Here's chapter 71, everyone.
"Took you long enough." Willow greeted her instructor as she got up from the bed, but as she walked over, Raven pushed her back onto it, making her gasp. "R-Raven, what was that for?!" She scowled at the woman.
"That was for showing up here without me." Raven glared back, her original teasing having faded since she realized how dangerous things could get for Willow. "You don't have the skill yet to protect yourself without me out here."
Willow didn't understand her concern. "What are you talking about? No one is out here, and I-."
"White Fang." Raven used that as an excuse to lie, though in a way, it was a concern too. "What if there was one that followed you here? What then? You'd be alone and defenseless."
"You've trained me for that very reason, Branwen." Willow got up again, though Raven chose not to push her back down. "If you don't trust me to keep myself protected, then why even train me?!"
Raven didn't back down, since the more serious threat in her eyes was The Relentless, since they could easily have kept watch over Lazuria when she showed up at the cabin. "We've not gone far in your training, so if you think you can just fight a bunch of them so easily, then maybe training you was a waste of time after-."
Before she knew it, Raven felt the palm of Willow's hand connect with her face, making her stagger back a bit in shock as she held her hand to her face. "Don't you dare call me a waste of time!"
"I-I didn't…" Raven was surprised with how the woman raised her voice, and as she lowered her hand, she could see the anger, and the tears falling down her cheeks.
"You think just because you're a huntress, or because you're out there alone most of your life, that you can say things like that to people? Is that what it is, Raven Branwen?!" Willow was only angry because she had already felt the sting of not being able to help Weiss with her glyphs, and Whitley with his father.
"Enough." Raven was defiant in her stance. "You're overreacting for no damn reason, so shut up and just calm the hell down already."
"Calm down? Calm down?" Willow was done bottling her emotions. "Don't tell me to calm down when I've had to deal with a man who I hate more than anyone in the world! And how I can barely speak with my son! And how I can't even help my own daughter with her semblance!" She stomped forward and stared her down. "Calming down is a luxury I don't have!"
Raven was stunned, more so than she thought the woman can make her be. "You're…" She sighed and took a step back. She examined the woman, who was breathing heavily and some tears fell again. "You're right. That was wrong of me to say to you. I apologize."
Willow was shaking, and even hearing the apology wasn't enough, so she turned away to avoid Raven seeing her cry. "Forget about training today…"
"No." Raven said outright, and Willow knew she couldn't argue, so the huntress continued. "We're training, and you're going to show me what you can do." She opened the door and walked outside, but she held it open still. "Let's go."
She knew why Raven was doing that, so Willow said nothing and followed her outside. "What are we doing…"
"What you're doing is showing me what you can do now." Raven crossed her arms, waiting on the other woman. "Everything you told me, don't use that." Willow was confused on her wording. "Getting angry and using her semblance. Don't. You already said what you needed to say, so, go on and show me."
Willow took a breath, feeling the cold air around her as she now had her daughter in mind.
"Weiss is learning how to use glyphs now… Something I've been doing. If I can learn more about my glyphs, maybe I can help with hers."
Another drive, another reason to work harder, and as she found it, her aura was ready to allow her to use her semblance. Willow held her hand out and a glyph appeared, but something was different about it as it was colored black. Remembering what Winter could do, she jumped onto the glyph and it gave her a higher jump, surprising Raven who was alarmed by how high she jumped.
"H-Hey." Raven was about to try and catch her, but Willow casted another glyph to land on, again, surprising Raven at how she was able to catch herself.
Willow still felt the drain of her aura, but it wasn't as bad as usual. She turned around, still looking upset about her outburst. "There…"
Raven sighed and walked over to the woman. "I didn't expect you to be able to do that yet… You've impressed me." She watched as the woman wasn't able to show much emotion from her praise. "What can I say to you to show you I didn't-."
"Stop." Willow's voice was quiet. "It's… I shouldn't have yelled like that." She looked down at the snow, her tears falling onto it. "My family is scattered around Remnant. Weiss is in Vale, Winter… Could be anywhere. And Whitley is here in Atlas. Even with him in Atlas, I can't do much for my children. I was just… So angry."
Raven stayed quiet to allow her to continue, knowing she needed to vent.
"You don't know this, but… Weiss can use glyphs now." That revelation, while a shock to Raven, only made the huntress believe it was because of her heritage. "She's afraid of it, and I'm here, in Atlas."
"You're not ignoring her, and she's dealing with something no one, at least to my knowledge has dealt with. So don't feel like you aren't helping her." Raven could be even more blunt, but for some reason she didn't want to be.
Willow raised her head back up to face her. "It's more than that… It's more than you could know."
"Try me." Raven had a feeling what she was going to tell her.
"I can't…" Willow sniffled and tried to walk to the cabin, but Raven held her back. "Raven… Please."
"Listen, just don't." Raven walked Willow back into the cabin and sat her down. "It's okay to be upset, and even if you can't tell me why, don't you feel like you shouldn't keep yourself down? You haven't with Jacques."
Willow shook her head. "This is… There's too much going on, and I can't do it by myself anymore… So, why do you want to help? I know how you are."
"You're not wrong. I still believe that some should fight without having to rely on others, but." She sat next to Willow, choosing to go with a softer approach. "Sometimes when the world wants to push you back, asking for help to fight back isn't as bad as I make it out to be."
Hearing her words, and how soft she was speaking made Willow tear up, so she rested her head on the huntress' shoulder, earning a light blush from Raven. "You've changed too."
"I don't believe so." Raven responded, and she wrapped an arm around the woman. "I'm just deciding to help someone who's dealing with the worst man on Remnant, and whatever else you have on your mind."
"I… I just-." Willow was cut off.
"You can't tell me. And I won't ask. You have something though," Willow waited on what the huntress would say. "A goal. To reclaim your own life again, away from Jacques."
"There's more than just Jacques… More than my own children." Willow cried freely, unable to hold back the tears. "I've lost someone in my life, someone who I can never see again… All because of bullshit!"
Raven knew exactly who she was talking about, but she couldn't let her know that she knew. "Live for them then." Willow's eyes widened and she looked up at Raven, who simply looked forward. "You train for your kids, and to grow as a person too." She felt Willow scoot away so Raven turned to face her. "You're here now, and whoever this person is… Well I don't know where they are, whether they're gone, or somewhere out there… You are here, because of them. Live for them, and honor them in what way you can."
"I-I have… But I just wish… I wish they could be here. To live their life, to be here for the one person she should be with." Willow wiped her tears away. "It's not fair."
"No, it's not." Raven sighed, thinking a bit about Yang in that moment. "What you said, it reminds me of… Yang. You and Summer are such pests."
Willow heard Raven give her a somber, yet light chuckle. "Raven, I didn't-."
"I'm not done. About how you wish this person was here for someone, whoever they are. They're not for whatever reason, right?" Raven asked, and Willow could only nod in response. "I don't know why they aren't around," A lie. "But I know that I wasn't around for Yang, someone who deserved to have their mother around. It wasn't fair because I made it unfair."
"That's… That's in the past, and you've talked to her, and you kept your promise that day." Willow scooted closer again.
Raven shook her head. "Don't give me excuses. I know what I did, but the reason I brought it up was because it's true. Things aren't fair, but just because it's not fair, doesn't mean you should quit."
"I'm not quitting." Willow stated. "More and more just happens, and I don't know if I'm strong enough to do anything about it…"
"I didn't train you all this time to hear you say that." Raven surprisingly said, and Willow blushed. "Your kid, Weiss, she'll figure things out. She's at Beacon for a reason. Whitley, you'll deal with the dumbass you call a husband, so he'll be fine too. As for that person-."
"Lazuria…" Willow couldn't hold back. "Her name is Lazuria."
"I see." Raven took a few moments, and she placed her hand over Willow's. "This Lazuria. Tell me, is she dead? Is she alive?"
"I don't know… I wish I did, but I just don't know." Willow began to cry again. "That's why it hurts so much," She felt Raven holding her hand tighter. "I can't tell you everything, but because of… Something, she can't live her life, or hold her daughter in her arms."
"Forced to not be with her family, so yes, I do get it." Raven did something she learned from her own daughter. The huntress pulled Willow in and hugged her, knowing everything already, and feeling sympathy for the woman, seeing as she was slowly breaking with each passing issue she had to face. "This is why you need to live for her. Don't think about the past, like you told me."
Willow cried into Raven's shoulder, wishing she could somehow let go of the past, but no matter what, she wanted Lazuria back, and to let her hold Weiss again. "I envy a lot of people… It's wrong to envy someone, but I do." She sniffled. "Summer offered to take me in, my family, and I declined."
"You had your reasons." Raven reminded.
"If I was strong enough back then-." She stopped herself, remembering what Raven said. "How do I live on for her?"
"Beat the hell out of your husband and take your company back." Raven answered, and while it sounded like a joke, she was dead serious. "You taking over, that is the moment you take back your life," She pulled away and fixed up the woman's hair, while wiping some tears away. "If you hire me, maybe I can deal with him for you." She smirked, and Willow was taken aback, but in a good way as she started to laugh a bit.
"Y-You would honestly be a big help in that regard," Willow shook her head, lightly laughing a bit still. "To think a joke like that would make me laugh." She sniffled. "That's how bad he's made things for me."
Raven squeezed her hand again. "Honestly the man won't find anyone else to take him in once you deal with him. After that you can rub it in his face on how rich you are in comparison to the kind of trash he'll become."
Willow playfully rolled her eyes. "Yes, because that's my ultimate goal, to own all the money in Remnant so I can overthrow the kingdoms."
"As long as you let me stay around, I'd be fine with it. Oh, and try to make my brother a jester. That would fit him pretty well." The two shared a few laughs at that, and Willow sighed, looking down at their hands.
"I've… I've missed this feeling." Willow remembered how Jacques used to treat her. With compassion, and what she now believed to be fake love, but at the time, she would smile and feel happy.
Raven looked down to where Willow was looking, and she chose to pull her hand away. "Hmm… Right, well I would say you've spent enough time on break. You still have more training to do, and I'm not about to be called out here for you to slack off."
Willow watched as the huntress got up from her bed and walked to the door. "Raven… I… Thank you for not throwing me out." She got to her feet as well and walked over to the woman, who led her back outside.
"Throwing you out would be too easy." Raven retorted. "Now I want to see you working more on that glyph that propelled you up. It can be a useful evasion tactic, as well as an offensive one."
"Would you believe me if I told you that wasn't what I was expecting to do?" Willow let out a small smile, and giggled when Raven facepalmed, so she walked forward. "Don't worry, I'll figure it out." She glanced over her shoulder. "You know, we could make another deal."
Raven crossed her arms. "Last time we made a deal I ended up traveling across kingdoms."
"A cross kingdom trip would be a girl's dream in all honesty. So maybe you could embrace it a bit." Willow suggested and prepared a glyph. "Or are you trying to come up with an excuse to not make a deal with me?"
"Implying that I'm scared doesn't work here, so what ridiculous deal do you have for me this time, Willow Schnee?" Raven questioned, waiting on the woman to tell her.
"Hmm," Willow thought about it for a moment. "If I can figure out a way to disarm you during a combat course, you have to take me on a, what is it you call it, a hunt."
Raven's eyes widened. "W-What? No, you're not ready for a hunt, so-."
"Sounds to me like you're scared I'll actually disarm you, Branwen." Willow smirked and faced her instructor, who groaned and rolled her eyes.
"You'll be someone to look after…" Raven stated, but she knew Willow wasn't backing down, so she shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine, but you won't be able to disarm me, so I'm not worried."
Willow said nothing else and turned back, focusing on her semblance as she held her smirk.
"You've made the mistake of already telling me you believe in my abilities, Raven. I'll prove to you that I can live up to your expectations."
What? You think those two are getting closer? Wait… Hmm… They might. Okay, seriously though, Willow needed this chapter, so that's why there were no swaps to the others. As for Raven, I like to remind people that her history and character are very different here, so how she acts will be drastically different from the show.
To JJ- Thanks. Glad you liked their conversation, since it was a tough one to write. Lazuria does have a semblance, yes. And now you see why Raven wanted to talk to Willow at the cabin. As for the question on how far Weiss' glyphs can go, I'll let the story answer that in time.
I hoped you all enjoyed chapter 71. Remember, reviews are welcomed, but not required. See you all in chapter 72.