AN: In no way am I connected to RWBY

"Okay Talaria. I'm done."

Talaria chittered happily. She carefully climbed down from the rock with little of her normal grace. She was more confident trotting towards Ruby and she positioned herself behind her.

On one page of Ruby's book had Talaria in her small form. The page next to it had Talaria in her small form.

It wasn't just size and shape. Ruby had noticed that the scales in her larger form reflected light differently. She was the same copper colour in both sizes but she often appeared darker when bigger, especially in the sunlight. The black lines across her scales were almost invisible then, though they were odd as she didn't have them at all in her original size.

Talaria grumbled. She glanced at her left wing, raising it up and down a little.

"Yeah, I know. That joint spike does look cool, but I like how much smoother your wings look like this. Maybe you'll be faster."

The wing froze. That rumble sounded more curious.

Ruby glanced back down at her drawings.

In the one of her smaller form, she was standing on one of the branches of the same tree they had built the treehouse. Her tail was dangling over the edge with her wings held at shoulder height. This time, she was lying on a large enough rock to hold her slightly coiled body. Her tail was curled up and her wings were lowered.

Curious and relaxed.

"Hey Pipsqueak."

Ruby blinked.

When had it got dark? It was definitely light when she started. The light she had now was coming through from the living room. Had she been drawing that long?

Hang on…

"Uncle Qrow?"

Uncle Qrow sat next to her. He put his arm around her. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine."

"Doesn't sound it."

"Fine." Was that more convincing?

"Is that a question?"

Ruby glanced at him. Uncle Qrow met her gaze for a moment before smiling.

"You're getting better at lying kiddo, but you've still got some way to go."

"It's easier to lie when you're telling the truth."

Uncle Qrow nodded. "True. It is. So now we know you're fine…How are you holding up?"

…

Ruby shrugged.

"Your Dad tells me you made a curry dinner today with herbs that he had never heard of before. Quisie?"

"Quisé. The village elder of Oakenhorn gave it to me. Emerald has a few seeds but wanted to see if it was worth growing for dinner instead of just because it's a pretty plant. It was stronger than I expected."

"I look forward to it. Where was Tai going to put it?"

"I think by the bluebells."

"Yeah, that's not a great spot for growing herbs."

Ruby didn't know.

"Before I left, he did mention he was thinking about a vegetable garden."

Ruby didn't know that either. "I think Maia would like that."

"Probably. Any luck there over the week?"

"No. She loved Oakenhorn and Petal Lake, but seemed unbothered by the others. She also liked the travelling."

"Petal Lake…Been a while since I was there. They still have that statue to the mermaid?"

"Yep. Was it always gold? Emerald said it wasn't real."

"Yep. Fool's gold painted by kuli goldie."

"Kuli goldie?"

"A flower only found within ten miles of that village. Despite that, its pollen gets absolutely everywhere."

"Like where?"

Uncle Qrow smiled. Ruby knew that smile. "Like when your mother's cloak was more gold than white. She never got it out. It's probably in the house somewhere actually…"

Mom.

"But if the pollen gets everywhere, why does it not grow anywhere else?"

"No one knows."

Mom.

"…What would Mom think? I…I let her down. Let everyone down I murdered-"

"Ruby."

Uncle Qrow didn't speak for a few moments.

"Being a Huntress or Huntsman…Especially one that deals with people over Grimm…You're going to come across situations like this. Where there is no good action. All you can do is what you think is the best option and live with the consequences."

"I…It's not fair." They shouldn't have died.

"No. It's not."

Talaria made that noise again. Come to think of it, it was a greeting. She must have greeted Uncle Qrow too.

"Hey Tai. What have I done now?"

"You left your sword on the dining table."

Weapons are not allowed on the dining table. Ever. Only food is allowed on the dining table.

Despite herself, Ruby sniggered.

Uncle Qrow gave her a betrayed look. "I thought you were on my side."

"Not when you're caught." That's what Uncle Qrow told her when Dad caught her teaching Zwei how to steal his slippers.

"What have you been teaching her?" Dad scolded Uncle Qrow. But it was his 'not actually angry' voice.

"I've no idea what you're talking about. You can't pin that on me. Not when there are at least two other suspects."

"Are you seriously blaming Emery for this?"

"No. Just pointing out they're suspects too."

"They also have alibis."

"…Oh. Never mind then."

Talaria chuckled in her way.

"Wait…Mint has an alibi? Doing what?"

"She and Yang were decorating the treehouse."

Were they? Shouldn't Ruby have seen them?

"Looks the same to me."

"You weren't using that rug, were you?"

"Which one-The blue one? The one from Sand's Wraith?"

"I told them you wouldn't mind."

"Oh, I mind." Uncle Qrow didn't mind.

"I did talk them out of the blanket too. Yang's going to knit that herself."

Yang's taking up knitting? When did she decide that?

"Fine…What about the cushion?"

"I didn't ask and they didn't volunteer."

Uncle Qrow clicked his tongue. "They learned well. You can't pin this on me."

Dad hummed. "No. I think they were good at that already." He looked at Ruby. "Just like you."

Ruby thought about the best way to answer this. Her brief silence would incriminate her, but she needed to be careful here.

On second thought, she wasn't going to get in trouble for this.

"If we're good at it already, then we must have learned it from you or Uncle Qrow."

Uncle Qrow burst out laughing. Even Dad chuckled.

Ruby smiled.

Uncle Qrow patted her on the back. "Well, I think it's time for my dinner. I'll see you later, Pipsqueak." He stood up and headed back into the house.

Dad settled in his place.

"Yang talked to me when we were cleaning up after dinner. She wanted a hobby other than racing. Something she could do at any time."

A rule in the house: if you cooked, you didn't need to clean up. Ruby and Dad had cooked, so she didn't need to clean up.

Dad often did both.

"She has a kalimba."

"She does. She just doesn't consider it a hobby, as such. She wanted something else. Like your drawing." He leaned over to have a look. Talaria landed on Ruby's shoulder, small again. "I think you may want another journal soon. You're over halfway through this one."

Ruby blinked. She flipped through to the end. "Oh. I hadn't noticed."

She was missing a lot of things today.

Dad just sat next to her.

She looked up at the moon. Fractured. As usual.

Come to think of it…Earth had a full moon for a few days every month. Remnant had it far less.

The moon was a sphere too.

Just a broken one.

Though it wasn't quite the same…

Oh. I'm crying. I…I don't get to cry anymore. Not after what I did.

Ruby blinked. She hiccupped.

Dad lowered his hand. It was wet with her tears. His arm wrapped around her and pulled her into a hug.

"Ruby…These feelings. They never fully go away. That's the curse of living when others don't. We take that feeling and we make sure we don't forget it. We remember them but torturing ourselves doesn't help them. We do our best to make sure that situation never happens again. That as few people as possible feel that pain."

Ruby was eighteen. She was an adult. She was a strong woman who wanted to help people, was willing to step away from safety when needed and was determined to stare down anyone who took advantage of those weaker.

At home, she didn't care about any of that.

Cella and a man she didn't know the name of. She may never learn his name.

"Thanks Dad." It didn't really help. Yet.

Maybe this is something only time can heal? Or at least, make less painful…

"Are you sure about school tomorrow? You can take a few days."

"No, I-I need to get back." She had responsibilities. She did what she could for Cella. Others needed her for better.

Dad hummed softly.

Music.

There was music in the air.

Is that…a harmonica?

Sleep felt like a very good idea.

Mercury had played that harmonica for about ten minutes.

Then he disappeared with Talaria into the woods.

Qrow sighed.

Ruby…was difficult. Years ago…That had been Qrow. Qrow had slaughtered people and had not cared at the time. He…could not really help his niece other than be there for her. The guilt was strong now, but…

There was a thud of some kind to the south. Followed by a growl Qrow recognised as Talaria, but didn't recognise the tone.

"Tail again. The take off's good though. You okay?"

That was Silvertongue.

Qrow found him in a clearing, kneeling on the grass next to the large dragon. The woods were a lot less thick on this side of Patch.

Talaria rolled over onto her claws. She greeted Qrow, then flapped her wings until she was in the air above the trees. Her head was down, studying her tail.

"Hey Felix." Mercury didn't look at him. His focus was on the larger dragon. "I would ask for flying tips, but I don't think you would be of much help."

"Afraid not," Qrow agreed. Tai had sent him a message, but 'Talaria has a larger form' didn't quite prepare him for this. "What happened to her?"

"Current guess is Ozpin's gift. She shifted into that when some of the kids were threatened. Nothing managed to hurt her like that."

Ozpin's…gift. Qrow had almost forgotten about that. Almost.

He had forgotten that Mercury had a harmonica until he heard it.

"And now she can't fly."

Talaria hissed at him. Irritated.

"She can fly. Just not very well yet." Silvertongue sounded defensive.

Talaria increased the size of her wingbeats. It took her a little higher. She then changed her angle and started to fly slowly forwards.

"If you're here to tell me to go to bed, it's not happening. I got enough sleep the night before." Mercury looked at him then.

Qrow considered. "Why did you sleep last night?" Wouldn't Mercury have stayed up if Ruby was sleeping after a traumatic day? Especially when most of the village wouldn't be sleeping?

"Because I am apparently a very bad healer. Shattering the aura of over a hundred people knocked me to about half and healing three people took me into the red." His gaze went back to Talaria. "I slept so it would regenerate quicker."

That did defeat his main argument. "So out here for flying lessons, huh?"

"She does need to learn."

Qrow joined him on the grass. They both settled back to a more comfortable position.

So far, Talaria was still in the air. Her turn circle was far too large, but she was still in the air. Her tail was held rigidly when turning and banking. Although…

"Have you noticed that she moves her tail a bit when she goes in a straight line?"

"Yeah, but that hasn't caused her to crash yet so I would rather she worked on it later."

Fair enough.

Between them, Qrow and Raven had worked out how to fly in their corvid forms rather quickly. Maybe that was because their mass was mostly spread in limbs that were much closer together. That blade was very different to what she was used to.

Raven…

Talaria had completed a full circle around them. She barked, sounding happy.

Unfortunately, she also twisted her tail before she had straightened fully. Her body rolled in a way that was definitely unnatural.

Qrow started to stand.

However, she did regain control with her wings. She landed rather heavily, but the right way up.

Mercury pushed himself up. He walked over and stroked her head with his left hand.

"Well done. You had it there. You made it looked easy."

The dragon cooed at him, closing her eyes.

"A bit more practice and it'll be easy for you too."

And if it came easy, she wouldn't get overexcited and cause herself to crash.

After a few seconds, Talaria shook her head and stepped back. She studied her wings for a moment and jumped into the sky again.

Mercury returned to Qrow and settled again. He was smiling.

Talaria continued to practice.

"When did she last sleep?"

"She spent this morning in my hood sleeping. I'm not sure how quickly she gets tired like this." He frowned a little. "Or if she does, for that matter."

That was not something Qrow wanted to test.

"So, are we going to get to why you're really here?" Mercury wasn't smiling now. "The only thing I regret was leaving Ruby without my aura animal with her or even summoning my Guardian Form earlier. I don't regret killing them. I won't apologise for it either."

I…honestly can't ask you to.

"…Why is that?"

"What's the term? 'Live by the sword, die by the sword'?" Silvertongue turned his head to catch Qrow's eye. "Or was it 'the weak die, the strong live'?" He scoffed and focused again on Talaria. "If you're worried about my morals, ask me when there is a moral argument other than 'killing is wrong' or if there was another option than my actions."

…

I don't exactly have another argument for this situation.

This was quite a different attitude than when Mercury had called Tai to report the attack. Was that due to a change in viewpoint or because Ruby was now safe at home?

I've been quiet too long.

"…I was expecting Tai."

Qrow blinked. "What?"

"This tribe raised you and knew about your bad luck Semblance. They kept you anyway. You still see Raven when it suits her…" He shrugged. "I didn't think you would want to talk about this with me. The one who butchered them. Tai…His lover got away. He didn't know the others."

…

"You know…" Qrow leaned back a little. Talaria had completed a full circle. With a happy chirp, she made sure to remain in the same position. "That genuinely didn't occur to me."

Why didn't that occur to me?

"…What?"

Mercury's incredulous tone would have made Qrow laugh at any other time. Right now, his mind was focused elsewhere.

"I think it comes back to family of choice, Silvertongue. STRQ is my family and once Raven was part of it. I wonder how many of those you killed yesterday I would have even recognised. Raven…She was family once. Not just for the tribe, but for Summer and Tai."

"…I would have killed Raven yesterday. I only didn't because I didn't know what her Semblance was, so I hesitated when I saw it. Raven is a very good flier in her bird form so I took priority in those I could hit."

The words were a challenge. A tone Qrow had not heard for a long while.

The words also hurt.

Just like it did when he told Raven he would kill her if he saw her again.

I made my choice. Raven made hers.

"I know." Qrow did know.

I also know one other thing.

"I would not have tried to stop you."

Mercury flinched at that. "Despite how close you were…?"

Once upon a time.

"I tried to respect her choice. I thought she respected mine."

That was all Qrow could say.

Now he just had to come to terms with the fact his sister was gone. A dangerous blood relative was all that remained.

That Semblance…I would need to look into a way to block it. I don't think she would use it for me but…

Talaria came to another somewhat controlled landing. She hissed in what Qrow was sure was irritation.

"Three times in a row Talaria," Qrow praised, glad of the distraction. "Great job."

"I agree with Beta Mother here."

Qrow gave him a playful shove, making sure his movements were choreographed enough that Mercury could easily avoid it if he wanted.

Come to think of it…

"Where do you fit in this pack?"

There was a slight smirk in response. "Above you, but below Tai. Normally."

"Unfair."

Talaria chuckled at him.

Qrow felt a smile himself.

"I would do anything for this family Silvertongue. I'm not going to be angry at you for doing the same."

Ruby had slept calmly for four hours so far. Tai was getting confident she would make it all the way through the night without nightmares. Emerald and Yang had gone to bed at the same time as Ruby and also seemed to be having a peaceful rest.

Qrow had not yet come back.

Tai didn't see this conversation well but…

Scratch it. I know Qrow needs rest and space.

This was not a Silvertongue and Felix situation. One felt fully justified but was uncertain of his reception and the other had to face a very ugly truth none of them wanted to accept. Tai should probably get there in case an argument starts and someone says something they can't take back.

Or won't.

This was such a mess.

Tai had always worried for the day something like this would happen. Remnant was not a kind place to live. Some locations were just luckier than others.

He just never thought it would be Raven that would cause it.

So. How to find them?

Patch wasn't a big island. Even so, it would take a bit of time. There were certainly enough hidden spots and if they had shifted, they would be impossible to find.

I can rule out the dock and the marketplace at least…

No Grimm I can see. I should have a look around tomorrow and check. Maybe ask Eris about it too; might be his work.

Yang had gone to bed with Emerald and Ruby. He had expected her to stay up for a talk.

Separate beds, come to think of it…

There was something moving in front of the moon. It wasn't the shape of an airship. It must be Talaria. Her mother wouldn't be far.

The two were sitting together. That was a good sign.

Qrow was too stiff but their silence seemed comfortable enough.

Maybe I shouldn't bother them.

Mercury stood up. He waved to Tai. "Hey. I'm off Grimm hunting." He sounded relaxed.

"Be careful," was Qrow's contribution.

"Don't leave Patch," Tai ordered.

"I promise. Until we go to Beacon anyway. I'll be back by seven."

Mercury kept his promises, so he normally made it clear what he meant. He hesitated before deciding to head north.

Tai chose to stay with Qrow. He settled in Mercury's previous spot. "I don't think he'll find many. All the combat schools have been hands-on the past few weeks." He himself had supervised Grimm hunting with groups from Signal.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he found a Griffin." Qrow sounded as bad as Tai felt. "Though…maybe not something much higher."

Talaria continued to circle above.

Qrow followed his gaze. "She's practicing turning. Keeps crashing."

"Yeah." Talaria would see everything up there and had good night vision. She would let them know if something happened.

…

"Feeling okay?"

Qrow chuckled. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Qrow."

…

Qrow sighed. "The kids are okay…ish. It could be worse. We knew we would have to deal with this one day. Just wish it wasn't this soon…or all three on the same day for that matter."

Or that it would be Raven that was responsible…

Tai had not seen Raven in human form since she left immediately after Yang's birth. He had only seen her in bird form twice since.

"Then it turns out number four has a connection after all." Qrow glanced at Tai. "Has she ever mentioned that to you before?"

Tai rubbed his eyes. "No. ..But she wouldn't. Raven was…She wouldn't talk about it with me or with you. I don't think she would bring it up with Yang and she wouldn't ask Ruby to keep that kind of secret from her. Which leaves Mercury."

"And depending on when those memories started to appear, he might not have been there."

That would explain why she was so unfair to Yang before. Although…

"This is a mess."

"You're not wrong."

Talaria barked. Tai didn't understand it. He didn't understand most of the reasons Talaria made certain sounds these days, but he did know that he had not heard that particular pitch before.

"Tai. We've found our Griffin."

Tai followed his gaze. He jolted up. "I left my weapons back at the house."

Talaria had darted forward.

The Griffin dodged sideways. Then it turned to keep her in front of it. Its position had changed.

In fact…

"Is that a Griffin? It's not acting like a Griffin." Tai was very familiar with the Grimm of Vale and most of the Grimm on the continent of Sanus. It certainly had the right silhouette, but something was off.

Qrow was standing next to him now, watching carefully.

The Griffin shape waited for Talaria to re-orient herself. Only then did it dash forward.

"You're right," Qrow agreed. "Too passive; too uninterested. …Maybe Silvertongue's doing it?"

Talaria dodged that with more coordination than she had displayed previously.

"Maybe."

Maybe.

Griffins don't live around Patch. If we are negative enough to draw it to the area, it should follow through with a proper attack or setting up for an attack. It doesn't seem interested in the ground.

Talaria didn't seem to be attacking it. She seemed to be trying to herd it. It, in turn, was being very patient with her.

Qrow let out a breath. "This is another thing we didn't ever think we would need to worry about. A lot of people would be interested in someone who could influence Grimm."

"But why is it working now?"

He heard Qrow settle down again. "I'll talk with him later."

Keeping a close eye on the sky, Tai joined him.

It was becoming a dance. The Griffin was attacking, but in predictable patterns. Talaria's dodges were slowly increasing in skill. Now he was calmer, Tai could see it was a young Griffin, not an experienced one.

"I threatened Raven last time I saw her." They needed to talk about the topic. "I never thought…I thought she would listen."

"So did I," Qrow muttered. "On both points."

It took a moment for Tai to translate that. "Right." They were in agreement about that. No matter the price. "I don't know why that changed. She had been there a while, but she chose the day Ruby visited to attack."

Why?

Why did she do that?

…

The Griffin did a barrel roll. Tai had never seen a Griffin do a barrel roll.

Talaria tried to copy it. She wasn't successful clockwise. She did manage counter-clockwise.

The Griffin wasn't helping Talaria with how the tail needed to be positioned. It was helping her to not focus too much on it. It appeared that at least part of the problem was that she was over-thinking it.

The rest was that she had no idea how to balance the new weight distribution.

"I'll have another check of the therapists for Beacon." Qrow didn't try to answer the question. He had no answer.

They had checked them before for Emerald after their first experience at Mountain Glenn. She hadn't taken it up. Maybe Ruby would be different.

Tai didn't think Ozpin would keep a contact number for any therapists for his students if he didn't trust them, but the previous check had settled their thoughts before. The therapists themselves hadn't complained.

"Think she'll be interested?"

"…I don't know. Possibly. How's she been?"

"Making plans to change the world, apparently."

Qrow gave him a confused look. "How?"

"A more formal organisation of the Huntsmen and Huntresses in the whole world. Along with a support system to help out the kids that have no one."

"Doesn't start small, does she."

"I haven't seen the plans properly, but it sounds like she's been thinking about this for a while. If she's still thinking about it after that…"

"Maybe. Or maybe she doesn't want to think on much else at the moment."

Yang and Mercury wanted to travel and explore Remnant. Their reasonings were different enough that they likely wouldn't do it together. One wanted excitement and the other more of a purpose. Ruby seemed to be focusing on the civilisations and not on Grimm.

Emerald.

"They travel to Haven in a month. That's enough time to see if she's up for it."

Tai had an obligation to his students at Signal, so he wasn't going to be travelling to Mistral City. That bothered him.

"How's Yang taking it?" Qrow asked.

"Not well. I don't think it's really hit her until now. What Raven actually…Well. We're learning about that too so…" Tai shrugged.

It had been easy to ignore what Raven was when they were not directly affected. When they could pretend it wasn't happening. When she had become a ghost.

"I am quite sure that this has shattered any goodwill Yang had towards her. Maybe any interest."

And ours.

"Maybe…We should have told her earlier. Stop her chasing a shadow or a lie for so long."

"It wasn't a lie Tai. Not back then."

…

…

Talaria had gone a full five minutes without dropping much in altitude. Her movements were still jerky.

"So."

Tai glanced at Qrow.

"What do we do now?"

"…I don't know."

Qrow frowned slightly. "I can call a few contacts if Ruby can tell me what she's after. As for Yang…I don't know where to start with her. Still think she's going to go traveling?"

If anything was going to change that opinion, it might have been this. But.

"Maybe not. But I think she will. She's a free spirit. I don't think she's ready for a more domestic life yet. This…will just carry more of a weight. If some of her friends go with her when she travels, I think she'll be fine."

"Everyone's running out of time."

It seemed like only yesterday Yang was heading to the 'new' Patch pre-school. So new it didn't even have a name then.

Next year, Yang and Ruby graduated from Beacon Academy.

Next year, Emerald would lose that protection.

Next year, Mercury had choices to make about his family as they branched out.

"We thought we were ready to take on the world."

Qrow laughed. "Yeah." His fingers went along his flask. "What a bunch of idiots we were." Qrow offered it to him.

Tai took it, uncapped it and took a gulp. "Cheap stuff." He took another swig anyway. It would take three bottles of this stuff to get drunk. Even more for Qrow.

He didn't offer it back to his non-blood brother. He left it on the grass instead.

Qrow's hand twitched. He sighed and grabbed it.

…

Not yet taken a gulp. The flask just passed between his twitching hands.

"It's going to be weird. When they really go."

"Heh. Sure makes me feel old."

Tai poked at Qrow's hair. "As your grey hairs show."

Qrow batted his arm away. "Buzz off. I have no grey and even if I did, you and the kids caused it."

"Now that is a flat out lie." If that was the case, Tai's hair would have gone grey a long time ago.

Talaria's movement was very smooth now.

The Griffin turned around and flew off, back in the direction it had come. Out to sea.

It had been a while since Tai had seen a sunrise.

Yang had not planned to go to sleep when she did last night. Still, she slept a lot better than she thought she would. She had expected not to be able to sleep at all actually.

Alone.

Well, might as well pack for Haven now.

Something Yang had noticed was that the places in Mistral she had visited were colder than she was used to in Vale. She worked her bedroom methodically, making sure to pack her favourite jumpers and coats, but also some thermals. Layers were helpful.

Hmm…Do I want this dress? Well…There may not be a dance at this Vytal Fesitval but even if there is, I wouldn't want to wear the same dress to it that I wore to the last one.

Besides, she had gone off white.

Maybe…That was a decision. Blue? Autumnal?

I love these bags.

If they decided to market these bottomless bags, they would be rich. Yang had never fully understood why they didn't. Was Ren or Mercury the one to talk to about that?

And who would be the one to talk to about customising the bags? All of them looked exactly the same. Black did go with nearly everything but they were bland. Coco was a thought, but she often went too extravagant.

The kalimba.

Yang almost forgot it. She had put it on the bedside table but hadn't needed it.

Only now was she willing to acknowledge that Ruby was already up and about.

Ruby's bed had been made properly, not just the covers thrown up. That was a little unusual. Especially as Ruby had managed to not wake Yang.

Why didn't I stay?

Why had Yang agreed only Ruby would stay at Faymarsh? They knew-

Knew.

Mercury knew Raven had been there.

He did not cause Raven to attack the village.

Yang let out a breath.

Right. This is getting over her.

Why was it so hard?

I am over her. I don't want to meet her. She can burn in hell.

Maybe one day, Yang would believe it.

This wasn't anyone's fault but Raven's.

The people who live there suffered far worse than us. It's not just about us.

First was packing up. Second was breakfast. Third was school.

Ruby was in the kitchen, her back to Yang. Dad was in the living room. The others were nowhere to be seen. Dad started to get up. Yang smiled at him, shook her head to tell him not to bother and headed to the kitchen.

"Hi Ruby. Can I steal a breakfast?"

Ruby jumped before she turned around. Her cloak was one of the newer spares. Yang thought it was the one that had yet to be worn.

"Yang! Chef Ruby's offers today are bacon sandwiches or scrambled eggs on toast. Both come with Dad grown tomatoes."

"Ooh…Now there's a choice. Bacon sandwiches sound amazing." When had Dad's tomato plants grown large enough for tomatoes? She plopped down at the table as Ruby began to move around. "Everyone else around?"

"Somewhere." The delicious smell was filling the kitchen. The open window was likely the reason Yang hadn't noticed before. "School's in an hour so they won't have drifted far. Two or three?"

"Three, if they're going." Yang was always going to choose the bigger number.

She swallowed back the 'how are you doing'. Ruby seemed somewhat happy(ish), so Yang wasn't going to bring the mood down.

Maybe not happy, but not sad either. At least, not totally.

Okay. I have to admit it. I cannot get a good reading off her.

"Here you go!" Chirpy tone. With mayonnaise.

"Thanks." It looked and smelt so good.

Ruby vanished. One second there and the next not.

"No running in the house!" Tai called.

"Sorry!" Ruby called from their room.

Yang suspected Ruby was not sorry.

For this anyway.

What could she possibly be feeling?

Yang practically inhaled the sandwiches. There was nothing wrong with good food. Bacon fried to perfection. In Yang's mind at least.

Dad sat next to her, ignoring her licking her lips. "All packed?"

"Yeah." She had washed her clothes yesterday, saving her the hassle of getting a space as everyone else that had missions hogged the school machines. "I'm fine."

"Yang-"

"I'm. Fine."

Yang was fine.

"Mom loved me."

Mom.

Raven was no one.

Nothing.

Summer was Mom. Always was and always would be.

"That she did." Tai leaned back with a familiar smile. The far away look in his eyes. "That she did." He focused back on Yang. "She would be very proud of you."

"I hope so."

"Of course she would. Why wouldn't she be?"

Yang shrugged.

What have I done that Mom would be proud of?

Yang had killed a lot of Grimm. Any Huntress could and would do that.

Yang had helped a lot of people out around the village with small tasks. Any decent person would do that.

Yang hadn't looked after her younger siblings. Couldn't. They had suffered and there was nothing she could do about it. That was the most important thing.

That was the worst thing.

"Yang…"

"I will make her proud. I promise." Ruby would be the easiest to help. Yang knew Beacon; knew Vale. She knew who to talk to in order to find out more contacts, even outside Vale City.

When they had more concrete plans, Yang would pay another visit to Junior.

Do I stay with Ruby or go travelling?

That wasn't so easy to answer. Yang had wanted to go from place to place; to see so much and have a different experience each day.

Go with the flow.

But she had wanted to find her biological mother.

That was such a driving force behind wanting to be a Huntress. Behind her travelling.

So…do I still want to?

Yang did want to help people. She knew that.

She just didn't know how.

Ruby had been the first to climb on the Guardian Form.

She was also the first to climb off.

Ruby did recognise the people that approached. They were all classmates. It took a moment for her to remember their names.

"Okay people, make room." Melody. She took control. "It's a dragon and it's awesome. Now give them some space."

Ruby had forgotten not many people actually knew what this was.

But they were surprised and intrigued. None were angry or scared.

JWMP, Sawyer and Violet were the ones that set the distance. They stopped within five feet. Nearly close enough to touch. Violet and Weiss seemed a little uncertain of it.

Jaune had just stared at it at first. He had only moved forward when Melody had.

From the general chatter, everyone seemed to think it was a Semblance. It was quickly concluded it wasn't Yang's or Ruby's, so it must be Emerald's or Mercury's.

Information.

Life changing. Life ending.

"Students."

Professor Ozpin.

The crowd quietened a little, but let him through.

"Welcome back Remedy." Professor Ozpin smiled at them. He then turned back to the large group. "Classes start in ten minutes. There will be detentions for being late today."

There were absolute groans there.

"Disappointment is a fact of life," Professor Ozpin stated. "Roll with the unexpected."

"Besides, Mercury will be around Vale for a few days for those who want to ask him about it."

Ruby did not need to turn around to know Mercury was glaring at Emerald for that offer. She also did not need to see Emerald's 'innocent' smile to know it was there. Yang was no doubt torn between the amusement of Emerald's announcement and sympathy for Mercury.

But if Merc's going to use it a lot more, it's going to be memorable. And with communications covering more area, people across the world will talk.

The world.

Remnant.

Ruby's fingers stopped moving. She pulled her hand out of her pocket.

There was no blood on it.

Ruby would not get blood from it again.

Talaria landed on her shoulder with a sound.

Ruby couldn't stop the jump.

Right. Beacon. Not Faymarsh.

Class.

"What's first?" Ruby had forgotten.

"Kingdom Studies," Emerald replied. She was at Ruby's side and the Guardian Form had disappeared. "We were going to talk about the Terrar Week in Vacuo."

Terrar Week…

Ruby had never heard of it. She would need to pay attention.

"See you girls later."

"Bye."

Some of the crowd was still around. Professor Ozpin was nearby too, watching them carefully.

Ruby led the way to class. She wanted a bit of quiet for the morning. She had a busy afternoon.

Talaria flew off. She did not follow them to class.

The textbook belonged to Ruby. She was allowed to write in it. However, she had always written everything out in her separate notebook. It helped her remember when it was written in her own words and not the dry style of most textbooks.

It did mean it was a hassle if she misplaced said notepad when it came to revising.

So. Terrar Week. First week of May, first celebrated over two centuries ago. Actual date unknown due to uncertain record keeping. This was common for the time; in fact, only recently changed in the last eighty years. The common thought was that this was due to the Great War, but Professor Peach affirms that may not be the truth.

The other three Kingdoms have different versions of why Terrar Week started and Vacuo had yet to confirm which, if any, are correct. However, the Week is a celebration of the four Gods Agua, Ayer, Fyre and Forestra. This is thought to be where the words aqua, air, fire and forest come from.

As the lecture continued, Ruby made quick notes for the do's and don't's for the lesson, as usual. She didn't want these lists buried under often irrelevant material needed for exams.

Emerald wasn't taking as many notes as Ruby. She rarely did when the topic was Vacuo. Instead, she scribbled her own remarks to add to Ruby's do and don't list.

On the way to Grimm Studies, Ruby went through her classmates in her mind and as many in Beacon as she could think of.

The vast majority of names had grown up and lived in Vale. There had been seven in the school (including Zephyr) that had come from Solitas. Except for Zephyr, all had family here. Only three were known to come from Vacuo.

Which…is odd, actually.

Part of her long-term plan was to help kids from all over the world. For that, she needed a basic understanding of the cultural differences. Some people took insult to things others didn't. Ruby didn't want a misunderstanding to cause problems.

This lesson was on Geists.

Looking around, most students were showing a lot of disbelief at the abilities of the Geist.

Trusting Yang to pay attention and make notes on new information, Ruby nudged Emerald and wrote down her question.

'If Vale and Vacuo were friends in the Great War, why do more people in school come from Solitas than Vacuo?'

Emerald read it, considered a few moments and scribbled a response.

'Most Vacuoans go to Shade. It's home and more focus on strength. Many think Vale caters too much to other places.' She thought about it for a second. 'Including towards Vacuo.'

Ruby may need to think a lot more on how she approached people from Vacuo.

'Do you agree?'

They could be having this conversation through aura reading but Ruby wanted it written down so she could think on it better later.

'On some points.'

'Sun?'

Emerald blinked at her with a small frown.

'Wukong?'

She nodded and responded. 'No idea but Sun is not the kind of person I met. Some were but not many. Friend maybe?'

Blake would be the one to ask. Or Ruby could ask Sun when they went to Haven.

Ruby turned back to Professor Port. He was talking about Geist being sneaky now; possessing objects and making sure its face was on the side people couldn't see. Ruby hadn't seen the Geist they killed do that.

She glanced back down at her notebook.

'Do you think they will be open to making something with Huntsmen? Group, govern-' Ruby froze for a moment. She did know Vacuo were not open to government. She crossed that word out.

Emerald wrote a word underneath.

'Guild'

Ruby smiled. 'Huntsmen Guild'

'What will it do?'

'A link between the people and those who protect them'

Something that Ruby had begun to notice was that Huntsmen and Huntresses can do quite a bit that most other professions could not. Travel between kingdoms was easier for them. They could do a lot of structural damage and often not held accountable.

Ruby could believe that the schools paid for it when they were students. But Professor Ozpin or any other professor had not discussed the damage done when they followed Torchwick onto the highway.

Including the people that died.

Nothing had been said.

Ruby had only realised that the people in the cars had likely not survived that day. When Cella…

Emerald had nudged her.

'If this Guild has information on Huntsmen and their acheivements, Vacuo may be interested. Outsiders are distrusted until they are no longer outsiders'

That was important.

Ruby knew that was important.

A part of her wished that Vacuo were hosting this year. She had yet to see one of the original villages in Vacuo. The village they helped set up in the valley…

They had accepted Remedy's presence but had kept an eye on them. Up until that cat Grimm was killed and one of their own had been saved.

There had been a change in how they were seen then. Ruby just hadn't noticed it at the time.

Tolerated then accepted. Remedy had been recommended by a team from Shade.

Ruby would have to be careful when approaching areas in Vacuo. She could manage easier in the Kingdoms of Vale and Mistral because she knew where to go. All of them knew people in Vale and Mistral was where they would be for a few months for the Festival. Solitas and Vacuo would be more difficult. Solitas especially because Atlas and Mantle were quite different.

Vacuo would want proof of what Ruby was doing and that she was good at doing it before they got too involved. That was what Emerald thought.

Emerald lived in Vacuo most of her life. She knew about it.

Ruby frowned.

Ruby and Yang had lived in the Kingdom of Vale all their lives. Emerald had spent most of her life in the Kingdom of Vacuo. She hadn't been out of Vacuo for long before Cinder found her. Mercury had lived outside the Kingdom of Mistral, but he had been alone for most of it so he didn't know about their cultures. None of them were from Solitas either.

Ruby would go back through her Kingdom Studies notes. She may also be able to talk to General Ironwood during the Vytal Festival. He would know a lot about both Atlas and Mistral. He had only hurt her family because he wanted to protect Remnant.

Mercury said that, even at the time. Uncle Qrow said that. Dad even agreed with them. They were sure. General Ironwood wasn't an enemy.

It wasn't fair to hold the Beacon Vytal Festival and everything that happened there against him.

I know he's not to blame. It's long past letting it go.

There was a lot of blame to go around that night.

They suspected that Headmaster Lionheart worked with Salem.

However, he did still run the Haven Academy. This was separate from Salem so he might talk to her about his students in general.

Ruby had decided what she wanted to dedicate her life to. Regardless of what Headmaster Lionheart may have done or will do, she could do with his help on this.

As for Professor Ozpin…I think I'll ask the day before we leave for Haven. He would know a lot about a lot…I should make a list.

There were two key points to her plans. One: provide the kids that were born in the unluckiest circumstances a chance to become what they want. Two: create a more established group for Huntsmen and Huntresses, mainly focusing on communication and accountability with the general public.

Ruby could understand why a lot of people would and wouldn't like this.

There were two points she knew about life. One: kids should outlive their parents. Two: those who inherited the world should make it a better, safer place for those who come after.

Ruby had a goal. She had rough plans to make it happen. She just needed to iron out the actual objectives in it. She had the time and resources for that.

AN: Thank you very much for reading and your patience.