The training that Summer put Raven through during those nearly two months had been nothing short of rigorous. Everyday Raven would wake up and train for two hours as Summer simply watched. At some point during her training, Summer had escalated the training for Raven by bringing her left handed pistol as she would randomly shoot bullets at Raven to keep her constantly on her toes. Raven had improved enormously as her movements were now faster both in the swing of her sword and in the movement of her legs. Raven had become nearly unstoppable in her combat class as not even Qrow could slip the occasional win. She had even started getting some wins over Tai due to her training. Raven began to ponder to herself who was truly benefitting from this. Was this really about improving Summer? Raven decided to bring it up during her training for the day with Summer.
After performing a series of slashes Raven took a breather and walked up to Summer as she sheathed Omen. "You have improved. Your slashes are becoming more refined." Summer comments.
"With as much training as I'm doing it's no surprise I've gotten better." Raven folds her arm as she narrows her eyes at her leader. "Which really makes me wonder who is really benefitting from this. Tell me Summer... you haven't been taking notes for a while. Why is that?"
Summer looks a bit abashed at being called out. "So you caught me red handed huh?" Summer then smiles and leans back. "Yeah I got all that I needed after the first week or two of this training you've been doing."
"Then why have you kept me doing this all this time?" Raven asks with irritation.
"Well that's easy. I kept pushing it so you would become stronger." Summer replies as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"But why would you do that?" Raven doesn't understand why Summer would want Raven to get stronger. "What do you gain from helping me?" Raven ponders out loud.
"Well I gain an even more powerful teammate. Is this not what you wanted from the beginning? Your desire was that you wanted to be the strongest. That was what your philosophy was: Strength is the only thing that matters. At least according to you. Plus it will help in our upcoming midterms mission." Summer responds.
"Do not talk like you know what my desires are Summer." Raven responds harshly. "You would never understand them." Raven spoke in a quieter voice.
"I could try to understand... at least a tiny bit." Summer gestures with her left hand.
Raven stays quiet for a moment before she quickly pulls out Omen and holds it in a low ready position. "Do you really want to know that badly?" Raven ominously asks.
"Of course I do. We're teammates after all." 'Plus maybe I can figure out why you act the way you do.' Summer internally thinks to herself.
"In that case hit me." Raven simply states.
"Excuse me?" Summer tilts her head.
"If you can successfully shoot me at least once then I will tell you. I will stand right here and if I get hit or if I take any step then I lose. We got a deal?"
'So you want to play a game with me?' Summer smirks. 'It just so happens that I find such games INCREDIBLY fun.' Summer gives a cheshire grin. "We definitely have a deal. Do note that I will not go easy on you." Summer pulls out her revolver which already has six bullets loaded in it. "I'm going to end this with only the six rounds loaded in. Prepare yourself." Summer slowly stands up and points her gun at Raven.
Raven becomes deftly serious as she raises Omen up into an attacking stance in preparation for what Summer was about to do. "Bring it."
Their is a long pause in the air as Raven waits in anticipation for Summer to begin. Summer quickly plans out her plan of attack before executing.
Summer fires a bullet directly at Raven's torso as Raven goes to slice the bullet. Summer shoots her next shot to the top left as it completely misses Raven. Raven goes to intercept the first bullet. As Raven is intercepting the first bullet Summer is shooting the third bullet in the same direction as the second as the two bullets collide in mid air sending one flying towards the back of Ravens head while the other ricochets to the far side of the room. Summer shoots her fourth bullet towards the ground right near Raven's feet. Raven has slashed the first bullet and moves her head to the side as the second bullet darts past her head. The fourth bullet hits the ground before rebounding upwards as it makes contact with the second bullet which forces it to start traveling straight up. Summer shoots her fifth bullet towards the third bullet that was on the far edge of the room as the third bullet is sent back towards Ravens direction while the fifth bullet rebounds upwards towards the second bullet. Raven turns her body to slice the third bullet in half as well as she quickly sees the second bullet aiming right towards her face as she brings Omen up to slice the second bullet in half as well. Summer brings her pistol up to block the fourth bullet that was barreling towards her as it rebounds off her pistol and back towards Raven. Raven turns her head to see the fourth bullet coming back as she brings Omen up to slice it in half as well. Summer shoots her sixth bullet to the slight right of Raven. As Raven slices the fourth bullet in half the rebounded fifth and newly shot sixth both hit the two sliced halves of the fourth bullet as both bullets shoot towards Raven's opposite shoulders. Raven realizes that she cannot slice both bullets so she ducks below both bullets. Raven grins as she thinks she has won when she suddenly feels both the fifth and sixth bullets hit her in the legs as her aura flares up.
'But how?' Raven question. She tries to wrack her brain as she remembers. 'The first bullet! Summer ricocheted those last two bullets first off of the fourth, then as I ducked they hit the remains of the first bullet that were still traveling behind me.'
Summer grins as she knows she won. The bout the two had lasted less than a second but that one second displayed the raw talents of both fighters.
"Looks like I win Raven." Summer smugly states. "You may have improved in your reaction timings but you still have to out think your opponents in order to capitalize on your strengths." Summer states with more seriousness in her voice. Summer puts her gun away and sits back down as she gestures for Raven to sit down next to her.
Raven sheathes Omen and reluctantly complies as she sits down next to Summer. "I suppose you want an explanation for what I said earlier."
"That was the whole point of this, yes." Summer nods her head.
Their is a pause in the air as Raven looks up. "My desire is to get stronger so I may lead my tribe. I was chosen from birth to be the next leader of the Branwen tribe as I was the first born of the current chief who was my father." Raven looks off into the distance. "Unfortunately he died during a mission over a decade ago and left the tribe without a new leader." Raven turns her head to look the other way. "Luckily our grandparents were still around and our grandfather had to become the leader of our tribe until I grow of age to take his place."
"So you've had a lot of pressure on you?" Summer tries to guess.
"That would be an understatement." Raven replies. "Ever since the death of our father, I've been obligated to become the strongest so I may be worthy to lead our tribe. In our tribe strength is power, and power is what leads to progression."
"Progression to what?" Summer asks.
"Progression to the betterment of our tribe. Make it be known and revered. To show the world who we are. I need to be strong to lead my people in the future. That is what you could never understand. You don't know what it feels like to have the weight of an entire people riding on your shoulders before you even take control." Raven spoke with finality.
Summer lowers her head in thought before sighing loudly. "Oh Raven... I can relate immensely to your situation." Summer somberly responds.
"You are just somebody from some tribe. You don't know what the pressure is like to lead so many people." Raven tries to justify.
Summer looks over to Raven with a more serious look on her face. "Have you ever stopped to ask what my place IS in my tribe?"
Raven thinks about it for a moment as she realizes that she really doesn't know enough about Summer to make an educated guess. "No I don't believe I have. Then again it had never really come up in a conversation before. However judging by the inflection in your voice I can tell that you must have some standing in your tribe."
"How about being in the same position that you are in?" Summer's silver eyes peek out from her hood as they stare into Raven's crimson eyes.
Raven ponders this for a moment before narrowing her eyes at her leader. "You don't mean... you're next in line for your tribe as well?"
Summer sighs as she looks down towards her feet. "Yeah... I'm the only child of the current leader of my tribe. I know the feeling of having that much weight on your shoulders because I was constantly reminded of just how unfit I was to be leader. I was weak, I was mediocre at using the hidden blades, I chose to use a weapon that wasn't very popular in the tribe to begin with, and I'm terrible at using my-" Summer lightly cups her mouth with her left hand as she almost blurted out her secret in front of someone else.
Raven looks over to Summer with some puzzlement on her face. "Terrible at using what?"
Summer frantically searches her mind to quickly find a lie that can suffice. "I'm terrible at using... my... medkits. Yeah I was never that great at using all that medical supplies to efficiently bandage some one up." Summer nervously hides deeper into her hood as she tries to avoid eye contact with Raven.
'She's acting incredibly weird about this. There is definitely something up with her.' Raven makes sure to take note of this.
"Anyways I was always put down by all of my peers back in my tribe because they knew that I was next to be leader, yet I was always struggling when it came to the things that were treasured in our tribe. I honestly wish I had as much conviction as you do for your tribe. Do you know that is something I admire about you Raven? I've seen you work so hard in here and although you may complain, you never gave up even for a moment. I have my fair share of respect for you because of that." Summer pats Raven on the shoulder.
Raven's lips curve into a slight smile at the compliment being given. "Well you'll never improve if you don't try." Raven gets up from where she was sitting and walks back out onto the training ground. "I'm going to finish off with my daily training now so see ya I guess." Raven then pulls out Omen and goes back to training for the rest of the time.
Over the next few days Raven would mull over in her head the words that Summer had said to her that day during her training. 'She acknowledged my strength and even my situation... but she never spoke of how she dealt with it or what power means to her.' Raven wondered these things but never thought to ask Summer about them. 'Guess I'll have to bring them up during our next training session.' Raven turns over in bed. 'But to think that Summer is the next in line for her tribe as well... I guess there really isn't that much I know about Summer.' Raven yawns. 'To be fair she has also been treating me with kindness even after what I did to her. I just don't get her at all.' Raven eventually falls asleep.
The next morning after Raven and Summer head back to the training rooms, Raven would go about her usual training with swinging her sword and Summer occasionally shooting bullets to keep her on her toes as she trained. After the first hour of training Raven would sit down and take a quick water break as she sat next to Summer. Raven used that opportunity to ask Summer a few more things.
"Hey Summer, do you remember the conversation we had a few days ago about strength?"
Summer turns her head to face her teammate. "I do. Is there something you want to ask of me?" Raven lightly nods her head. "Well then go ahead. I will try to answer it to the best of my knowledge."
"A few days ago you said how you admired my strength and my drive... yet you did not acknowledge my power. That is something I was curious about. From what I could tell you don't associate strength with power. So I would like to know, what is power to you Summer?"
Summer closes her eyes and leans back as she thinks over what Raven had just asked of her. Once Summer thinks it over she opens her eyes, sits up straight, and simply looks ahead of her as she gives Raven her answer. "You would be right on one thing: I don't view strength and power in the same veins. I believe that strength is certainly a necessity when it comes to having to defend yourself or to protect those you cherish, but I believe true power is the bonds of those around you. I thought you would understand that more than anyone considering the nature of your semblance, Raven."
Raven looks at Summer with some confusion at this. "Bonds? That is what true power means to you? You're going to have to elaborate what you mean by that Summer."
"What I mean by that is that it is unrealistic to think that any one person can do everything on their own. It can be a hard pill to swallow, but it is the unavoidable truth that all of us must face eventually. That is why I find solace in knowing this as I know my weaknesses and what I need help with. That is why I rely on others. So they can iron out my flaws. By creating bonds we can become strong together and we can make our goals all the more achievable. At least that is what I believe." Summer calmly explains.
Raven sighs. "That first half was understandable, but that second half dripped with naivety. How can you expect to lead anyone if all you do is rely on them? Can you really call it leading by then?"
Summer looks up to Raven and slightly tilts her head. "Well... isn't that what our group is?"
Ravens eyes widen slightly as she is struck with hard realization at those simple words.
Summer continues. "I may be the leader of our team, but I would not be able to do the things I do on my own. Do you really think I could take on those giant monsters we fought on my own? The answer is no, I would probably die if I didn't have you all there to back me up. The bonds we share is the exact reason we were able to defeat foes that were stronger than us. Being the leader of this team has only solidified my thoughts on the matter."
'I never realized... she's right.' Raven internally thinks. 'I certainly couldn't kill those creatures on my own.' "I think... I'm starting to understand what you mean. Thank you Summer." Raven lightly smiles to herself. 'I guess I should try out Summer's plan. I'll always have Qrow at the very least so I won't be alone to lead my tribe.'
Suddenly a bright glow emanates from Raven as the whole room is quickly bathed in a bright flash of red. Summer is forced to bring her hood down further to block out the sudden light as she looks back to Raven with shock. Summer pulls her hood up enough to look at Raven before she asks, "What was that just now?"
Raven looks down at her hands then back up to Summer with a small smile on her lips. "That was my semblance activating. It only does that when a new person is ingrained into 'Kindred Link'. I guess that means the time we spent together had finally been enough to form the link."
"So that means you don't need my blood anymore to activate your semblance?" Summer asks with some hope.
Raven nods her head. "That's right. I can now use Kindred Link to teleport straight to you." Raven stands up and runs to the other side of the training ground. "Observe." Raven pulls out Omen and slashes to cut open a portal and hops in. Raven then appears behind Summer as she exits.
"That's pretty cool." Summer comments.
Raven sits back down for a moment as she goes to ask Summer another question. "I actually had one more question for you. How do you deal with knowing that you're going to be the leader of your tribe?"
Summer looks away saddened. "To be honest with you... I had a pretty terrible way of dealing with it." Raven waits for Summer to continue as she takes a moment to think about her next words. "Unlike your tribe, my tribe hates leaving the continent. I've always been stuck on Draco and never got to experience the outside world. I won't bore you with the whole story, but all you need to know is that I sailed away from Draco and came here to pursue my own goal." Summer looks up to see what Raven thinks of that and she is slightly frightened at how strangely quiet her teammate was.
Raven raises her her and begins to look upset at Summer. "You abandoned your tribe?! How could you do that? They need you."
"Look Raven, I may have left them, but that doesn't mean I abandoned them. I'm here to get stronger the same as you. Plus I get to live my own dream of exploring the rest of Remnant while I do it. By the end of this journey I plan to return to my tribe and be the leader they want, but until then I will stay here with no regret in my actions." Summer states firmly.
Raven has a hard time grasping it as Summer willingly left her tribe while she was forced to leave her own to come here. "Whatever... I'm going back to training." As Raven walks away and pulls out Omen she continues to think about Summer's words as she reflects on them.
About one week later it was finally time for Summer to get her cast removed. Tai, Raven, and Qrow all came with Summer as she went to get the cast removed. They waited outside as one of the doctors who worked at the infirmary entered the office with a buzz saw and carefully removed the cast from Summer's arm.
"Your arm should be fine for now, but be sure to exercise it to regain the strength back in it. Also make sure not to strain yourself too much as you may end up causing too much stress on the arm." The doctor informs Summer of what she must do in order to recover her arm.
"Will I be able to train like I used to?" Summer asks.
"You should be able to as long as you take it easy while training. You can do more strenuous training once you feel that your arm is sufficiently healed. I wish you a good day Miss Rose." The doctor replies.
"Thank you doctor." Summer leaves the office as the rest of her team patiently waited outside for her. The three turn their heads to look over to Summer as Summer smiles brightly and waves at them with her now. healed right arm.
"So how did it go?" Qrow was the first to ask.
"It went excellently. The doctor said I should exercise my hand, but make sure not to strain it too much. That means I can finally go back to training."
"Does that mean I don't have to look after you anymore?" Raven asks.
"Precisely Miss Branwen." Everyone quickly turns around to see Ozpin standing behind all of them as he nonchalantly takes a sip of coffee from his mug. "You have done well in looking after Miss Rose. I do hope you learned a thing or two from her." Ozpin takes another sip of his coffee.
"I believe I have." Raven responds absolute of herself. "But more importantly why are you here, Oz?"
The rest of her team looks at Raven incredulously at referring to the Headmaster by his first name, but Ozpin doesn't seem to care. "Is it not normal for me to express concern for my students? After all Miss Rose did just get her cast removed from her arm, so I'd thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and pay a visit to wish Miss Rose well and to excuse you from your punishment." Ozpin responds.
"I'd say that's a fair reason for being here." Tai chimes in. Everyone else in Team STRQ nod their heads in agreement.
"Thank you for expressing concern Headmaster. I appreciate it." Summer responds with a slight bow.
"You are very welcome." Ozpin takes another sip of his coffee then looks down at his watch. "Well would you look at the time. I must be going now. Good day to you all." Ozpin leaves the four students standing their as he walks off.
"I'm glad our Headmaster cares for his students so much." Summer states.
"Even if he is kind of weird." Raven responds.
"I can second that." Qrow agrees.
"Anyways what will we do now Summer?" Tai asks.
"We will go get something to eat because it is starting to get late." Summer informs.
"Sounds good to me." Tai responds. Qrow and Raven nod their heads in acknowledgment.
Later on while everyone was eating Summer was enjoying being able to eat with both of her hands again instead of just her left. Summer looks up from her food at her group who were all just enjoying their meal. Summer took that time to talk to her group. "So we have our midterms coming up in a week. We should really talk about how we're going to get through them."
The rest of the table turns their heads to look at Summer as Qrow is the first to respond to his partner. "Well first we have to pass our written exams and that crap is pretty boring to talk about. I think I'll be fine, I think you'll be fine, and I think they will be fine." Qrow points at himself, then at Summer, then at the other two members of their group.
Raven confidently nods her head and Tai looks a bit worried but still gives Summer a thumbs up.
"What about the practical part of our Midterm? We still need to take on a C-class mission."
"With all of us together that shouldn't really be a problem." Qrow states.
"You would be right, but we won't all be together." Summer states.
"What do you mean?" Tai asks.
"Don't you remember? Professor Lot said that we would be doing that portion of our midterm with just our partners. That means it will only be me and Qrow, and you and Raven."
"Even with that stipulation put in place I still think we should be fine." Qrow reassures his partner.
"What makes you so confident in that?" Summer asks. "It will only be the two of us and not all of us. Can we really do it?"
"From my own experience in the tribe a lot of C-class missions are just protect this, or kill grimm there. Nothing really all that intense." Qrow responds.
"I can vouch for his claims." Raven agrees.
"Wait so what are the toughest missions you two have been on?" Tai asks in curiosity.
Raven turns to face her partner. "We mainly did B-class missions, but we did do an A-class mission once and well... lets just say that we ended up in Beacon for being caught during that mission."
Qrow sighs in defeat at the memory. Tai and Summer simply didn't want to go there.
Tai then tries to brighten up the team with some good news he had gotten recently. "So I've been getting back into contact with my parents recently. They seemed happy to hear back from me after so long."
Summer looks at Tai and gives him a thumbs up. "That's good to hear."
"About time." Qrow responds.
"Never knew you had problems with them." Raven responds.
"They've been wanting to see me again recently and with the Summer break coming after midterm I thought I'd head back to Patch and catch up with them." Tai then sports a big grin across his face. "My parents have been wanting to meet my team extra bad and asked if I could bring them with me when the break begins. Sooooooo guys... want to come spend vacation back at my place in Patch? I promise it will be fuuuuuun."
"I will definitely go!" Summer enthusiastically shouts. Some people turn their heads in annoyance at Summer as she sits down slightly embarrassed at her outburst.
"Alright!" Tai puts his hand up for a high five which Summer returns. "What about you two?" Tai turns towards Raven and Qrow.
"Do we have any urgent need to return to the tribe?" Qrow asks Raven.
Raven quickly pulls out her scroll and looks at it. "Doesn't look that way." Raven turns her head to face Tai. "I think we should be ok to go."
"Alright! You all won't regret it I swear." Tai waves his hands.
"Alright team, as leader I order all of you to pass your midterms and then have fun on this vacation." Summer declares.
"Now that is an order I can follow." Raven grins.
"Yes Miss leader lady!" Tai energetically responds.
"You got it Sum." Qrow leans back.
to be continued...
Authors Notes: We're getting near the end of the first semester which I will probably wrap up in a chapter or two and that will conclude the end of the first arc of this story. I look forward to finishing the first arc and getting to a mini arc for the Summer vacation. Hopefully I'll be able to write more of the main over arching plot again in the second semester. That will be pretty fun to write. This chapter also dove a little into Raven and Summer's backstories which is pretty cool. Oh also with this chapter the story is now over 50k words so hooray to hitting the first word milestone! Can't wait to hit the 100k milestone later on. Thank you all as always for reading my story; I appreciate each and every single one of you. What did you think of the chapter? Let me know in the reviews; I always enjoy reading them. With all of that being said this is Exile Mansion signing off.
