrel of her rifle at Raven's chest. Raven got her sword up, pressing the flat of her blade with the palm of her free hand, deflecting the strike in a shower of sparks.

A bold man, the sort who dared to have frosted tips in this day and age, lashed out at Summer's turned back with a black baton; but he hit nothing but air as Summer blurred upwards, rolling over his shoulders and landing a boot kick to the back of his head.

Meanwhile, Raven and greenbean continued exchanging rapid blows that ultimately were getting them nowhere; the green haired woman was more interested in trying to disarm Raven and seemed consistently surprised that her attempts were being so easily rebuffed.

As she struck out with her rifle again, Raven decided she'd had enough; triggering the yellow Dust coating her sword, she buzzed the woman's arm and her aura lit up, causing her to withdraw in pain. Pushing closer, Raven pinned the woman's rifle close to her chest and brought her knee up into her exposed stomach, over and over again.

In the midst of merrily pulverizing her stunned opponent, Raven glanced down and saw the woman's coat had pulled back, revealing two items dangling from her belt: a pair of handcuffs, and what looked to be a badge. Raven's eyes widened in shock.

Oh no.

She flared her aura, shoving greenbean into frosted-tips, who Summer was currently making a monkey of. Both of them stumbled, looking worse for wear, before Raven crashed the hilt of her sword into the woman's temple. The woman collapsed, groaning.

The man yelped in fear, but instead of launching immediately at Raven, stopped to frantically check the woman. Summer, who was hardly a person to attack someone checking on their friend, hesitated and met Raven's eyes; Raven grabbed her partner by the hand again and began sprinting for the hole in the wall that Taiyang had made.

"Why does this always happen to us?!" Summer yelped, keeping up with her easily.

Raven didn't respond, too busy muttering a string a dark curses, mentally leaping through the facts as she knew them. A pack of very organized skinchangers were hunting down tribes people in their territory, tribes people who had likely been stealing and up to their own typical devices; they had the resources to keep an eye on all the Kingdom's exits, and to somehow track an elusive skinchanger family inside a city of several million people. They wore street clothing and seemed to have partners. They had badges.

Shit fucking hell!

"TAIYANG!" she shouted as they burst into the room.

Tai was not immediately visible in the gutted room. She glanced around rapidly, but Summer and her infallible snoot followed his trail. She quickly clambered up onto an overturned vending machine, pointing up. A ceiling tile pulled back, and Tai's blonde head poked out, followed by several other little faces.

"Sup ladies? Ya'll got any plans tonight?"

Summer laughed in relief, waving up at him and his posse of munchkins.

"Not spending the night in prison. It's time to go," Raven declared.

Summer's eyes widened at that.

"Kay," he hopped down on the vending machine, lifting his hands up. "Wait, prison?"

He was interrupted when Maizy dropped down into his arms, whom he caught reflexively before passing her off to Summer. The others quickly followed suit. Both Summer and Raven carried their hobbits to one of the windows at the far end of the room, setting them down while shielding them from the makeshift door.

"I still can't use my Semblance," Taiyang declared, watching their backs. "Rae?"

Raven shook her head, grimacing.

"That'll be her work," Connor declared, looking fearfully out the window. "She circles overhead and smothers your Semblances while her people make you fly for cover."

"Then she dives down," Ingrid growled. "She broke Ma's wing with that."

"She?" Summer asked, aiming the pistols in her hilts towards the door. A tuft of frosted hair peeked around the corner and Summer calmly fired a round above it, making the man duck back with a curse.

"The falcon," Raven drawled. "I have an idea, but it means splitting up."

Summer and Taiyang gave her nervous looks.

"She isn't targeting Summer for some reason," Raven asserted. "Summer, can your Semblance carry all of six of you guys at once?"

Summer's eyes lit up in understanding.

"Not very far, but they are small, so farther than I would normally."

"Good enough. Let me draw her off, then get out of her range; once Taiyang can use his portals, make for the ferry to Beacon. I'll meet you back at the school."

Summer's ears continued to pivot as she caught sounds that Raven could not.

"I'm not so sure about this, baby; splitting up never goes right for us."

"Yo seriously, what if she tries to kill you and we aren't there?" Taiyang chimed in.

Summer fired another round at the actual door to her right as a shadow moved; Raven could hear more people entering the other room. Backup had arrived, and they were trying to flush them out. Raven pulled the window up, glaring out at the sunny street below.

"It sucks, but so do all of our options currently. And maybe she will, but I doubt it," Raven shook her head. "Because I think they're fucking cops."

Summer and Taiyang gaped at this information, but Raven didn't stay to explain; she shifted into her second skin and leapt into the air, her wings catching the wind beneath. She took off to the left, making sure to make a racket as she flapped heavily, trying to appear injured and panicked as she wove around the corner of the building.

Come on sweetie, come and get me.

Raven listened to the wind, to the cars and pedestrians below, to music drifting out of an open window. A shadow appeared in her periphery, higher than herself and moving at speeds she wouldn't be capable of in any form; for a moment, she thought of training with Deidrick in the garden all those months ago.

Three, two, one-

Raven rolled, closing her wings close to her side and dropping towards the cement below. A blur of feathers and talons tore past, right where her wing had been moments before.

Her tail feathers were fixed, they must have a healer.

Raven swerved into an alleyway, dodging fire escapes, laundry lines, and the occasional trashcan as she flew like a drunk uncle. She could hear a hunting shriek behind her, one too close for comfort; internally, she stayed calm, focused on the end of the alleyway.

Her opponent was used to chasing frightened scavengers in an unfamiliar environment; she was faster than Raven, and on her home turf. Raven needed to make her think she was running scared or she might get wise and call in back up; she needed to get her alone, too far from her little friends to assist her and too overconfident to think Raven was luring her into a trap.

She burst from the alley way, cawing raucously and flapped into traffic, weaving amongst the honking cars. The falcon was hot on her tail, trying to get above her once again; she wouldn't risk diving down on Raven above a busy street, however. All Raven needed to do was follow the road and stay ahead of her; as the shadow continued to close in behind her, Raven realized that doing so would be a lot harder than she'd thought.