Side Story: Birds of a Feather
The Dive Bar in Vale's industrial district was an establishment that embraced wordplay, decorated as it was with a definitively nautical theme: nets and ropework were draped from the ceiling, pictures of oceanic vistas graced the walls, a pair of diving suits stood on display flanking the door, a large anchor was suspended high up on the wall behind the bar, and a decommissioned Great War-era torpedo served as the centerpiece as it hung over the bar itself. It was also one of the few bars in Vale still open, remarkably intact, considering the wreckage and damage to the street outside.
Tonight was a quiet night in the Dive Bar, quiet enough that the tinkling of the little bell hanging above the door was easily audible as a new patron arrived.
Qrow Branwen stepped into the bar and looked around.
Then blinked and looked again, before walking over to the only two occupied seats at the bar.
"Raven?" he asked. "What the hell are you doing here?"
His sister turned and looked at him, red eyes even redder than usual, clearly bloodshot.
"Isn't it obvious, Qrow?" she said, before she slugged back a drink from her bottle. "Getting a drink." With that, she turned back to the bar.
"Qrow Branwen," the young woman seated next to her stood up and stepped clear of the bar stools, watching him warily, hands drifting to the wind and fire blades hanging from the small of her back. "You abandoned the tribe."
"And you joined it," Qrow guessed as he too reached back and gripped Harbinger. "I'd say that puts me ahead of you on the moral high ground race."
"Hey, now…" the bartender — a woman with short blond hair in a tailored pantsuit — said warningly, hands reaching beneath the bar.
"Both of you, shut up," Raven hissed, cutting through the tense moment and drawing both their attention. She didn't even look back. "There is no tribe."
Qrow blinked. No tribe? He wasn't about to shed any tears for the Branwen tribe, but still…
"What happened?" he asked.
"Starscream happened," Raven answered, still hunched over the bar as her companion reclaimed her seat. "Why are you here, Qrow?"
"Honestly?" He shrugged. "I came here for a drink. Imagine my surprise at finding you here."
"Then drink and leave me alone." She took another slug, then paused and shook the bottle. Slamming the bottle on the bar, she scowled. "Barkeep! Another!"
The bartender slid another bottle across the bar, which she caught.
Qrow eyed the line of empty bottles on the bar next to Raven.
"Don't you think she's had enough?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at the bartender.
She shrugged. "She fought to defend the bar during the battle. Least I can do is extend her a tab."
Qrow grunted.
"Make that two," he said finally as he took a seat next to Raven, opposite Vernal.
As he began to drink, Qrow considered the new information. The Branwen tribe was gone, thanks to Starscream. What did that mean?
Hang on, he thought. Didn't Ruby say something about Starscream swearing revenge against Raven? He racked his brain, trying to remember the details. Raven had portalled in when Ruby was fighting Starscream at his lab. But how did he even know her name?
Something wasn't adding up, but he couldn't figure out what any of it meant. The only thing that was clear, though, was that Raven somehow seemed to have developed some sort of attachment to Ruby, or she wouldn't have been able to portal to her, considering how her semblance worked. Of course, the fact that she cared enough about Ruby to portal to her didn't necessarily make that a good thing.
After all, she'd cared about the team, about Summer and Tai and himself, and look how that turned out.
"So," he said, "why'd you kill Lionheart?"
She gave him a flat glare. "He was using me to dispose of his students. You know how I feel about being used."
That … he could understand. Raven had never been much of a follower. The trouble Summer had had asserting herself as team leader had been … breathtaking, and he hadn't even seen the end of it. The two had gone off to hash it out in private one night. With their weapons in hand.
The two women of Team STRQ had had a lot more in common than most would think. Both of them instinctively took the lead, and both chafed under restrictions. It had led Summer to planning and undertaking missions on her own initiative, a habit Ruby seemed to have picked up. At least Ruby kept Ozpin in the loop and brought backup, which was more than could be said of Summer sometimes.
"You know, Ruby's been asking about you."
"Summer's girl?" Raven responded quizzically. At Qrow's nod, she shook her head and grumbled, "That girl's going to get herself killed one of these days."
"So you do care."
Raven snorted. "She keeps showing up in the most dangerous places, interfering with my work. I'd much rather she stop doing that."
Raven's work. All right, checking in on Adam, he could understand, but Starscream's lab? MECH's base? Those weren't the kind of targets the Branwen tribe had ever considered, except perhaps as targets of opportunity if they left themselves particularly open. And she'd killed Lionheart.
Did she really just leave because she was chafing under Oz's leadership? It seemed improbable, but everything seemed to point to it. Why else would she go after Starscream or MECH? The potential reward just wasn't worth the risk.
His head was starting to hurt.
And while he was here, there was something else he'd like to know.
"Why didn't you tell me about Adam?" he asked, breaking the silence.
"Should I have expected you to care?" she asked. "You didn't seem to care all that much when we thought he was dead."
That's—! He took a deep breath — and another drink — and retreated from the thought. That hadn't been one of his finer moments, he had to admit.
They lapsed into silence again.
He was about halfway into his bottle and Raven onto her — he squinted and counted — fifth when he finally made a decision.
I hope I don't regret this, he thought.
"You know," he drawled, "Ruby's birthday's coming up soon."
She gave him a bleary-eyed stare.
"Personally, I'd prefer it if you'd steer clear, but it'd mean a hell of a lot to her if you showed up."
She snorted wordlessly and turned back to her drink.
The rest of the night passed in silence, and they parted ways without another word.
What am I even doing here?
Alighting on a tree as one of the many birds that populated Patch, it was easy enough to go unnoticed. Only her eyes — which remained red — would give her away, and few enough people paid attention to the color of a bird's eyes, even if they were to get close enough. Of course, that didn't answer the question as to why she was here.
Except … there was nowhere else for her to go. With the tribe gone and Vernal by her side — figuratively; she was actually in Vale proper right now — she had no one she could portal to outside the Kingdom of Vale. Patch, specifically, in this case, with Adam, and both Tai and Yang were here too. And Ruby, whose birthday was being celebrated.
Adam had never been one for celebrations, so his decision to attend — if, indeed, he had been allowed the option not to — was a curious one. Probably out of some sense of obligation, she concluded. Certainly, he seemed to be having his hands full with the crowd of Xiao Longs.
Raven had hardened herself when he'd chosen to leave the tribe, to pursue his revenge. She'd done what she could, but the hatchling had to leave the nest eventually, and he was strong, or at least as strong as she could make him. Even if a part of her had wanted to stop him, to hold him close, for revenge was a path that rarely ended well, but that would have betrayed a weakness, and she couldn't have afforded that.
Beady red eyes watched as Tudor and her sprog arrived. Raven had never liked Tudor, and the feeling had been entirely mutual. Raven would have likened it to predator and prey, but honesty compelled her otherwise; it was more like she was the wolf and Tudor the sheepdog, mortal enemies who knew each other by sight. Summer was the only one who could keep the peace between them.
Like as not, if they met now, Tudor would try to strike her down.
A flutter of wings, and she repositioned herself on another tree, looking for a better vantage point.
There. Summer's child. Ruby. The birthday girl was proving as infuriating and confusing as her mother had been. It was … odd … to say the least, how frequently they'd run into each other recently. And she still couldn't wrap her head around the ridiculous question the girl had chosen to ask when she'd relented and offered her one answer.
She watched as the girl in question raced out to one of the Autobots, one with a flame paint job, her cousin in tow, and together, the three raced off down Patch's patchy roads.
"It'll probably be a while before she gets back."
Her head snapped around in surprise. Of course.
Tai.
She turned her head away from him and pretended she hadn't just reacted.
"I can go fetch Adam, if you want to talk to him," Tai offered.
She didn't respond, instead resolutely watching the rest of the crowd of blonds milling around while the birthday girl had her joyride.
"All right," Tai said with a sigh. "It's clear you don't want to talk to me right now, so … here."
She heard a rustling of clothing and the crunch of grass beneath his feet.
"Take the scroll," he said. "It's a prepaid, and everyone's number is programmed in it, the whole family. Well, the immediate family, anyway: Qrow, me, Adam, Yang, and Ruby, anyway. I don't think Pa ever forgave you for, well, you know. And as for Tudor and Sunsprite, well…"
He trailed off.
"Just … you know you're always welcome back, right? And nothing says you can't keep in touch even if you don't come back. I miss you, and I think Qrow and Adam do too, even if they don't really show it. For sure, Ruby's really taken a shine to you. She'd really like to get to know you better."
Summer's girl? Raven thought incredulously. Why Summer's girl?
They'd barely even met!
Several … times…
She shook it off and focused her attention back to the party.
After a long moment, Tai retreated, returning to the party, and Raven glanced down contemplatively at the scroll lying in the grass.
"You really think she'll have taken it?" Qrow asked. "And if she did, you think she'll call?"
The party was over, and the two of them were strolling over to where Tai had spoken with Raven.
"I don't know," he admitted. It was … the situation with Raven was complicated, to say the least. Which was not a sentiment he'd ever thought he'd have, to be honest. Back when they were at Beacon, his relationship with Raven had been as uncomplicated as it got.
But now? He couldn't figure out what she'd been doing, rescuing Ruby all those times. He doubted it was some long con. Not unless she'd changed more than he'd thought; she tended toward more brute force approaches to achieving her goals, with a general approach that could be summed in three words: want, take, have. And besides, what profit was there in toying with their hearts?
She wasn't on some deep cover mission for Ozpin either. He knew it had been a silly flight of fancy to begin with, but after she'd killed Leo — or rather, after his connection to Salem had emerged — he'd had to ask. But then again … Summer had often gone on missions of her own, sometimes without even Ozpin's knowledge. Had Raven been doing the same? She had always had a strong independent streak in her…
Qrow grunted. "It might be better if she didn't. You know she's drinking again. 'Swhy I asked you not to tell the girls."
"I know," Tai agreed reluctantly. "And even if she does … I think it's better if they see it as her making the first move."
"I suppose," Qrow acknowledged with a sigh. "Ball's in her court now."
Author's Note (Cyclone):Sooo, we weren't actually planning on this particular side story, but I was struck by inspiration late at night very early in the morning and ended up hammering the first two scenes of this out in a sleep-deprived frenzy over the course of maybe … an hour? Not sure. My memory of that night's a bit hazy, to be honest. The next day, Cody threw his two cents in, which helped me figure out that third scene (I knew in my gut it needed a third scene but couldn't figure out what without his help), and writing that took maybe ten minutes, once I got past several false starts. After that, it was just a matter of editing and implementing some suggestions from the beta readers, and here we are.
