09:23 Patch
Four days after the attack
The sunflowers had their heads turned to the window where the shiny sunrays were pouring through. Her bed's blankets absorbing the warmth that kept Yang's legs comfy as she stared at the wooden ceiling. She had been like this ever since she woke up.
Her energy along with her will to do almost anything had vanished. Taking a bath had proven to be a pain too, not only by the fact that she had to put a bag surrounding her arm so the bandages didn't get wet but something else. When she undressed herself and looked at her own naked body through the window it was like looking at someone else, someone that wasn't her. She stared down at the stump on the mirror, at the bloodied dressings and sometimes she could feel her arm there, she could feel her wrist, her fingers fidgeting, her knuckles crackling.
Out of panic she had punched the mirror two nights ago, shattering it. Taiyang had to get a replacement and Ruby had to get inside the bathroom with her and help the broken girl to dress up again. That was a bad night she remembered.
Leaving that incident out of the way these four days passed as fast as she could blink. The homemade food felt tasteless to her tongue sometimes so she asked her dad to add a little more spices to her plate, just to feel something. Sometimes her sister Ruby would come over to her room to ask how she was doing and which to Yang would usually respond with "I'm fine" or "I'm okay" or sometimes when she didn't want to talk she would just close the door to her room and when that happened her dad would leave her the tray of food at her doorstep and knock on her door for her to retrieve.
This had become her usual, her normal for the past few days. Her uncle was around more often than ever, that was a plus at least. The road to their house was visible from her window so everyday when she saw him Yang would bolt downstairs to ask her uncle the question that kept banging at her head.
"How is he?"
On the first day she had learned that he was in the hospital, the night of the fall of Beacon he got into a fight against some White Fang and two griffons on his own whilst defending other students, Irina amongst them, and while doing so he had presumably lost his left eye and earned a broken arm, his left. Yang felt a shiver because she knew Riz was left-handed. He was alive, she felt a relief that was quickly swiped away when Qrow told her that Treynor, Kairi and Pyrrha had died in the attack. Her mind wasn't able to fully process that information so she had to ask her uncle again.
"Yang" she remembered his slowtalking, like Qrow was speaking to a kid "Pyrrha Nikos, Kairi Amethyst and Treynor Sentinel were... killed in action in the premises of the school" At that moment her head shut off, like the flick of a switch. She remembered crying herself to sleep that night, not listening to anything else of what Qrow had to say.
The second day was uneventful, the only thing she heard about him was that he was in a stable condition but still unconscious. His aura working properly so the doctors had no doubt that he'd wake up sooner or later. At first she tried texting him but then the message never got through due to the CCT tower being down even short range comunications were having trouble, the only thing that sometimes worked was the T.V and the news channel, her only source for information and that was only when the Atlas relays worked properly and didn't get attacked by grimm.
The third day she was told out that he had woken up. Upon hearing this Yang smiled for the first time in the week. She thought about getting up, about visiting him but then his uncle dropped the bomb on her.
"Yang...I don't really think it's a good idea to go and see him right now." The raven-haired man sat on her bed with a tired looking face. "Maybe tomorrow, yeah?"
She opened her mouth to talk and call out his bullshit but before she could say anything his uncle held up his hand as she noticed he was currently struggling to say something.
"I went to see him and...he told me that his mother died too." Her heart skipped a beat, so did her perception of time as she stared at the wall with a blank expression as her eyes began to water. He felt the weight of his uncle upon her as he wrapped his arms around her. The shock slowly worn off as she began to cry once more.
During the Vytal festival she had met Eril, Rizzer introduced them and the two would go to every single one of team RWBY's matches and sit in the same front-row seats. She was a sweet woman, a clear lack of mother instincts due to not being a proper mother at all, also a little rough around the edges too with the sex jokes that made Yang blush but also laugh at his son's embarrasment...but she knew what Eril meant for Riz as the person that had pulled him out of his hell of a childhood, the one that saved him. Her hero.
A caring woman and a wonderful person that raised without a doubt a wonderful son.
The thought of her being gone made Yang scream in his uncle's shoulder as she poured her heart with Qrow who once was a part of both Eril's and Rizzer's life. He was tough enough to resist the urge but...seeing how her niece was crying so badly he figured that a little bit of weeping from his side would go unnoticed.
And now was the fourth day and Yang never felt more restless in her life.
Trying to shove the thoughts of her boyfriend with other thoughts didn't helped either. Weiss taken away by her jackass of a father, Blake gone to god knows where...she only wished her scroll worked right now.
Qrow got up early in the morning and asked her if she wanted to come and visit him, but she played the 'pretending to be asleep' card. She realized last night how little prepared she was for him. At first it seemed like a stupid thought in her mind, that he would never judge her, that Rizzer wasn't like that. But now with everything she heard, with all the loss he was going through right now the least thing Yang wanted Riz to see was a weak crying cripple.
She was probably wrong about it but at least wanted to be strong for him, to show him that everything was okay.
But it was a fucking lie and she knew it.
Qrow was now gone for an hour and as the blonde stared at the ceiling she could only wonder how was he currently doing.
The tea was too sweet for his taste, also a little cold too but he didn't complain due to the fact that the nurses must be under a lot of stress. The hospitals were surely cramped so considered himself lucky to have a room of his own after all so he decided to not bother the already overworked medical staff about sugar in his tea. He already had three meals per day and it was enough, even if they tasted like shit.
Everything seemed to taste like that for some reason. Maybe it was his current state of mind, the thoughts that sometimes invaded his mind making him stare blankly at the window of the third floor he was currently in, he could see the people coming in and out, mostly were military personnel donning the colors of Atlas but the Vale Armed Forces were also walking around, weapons in check. Last night he heard gunfire, but not a lot, he assumed that the grimm were still around the city but not in the strenght that they were the night of the attack. Still the hospitals proved to be the main source of negativity right now around the city a beacon for grimm, this served as an efficient way to carry on with the extermination of grimm and also ensured the protection of other nearby establishments that were open to business for the people that remained in Vale to enjoy.
He closed his eye as he set the teacup in the night table, pushing the little plastic bottle of morphine tablets aside to make room for the cup.
Until now he hadn't get any visits, or at least not any that he could recall although the doctors said a men with black hair and a cape came to visit him and talked, he didn't remember anybody, maybe it was due to the drugs.
Right now he wasn't really sure on how to behave when a nurse knocked on his door asking him if he needed to go to the bathroom, that was a real handful on it's own let alone someone from his intimate circle. And that circle just seemed to be getting smaller.
His doctor came earlier in the morning after he woke up and said that Irina Silden was taken away to Atlas by her family two days ago after she recovered from her wounds. Apparently she willingly accepted to go with them and that she would try to keep in touch with him in someway, although she probably didn't realize that the kingdom of Vale was cut off from the rest of the world and that her parents just tricked her into doing their bidding...or maybe she just wanted to get away from all of this.
He couldn't blame her if she did.
A sharp pain in his left eye made him gasp, his nerves screaming as he tried to touch his eye only for him to stop at the feeling of the gauze and medical tape surrouding his head. He swallowed. "F-fuck..." Trying to calm himself he breathed in and out. His right arm reaching for the bottle, unscrewing the cap his fingers reached inside and grabbed two pills that he quickly downed with the rest of his cold tea. He rested his back against the pillows as he closed his right eye for a moment which could've been minutes or maybe even an hour, he wasn't really sure at this point, he opened his eye once more when the pain finally subsided even if for some hours.
A soft knock on the door grabbed his attention as he mentally prepared himself to say that he didn't want to take a shit. "Come in"
His eye widened at the sight of the man crossing the threshold of the door, holding his flask in one hand a smirk and a short cape that had seen better days. He bit his tongue for a second, his lips feeling dry all of the sudden. "Qrow..."
The smile on the man's face seemed to grow wider as he nodded to his former apprentice. "Hey kid" he entered the room, closing the door behind him.
Riz felt like in a daze for a moment but he quickly composed himself as he put aside his painkillers on the cabinet and pointed to a set of chairs in the corner of the room, Qrow understood "yeah" and he picked up one of the chairs to sit at his side.
"I uh..." The grown man began, he thought he had figured out the words he was going to say but seeing Rizzer in his state of awareness, the pills, the heavy cast in his left arm tied up in a sling over his shoulder. He let out a soft chuckle as he did his best to look at his former apprentice in the eye. "Damn" fuck it, might as well improvise he was good at it. "Seems like the grimm made a hell of a job at making you uglier."
Riz let out a chuckle. Qrow silently huffed in relief upon seeing the smile cracking up on the boy's lips. "Fuck off, Qrow." The first words the huntsman heard the kid say after almost dying and it was a curse, well at least it was something. The mood shifted quickly, a good thing.
"How are you feeling?" The raven haired man asked.
"Well...there's a nurse that comes every hour or so to ask me if I want to go to the bathroom so uh...yeah I feel like a king right now, a really drugged and crippled king but a king nonetheless."
"Hmpf, really sure the nurse isn't just after your dick or something? Well, emphasys on something." Qrow earned another laugh from the bedridden student, he decided to join in as well.
"Pretty sure it's because of the fact that I'm missing a foot, so yeah. It's a something" Riz chuckled, shifting a little of his stance as he sat in the bed. The two of them remained silent for a moment, thinking about what to say or how to say it.
"Hey- "
"Y'know-"
The two of them looked at each other and snickered.
"Go first" Qrow said, motioning with his hand for Rizzer to talk. "Pretty sure you got a lot of questions."
"Just one, for now." Rizzer smacked his lips together. "How's Yang?"
Qrow couldn't help but smile at the knowledge that her niece was the first thing in his thoughts, yet that smile dissapeared rather quickly as he thought about what to say. Riz noticed this.
"I-It's okay if you don-"
"Nah, nah" the man shook his head as he leaned on the chair. Pulling out his flask from his jacket and removing the cap. "She's been asking a lot for you, every day actually. But she's uh...coping."
Riz nodded his head silently as he sighed at the thought of her. "I guessed as much...I saw her before everything else happened, you know? She must be devastated."
"Yeah...that's about right." Qrow shook his head, taking a swig from his flask and putting it back on the pocket from his clothes. "She's really worried about you, I asked her if she wanted to come and see you but she..."
"It's okay" Rizzer faked a smile as he squeezed the blankets in his fingers. "Seeing me like this right now...probably not the best idea. She'd probably break my ribs trying to hug me and my aura is quite busy healing this." He said pointing at his left arm.
Qrow chuckled lightly, his eyes drifting away from his injured arm and to the window. "Yeah, that sounds like her alright...and besides you already know how she is, for all we know she could be about to knock the door." The man pointed at the door behind him with a smirk, one that quickly vanished when the door produced a firm knocking sound. "Well I'll be damned" he muttered, earning a laugh from Rizzer.
"Yes?" He said, the door opened an a grown woman with a nurse hat peeked through the door.
"Apologies for the interruption, Mister Azure but you have another guest, should I let him in?"
Qrow turned his head to the boy and mouthed something very clearly. "Mister?" He held up a smirk to which Rizzer answered with a glare.
"Yeah, let him come. It's no issue." He said. The nurse nodded her head and dissapeared behind the door. "Kiss my ass, Qrow" he scowled at the man that began to laugh. Although the moment was short lived the second they both recognized the third man entering the room.
His uniform looked brand new but he wasn't brandishing any medals nor condecorations. His face looked tired, did he had a piece of metal sticking out from his neck? Riz shook his head as he decided to concentrate on the man in Atlas uniform as he walked his way infront of the bed.
Qrow's face looking like a deer in a set of headlights was something to witness.
"Hello Rizzer" Ironwood saluted. "Qrow" he nodded his head to the man on his chair who slowly and silently nodded back. The small smile coming from the general's lips contrasted with his air of command, he held a white cardboard box with the Atlas sigil in his hands.
Rizzer decided he had to be the first one to talk because a certain someone was still dealing with the facts. "General Ironwood...this is a surprise." He said, doing his best on trying not to sound rude. "I apologize myself if I'm not-"
"Please" The soldier shook his head. "No need to adress me by my rank, you may call me by my first name this is a...'off the book' visit but sadly is a visit that I should keep brief." Riz nodded as the general continued. "I hope you don't mind me interrupting you two I know you are well acquainted with each other."
"No, no" Qrow said begrudgingly as he felt the sudden need to pull out his flask again. "Interrupt all you want" he said with a huff.
All eyes directed into the man in white as he walked to Rizzer's side and left the box to rest in the corner of the bed. "I know you probably don't wish to engage in small talk with me so I'll keep this as short as I can. I would like to congratulate you for your work Beacon a few days ago"
Rizzer's hand shifted to the metal support on his bed, his eye opening wide as he stared at the box in order to not glare at the man. Qrow however decided to engage on a less subtle reaction as he spat the alcoholic contents of his flask as he pierced his dark colored orbs on the general's face. "What the fuck...?" Either Qrow thought about the sentence or he said it quietly enough for the general to not hear it.
"Upon chaos raging in the streets that night you managed to save the life of a man who was trapped on the rooftop of a building and then you later engaged in an uneven fight against grimm and saved the lives of three students, one of them being your teammate, Irina Silden-"
"Rina" he interrupted with a solemn tone. "How is she? I know she went back to Atlas."
The general let out a sigh and cleared his throat. "As far as I know Irina is currently at her home still recovering from her injuries, nothing too serious asides from the shocking...events that transpired that night." He earned a nod from Rizzer who seemed to calm himself.
"I'm sorry" Riz blinked for a moment before looking at the general in the eye. "Please proceed."
"Yes, as I was saying. I...I know this is a very difficult time for you, that you must be under a lot of grief but I wanted to let you know that I am...sorry for what happened with your mother" His voice dropping a little, Riz contemplated Ironwood's expression turning more sad, a pain in his eyes that he was still struggling to contain. "Eril was a brave and caring person and an excelent soldier. I..." Qrow sighed as he looked away from the man's eyes. "I wanted to let you know that we have buried her remains in the Vale cementery and that you are free to visit her whenever you are ready. And for last I...I took it upon myself to repair your damaged limb from the fight, the technicians in my ship told me that they should just build you up a new one but...something told me that you would prefer your old foot, just like it was."
Rizzer stared at the box and nodded his head, licking his dried lips as he struggled to breathed for a moment. "Gener-... James"
"Yes?" He quickly adverted his gaze to his only eye wearing a tired expression, hell it pained him to see the kid like that.
"You...mind telling me...what was she like? When she was in the military in mean." The boy said with shaky words.
Qrow wanted to get out but when he tried to get up he found out that Rizzer's right hand was grabbing his, stopping him from leaving. He understood that this was his place, that Rizzer needed him at his side right now. So he stayed.
The general turned his head towards the window, maybe to avoid looking at the other two inside the room with him as he tried to hide his grief. "She was strong, she had wits...there was no arguing with her, even when dealing with a superior. But she was also a caring woman...she would know when something bothered someone and would do whatever to cheer the room...she was bold, with time she became wise as well and she was selfless unlike anyone else I've ever met in my life and-" he stopped mid sentence, Rizzer's ears picked up a small sound coming from the man's mouth, a sob. "And I'm pretty sure if she was here instead of you she'd rip my head off my shoulders and she would dribble it across the entire continent." The man released a laugh, one filled with audible pain.
"James..." Qrow got up inmediately and went to the side of the general, placing a hand in his shoulder.
Riz just sat there, looking at the two in grief, just like he was. There was no denying that his mother had been a wonderful person and had made wonderful friends...the two grown men struggling to keep it together in front of her son serving as proof. "General Ironwood..."
The two turned to see his son carrying a smile filled with compassion, his tears coming out of his eyes the water in the left one dripping from under his bandages, it hurt, the salt in his tears burned as all hell in his wound but it wasn't half of the pain he felt right now. "Thank you...thank you so much for sharing this." His gentle smile unwavering as he dried his tears using the sleeve from his thin medical robe.
"It was my pleasure." The soldier nodded his head in a respectful bow. "And know that you are welcome in Atlas so you can finish studying your two remaining years there."
"I have people here that I wish to meet" the student looked at former mentor who only nodded with a calm expression. Rizzer returned his gaze to the general. "But I will consider the offer."
Ironwood made his way towards the door but before opening it he turned to see Rizzer and nodding his head. "Nothing would make me happier. I'll be going now, take care and I hope you have a swift recovery. You too take care Qrow." He said looking at the professional huntsmen who answered with a smile. He opened the door and placed one foot outside already taking his leave.
"You too James, see ya around."
"General, before you go" His attention stolen, Ironwood turned his head one more time to look at Rizzer. "It wasn't your fault"
The general's eyelids opened wide as he stared at the boy for a moment, his thoughts at an impass as he decided to respond with a "Thank you..." before leaving the room and closing the door.
The other two that remained decided to stay silent for a minute, as they took in what they both knew it was a fact, one that pained them both unlike anything else. Eril Ventarr was dead.
For Qrow it was a familiar feeling, one he was used to. He had lost far too many people, good people, along the way and for all he knew someday might be his day...the only thing he regretted was not telling Eril everything he felt about her, and now he'd never be able too.
Rizzer had more thick and complicated thoughts about it, thoughts and feelings he didn't wished to share right now. Instead he looked at Qrow with a sly smile and said to him. "Hey, what are you waiting for? Help me put it on. You have a car?" Riz pulled out the sheets on the side of his bed.
The raven haired man gave him a puzzled look as he grasped at the box. "What? Why I mean I borrowed Oobleck's car and I was kind of planning on bailing you out of here but...you really sure?" This was actually Qrow's original plan but now he wasn't sure that Riz could manage on his own, surely he could take him to Taiyang's house where Ruby and Yang were but Riz probably wouldn't want that.
"Qrow I swear that if I lie here for another night mold is going to grow in my asscheeks."
"I mean can you even walk?"
"I'm half blind and have a broken arm. I'm not paralytic for fuck sake!" Riz threw his hand in the air.
"Okay, okay, jeez. Fine." Qrow said as he removed the lid from the box and peeked at the work of engineering with an impressed look. "You built this thing?" He asked as he removed the mechanical foot that looked like new, it was painted with white and had black outlines the typical Atlas colors.
"Well...yeah" Riz nodded as he raised his right leg. The metallic socket coming out of the stump in his ankle gave Qrow the chills as he managed to connect the two pieces together with a "click" sound that made Riz drop his shoulders with relief. "It was like building a second Hornet, using what you taught me and what I learned in highschool...but less about shooting and stabbing and more practicality overall."
"Nice to know that you gave my teachings to good use then" The huntsman said as he offered Rizzer a hand that he knocked out with a slap. "Hey!"
"Fuck off. I told you already." Rizzer glared at the grown man as he easily got out of the bed. "I'm not paralized." His sense of perception wavered for a moment as he felt a little dizzy, his aura quickly compensating for that as felt a lot better for getting out of bed. "You brought me clothes?" He looked at Qrow who looked puzzled at the question.
"Wait didn't you had clothes on the attack?"
"Yeah, fuckin' painted in blood, burned, cut and torned in just about everywhere I presume. Why would you even assume I'd wear the same clothes? Doctors surely dumped them on the first day." Rizzer explained, a cool breeze entering through the window that made his virility poorly protected by the robe shiver. "Damn it Qrow!"
"Well I didn't knew I was bailing you out of hospital like right now, it's the second day I visit you and yesterday you barely recognized me!" The man threw both hands into the air. "Know what? C'mere" he grabbed Riz's right hand.
"Wait, what are you doing?! Qrow!?" He knew this was bound to go downhill when Qrow slided his arm under his legs, and lifted him up in bridal style. His senses screaming as he grabbed a hold of the shirt of the man. His expression changing into a disgusted one. "Fucking hell what do you use to wash your teeth? Rock dust?"
"No I actually use whisky as mouthwash." The man answered back, his face looking serious. Riz rolled his eyes. "But just sometimes"
"Of course you do. Let's get on with this if we're gonna do something stupid might as well do it quick."
"Don't worry, Taiyang and I did this a lot of times when we were your age" the huntsmen smirked at the thought of the good old days. "I'm an expert in bailing someone out of a hospital."
"Wait!" Riz said as he pointed at the pills on his drawer, Qrow leaned closer for Rizzer to grab them. "Thanks, I need them for my eye."
"Oh yeah...well be careful, morphine is some really strong stuff and the last thing I want is my niece dating a junkie." The older one said as he walked over to the window with the teenager in his arms, realizing that he was actually more heavy than he looked.
"Yeah, they already have a drunk in the family. I see why a drug addict might be a little too much. After I'm done with the pain I'll drop them."
"You better..." Qrow jumped out of the window, the sunrays impacting on both of their eyes blinding both for a moment. The man landed with grace in the floor and began to trot his way with Rizzer in his arms so that he didn't have to walk on his bare feet. "Your mom's place, do I take you there?"
"You've been there before?" The teenager said. Feeling the warmness on the sun in his skin, made him smile if only for a second.
The man nodded as he slowed down his trot into a pace. "Just left your weapons at the table and left right after...I uh...figured out that it was best to not touch anything there."
Rizzer suddenly remembered who he had left in that apartment, he swallowed a lump and licked his lips with a nervous look. "You uh...saw something odd there?"
"Like what?" Qrow raised a brow in Rizzer's way, he dismissed quickly by sharing stares with the people that were...contemplating at the two of them.
"Oh no I just... wanted to know if a nevermore hadn't gotten in through the window and turned the apartment upside down, is all."
"Nah, place was a real pearl when I entered, not a thing out of place, not a sound either"
Well that was odd, he certainly remembered leaving a real fucking mess with the first aid products...asides from the semi-naked thug he had to patch up. But from the sounds of it she had left and decided to tidy up the place before doing so, another problem that he didn't had to deal with.
A small relaxed smile touching Rizzer's lips as he allowed himself to be carried by Qrow.
The thought of the girl did cross his mind though, where could she be right now? Did her leg healed up alright? Was she taking care of herself? Rizzer shook his head. Why the hell was he even thinking that? The girl was a thief, she was partnered up with the Torchwick fella who was involved in the hacking of the atlesian knights that ended up killing her mother...she was responsible. Good thing she wasn't in his mother's house or otherwise he'd just had to shoot her out the place.
He wondered what would happen if he ever saw her again, would he be merciful with her? Or maybe he would decide to murder her, add her to the list of people to shoot on sight...his mother wanted to save her and she told him that she knew what happened, that she knew the girl was involved did she meant the atlesian knights? Or the attack as a whole? Over a thousand had lost their lives and they were still at least another five hundred missing, the number still going up by the hour along with the number of diseased people...there was his answer.
And even so Eril didn't want the girl to die. Her last wish wasted into a little piece of shit like her. Rizzer's right hand balled into a fist as he got of from Qrow's arms and entered the coffee colored car without saying a word. The girl was out of his mother- his apartment, out of his life.
"One less thing to worry about" he muttered to himself.
Both man and teen made their way on the elevator, Riz had insisted in walking on his own from the car to the apartment so there was no arguing from Qrow. The floor felt cold to his left naked foot, it was chilly and he was kind of freezing due to being partially naked and with his butt uncovered by the robe. However they had made it to the elevator, Qrow pressed the button and they waited as the doors closed.
The tranquil music passing on to their ears made the two of them relax. Riz turned around, his calmness replaced by uncertainty when he stared at his body in the mirror of the elevator. He balled his fist upon seeing the crooked scar coming down from his forehead and into the bandages covering his eye.
He let out a sigh finding it hard to believe that he was alive, that he was lucky enough to be spared from the massacre...no, he wasn't lucky. Luck hardly had anything to do with his situation. He was spared, he did what he had to in order to save other people as well and he was spared because of it...at least that's what he wanted to believe.
The thought of those two white fang member he slaughtered still lingered on his mind, he made a mistake and he knew but something inside him kept telling him that he shouldn't feel guilty about it, a fleeting smile passed through his lips.
Those faunuses chose their fates on their own.
Was it really like that? He shook his head, pain crossing his eye as he grunted. He had to lean on the elevator wall. Qrow looking his way "Riz, are you okay?" He asked with concern.
"Just need to...get in a real bed" he said in an exhausted manner. "Aura keeps busy with my eye and arm. I'm just a little chilly" Rizzer hugged himself with his arm around the belly, a soft sigh as he composed himself.
Qrow frowned but quickly dismissed it so Riz wouldn't notice. The man knew how he was feeling, he knew Riz needed some time, figure things out for a day or two, maybe visit her mother's grave. "Y'know...maybe you can come to Patch after you uh...get better, remove the bandages and whatnot."
"Sounds...like a plan." Riz nodded his head, a small fake smile forcing it's way through his lips as Qrow handed him the keys and a few lien cards. "What's this for?"
"I'll be...on to something these next days. Work to be done, y'know? The grimm in the school are not letting up unlike here in the city."
"What? How-"
"It's a...long story. One that I will tell you later, when you come to Patch and talk things out. For now just grab the lien, figured you might want some time for yourself so that's fine. I'll be sure to check on you, alright?" Qrow leaned a little to the side as he put a hand on Rizzer's shoulder, earning a slow nod and a more sincere smile.
"Yeah, got it. Don't need to worry about me." His response was charged with anxiety, but it was to be expected in some way so Qrow didn't say anything. Living on his own, alone...it wasn't like sleeping in the hangar in Beacon...a thought crossed his head. "How will I contact you? You know just in case"
"A day ago I saw Jimmy myself. He said that short range comms are going to be online in any time now, no need to worry about that. You can just give me a call when you get some reception. I dropped your scroll in the apartment too so it shouldn't be a problem to find it"
"Thanks" the elevator door opened and Rizzer stepped out, he looked behind to see Qrow just standing there with his usual relaxed pose. "Not coming?"
"Nah, like I said I have things to do...gotta take the car to Oobleck too so that's something."
"Heh, be sure not to crash it along the way."
"I'll try my best" the man smirked as he pressed the ground floor button, the closing doors suddenly stopping by Rizzer's metal foot. Qrow tilted his head to the side in confusion as he stared at his former apprentice.
"Thank you, Qrow..." He said in a struggle, his glassy blue eye looking sad as Rizzer managed to give out a shaky smile. The man just huffed as he leaned forward and gave the boy a pat on the head.
"It's okay kid...and remember, you're not alone."
Riz nodded, a chuckle escaping as he stepped out of the way and the door closed on it's own. He stood there for a moment, watching the elevators current floor position on the top of the door and when it got to the ground floor he sighed loudly. Feeling the things in his hand he glanced to see the keys to the apartment and the cards of fifty thousand lien each. "Demented bastard...least you won't be spending these in alcohol" he snickered to himself as he made his way to the door, just as he remembered it.
Last time he was here he had entered via the window on the back and now using the front door felt strange...the more strange feeling was that this place was practically his own now...not his mother's. Hesitation taking over as he inserted the key, twisted it inside the lock and got in before his instincts tried to push him away.
His eye darting around the room, looking for something out of place...definetely remembering that he this wasn't how he left the place, no blood anywhere, not medical supplies scattered around. He spotted Hornet lying in the couch, a familiar sensation as he closed the door behind him and locking it. He walked his way to the black couch and picked up his rifle, inspecting it. Shiny, the sunrays partially reflecting on the black and red paintjob. "Qrow must've cleaned it...oughta thank him for that..." He found something else in the black cushions, a piece of white metal that he grabbed his scroll and opened it, revealing the hard-light dust screen. Several messages from many people, all of them from before the attack.
He scrolled through the notifications, glancing at the names of the people that had texted him and upon seeing the name Kairi a shiver went through his back. "S-shit..." He muttered, dropping his scroll into the couch and sitting beside it, the memories came back like a shock of electricity inside his brain.
Her lifeless body in the floor, the column of smoke coming from the hangar. He covered his mouth with his hand, muffling a sob. "Vis..."
"Yes Riz?" The mechanical voice responded inside his ear. Rizzer inmediately got up, grabbing a hold of his rifle by the grip and taking aim at everything that surrounded him, anxiety taking over as he began to stutter.
"Vi-Vis...?" He asked once again, almost hoping to get a response even though he knew that it wasn't happening. The barrel of his rifle drifting around his field of vision until he finally set his weapon down, calming himself.
Leaving Hornet over the dinning table he took in a great deal of air that he let out in an audible sigh. "I need to relax..." He muttered to himself. Walking to the kitchen he grabbed the bottle of pills he hid inside his sling and opened it. Opening the fridges door he found out that there was little to no food, which was strange because her mother and him had bought a great deal of food to prepare for Yang's match against the Mercury guy...which didn't go as planned so everybody decided to just lay it down for the moment. Her mother wouldn't eat all of the stuff the fridge was filled in just one day.
Maybe the girl helped herself before going out? He thought. It was posible, she had to eat something to recover her energy after all the shit she went through, no?
His gaze drifting towards something else, the kitchen sink. The sound of the leaking faucet got his attention as he contemplated at the dirty dishes and plates pilling up, some food leftovers floating around the murky water on a stewpot. "Mm...girl must be a good cook..." However a funny feeling began to grow inside of him as he drew closer to the pans and dishes. There was just too many, you don't pile up this many dirty plates unless the girl invited some friends or... "She never left the place..." His senses flaring as he pushed himself away from the sink in time managing to dodge a thin but long blade being thrusted at his face, from the side. His eye narrowing at the sight of a combination of pink and brown hair, her skin pale white and her face angry as all hell as she tried to do the same thing once more, pushing the hidden blade sticking out of the parasol she held as a weapon.
Riz stepped forward, using his bandaged shoulder to force the parasol out of the way. With a quick look he realized she still had the makeshift cast he had built for her, something clickling, he saw her slowly raising the exact same handgun he carried. Using his free hand he grabbed her wrist, a bullet shot out with a bang as it bounced on the floor at got stuck on a wall. "Fuck's sake!" Rizzer screamed as he quickly overpowered the injured thug, smacking the gun out of her grasp and headbutting her into the ground where she let out a silent howl of pain as she clutched her broken leg with both hands in the floor. Her aura shattering with a bright pink.
The fracture must've been a bad one if her aura broke with just that, she must be putting all of her effort into healing the wound. too little left to defend herself, let alone against a huntsman with both legs. Rizzer glared at the thief who began to shake in her butt.
She was wearing one of his t-shirts, the one he got from a concert of Donna Songbird, one of Irina's and Kairi's favorite singers, her songs weren't half bad, just not exactly his taste that's all. That t-shirt was a memory, one that the thug was desecrating just by wearing it and that just made him angrier. In a whim he picked up the pistol from the ground and shoved the barrel of the gun against her chest.
"One reason" He whispered as he drew his face closer to her, the terrified expression she was wearing only fueled his rage as he raised the volume of his voice. "Give me one reason! Doesn't even have to be a good one! My mother!" He yelled as he smacked her temple with the handle of the pistol, making her kiss the ground and huff out a sound-deprived moan of pain. Rizzer gritted his teeth as he grabbed her by her hair and pulling her out of the kitchen, slamming her side against the couch he pressed the barrel of the pistol against her forehead. "My friends! Countless of people died because of you and your fucking Torchwick friend!" He saw left pink eye and her right brown colored one widening as she cupped her mouth in a sob, tears quickly bursting out of her eyes, she blinked and now both of her eyes were brown, indicating it had something to do with her emotional state. "Now...now he's dead too" He said, huffing in his breath as he tried to calm himself. "And you're gonna join him right now unless you come up with a good reason about why I should let you fucking live after all the shit you pulled"
Neo stared at that big blue orb, the angered and pain expression on his face. She had seen the photos in her time in the place, the photos of that guy in the airship a month or so ago, the guy from the pits...the woman in the pictures was her mother? Did she really die? What- why it pained her to see him like this? She never really got the boy's name, it was nearly ten years ago so why the fuck was she feeling like a monster? She did what she had to ever since she bailed herself out of that nightmare of a place in Atlas, a random guy picked her from the streets and in all of her time the only one she trusted was Roman, her only family, the only true friend she ever had in all of her life who was also gone.
Her shaking didn't stop, only seemed to grow worse as she broke down in tears. She had lost the only thing it mattered to her, Roman...the only thing to remember him was his hat that materialized in the dining table, a work of her semblance although it wasn't enough to distract her assailant.
She could try to push the gun away, prevent him from firing but then what...she had no aura to fight back, which meant no semblance either and she wasn't going anywhere with her leg like that, there was no escaping, no cheating her way out. The worst of everything was looking at that blue eye burning with anger and not being able to come up with a response...there was vengeance of course but that wasn't exactly a valid excuse. No, she accepted it.
Her eyes slowly closing as she leaned her forehead against the gun as well, without Roman this...all of this wasn't really worth her while.
Rizzer was taken back a little by her reaction. Her trembling lips remaining shut, her expression filled with fear and her hands weakly holding her in her sitting position. She was accepting her fate, letting herself be killed by him. Rizzer understood that there was no posible excuse that she could give him that would make him satisfied enough to spare her. His trigger finger relaxed only for the anger to grow back.
No! She did this! All of this is her fucking fault! I should just- He stopped, noticing something around in the room. He lifted himself to witness some changes in the enviroment as Neo's semblance shattered the illusion she struggled to maintain in order to fool him just like she did with Qrow. The bowler hat, the one that belonged to Torchwick sitting on the couch's armrest. Some things out of place, photos, clothing, an empty bottle of painkillers indicating that she was out of meds and probably was in a lot of pain right now. Her old clothes were littered around the entrance floor, it was a miracle that he hadn't stepped into them by accident although that probably had to do with her semblance too. The first aid kit open in the dining table and it's contents almost gone.
Rizzer didn't knew much about her but he understood that the girl was a survivor, like him...when he met her again on that airship something was amiss and he only now realized, watching that scared face reminded him of the same expression he had met on the cages in Atlas when he was in that hell hole, it was the same alright. This girl, whoever she was, survived hell on her own and she took her chances unlike him she obviously didn't had her own Eril Ventarr to look after her...she ended up with Roman Torchwick somehow, the girl became who she was in order to survive in a cruel world that did not offered the chances he got.
Something crossed his mind, suddenly freezing him on the spot. I'll be damned if I die here without saving anyone. His mother wanted her to live, she gave her life away for this girl despite all the things she did Eril decided that the she was still worth protecting. Rizzer could not go against that wish.
He puffed out a great deal of air, putting away the weapon on the table. The pink-haired girl opened one orb hesitantly only to see him standing in front of her. A current of air lifting his thin robe a little but enough for a something to peek it's head from there. Her cheeks blushing at the perverted lucky event. His expression looking more relaxed than before but he carried a serious look, he wasn't entirely done with her yet.
She jumped a little in surprise when he helped her up using his arm. Riz set her into the couch and threw her a blanket. "One chance." He spoke out loud, her heart beating rapidly as she stared at him. "I'm giving you one chance. Once you're better you are out of my home, you got it?" She nodded her head franctically "Try to kill me again with that umbrella and I'll break your other leg." Neo swallowed upon hearing his words. Her head turned to see him walking around the room as he recollected some stuff, his rifle which he put under his armpit, his scroll and the handgun he managed to slide them inside the sling holding his cast. He went in and out of the kitchen, he threw something at her which she easily caught, a small bottle of pills.
She held the pills in her hands and looked at him, using her forearm to wipe her tears she pounced at her own scroll sitting on the counter where the T.V was and quickly typed something in the keyboard. She turned her device to him, gaining his attention Rizzer readed what the scroll was saying. "Why?"
The former flying boy pondered for a moment, he looked at the floor and then at her again. "My mother said that she didn't want you to die so I'm just fulfilling her wish at this point...also..." He sighed as he opened the door on his mother's old bedroom. A pained look in his eye. "Too many people died already...no need to add any more to the count." He said, his voice loosing strenght with every word until he was finished. Upon seeing the messy king-sized bed in the middle of the dark room he couldn't help but feeling sleepy. He glanced at a sad looking Neo that was downing one of the painkillers he gave her. "I'm going to sleep for a while and then I'll make something to eat. Wake me up and I will shoot you for real this time." He said, going through the door and slamming it shut as he left a lonely Neo with her thoughts.
She gave out a sigh, stretched her arm and grabbed the hat, running a finger through the torned side. She'll need to get a tailor to fix that. Neo hugged the hat as she fiddled with her scroll, looking at old selfies of her with Roman, in some of them the man was looking happy, in other he was rolling his eyes or looking upset with the girl's antics...a thing she was always going to miss about him. A small tear running through her cheek as she sniffed.
No matter how many times she cried, it didn't get better. It would never get better and now that was something she had to live with.
She had lost her Roman.
All because that Ruby bitch, all of this because of her stupid finger opening the stupid umbrella and the stupid Cinder that dragged Roman into this mess...
Anger overflowing her as she balled her fist, digging her nails into her palms. Anger quickly turning into sadistic delusion.
A evil grin crept upon her lips as she wiped her eyes. Once she was out of this obnoxious cast. I'm going to find them and kill them, all of them, even the Mercury jackass and the Emerald cunt then it'll be Cinder's turn...
She grabbed her parasol and drew the hidden blade, running a finger through the edge as she licked her lips. Then I'll go for the other team of bitches...oh killing the bimbo will be good, maybe I'll start with her and leave little red for the end I'm gonna tie her up and make her watch as I cut them all down yes...yes...
In her demented state she swinged the blade around, hitting a lamp by accident and making it fall into the ground. Neo jumped with a soundless squeal when a loud banging noise came from the bedroom the other student had entered.
"NO FUCKING NOISE!" Neo swallowed and nodded to herself upon hearing the muffled yet audible scream coming from the closed door.
Rizzer had a rough time finding his way in the dark room, a closed thick curtain allowing for a little light of day to pour through but not nearly enough to reveal all the stuff that was messing with his naked feet. He walked to the curtain and opened it a bit more. His shoulders dropping as he squinted his eye.
"Oh for the love of dust..." The room was a mess. He didn't even knew where to look where he wouldn't find something out of place. Clothes both underwear and else, coats, scarfs, a glove here and it's buddy over there hanging from the handle of a big wardrobe. Packs of cigarettes lying around in the floor mostly, all of them empty except for the one in the wood colored night table along with a very filled ashtray.
"So you never stopped smoking huh..." He said to himself thinking about the times when his mother would huff through roughly a pack of twenties of these each day. That day a few weeks back he didn't even noticed any resemblant of that particular smell he was familiar with. He didn't really despised smoking, he tried it once or twice thinking that it might make him look cooler but he never truly saw the purpose behind it. His mother used to say that it relaxed her, calmed her thoughts. Maybe this was something related to it? Was she nervous because of him coming back to her life? Something else was going on surely, maybe one of those loves of the middle age that didn't work out? That sure as hell happened a lot to Eril. Riz pft'd as he smiled.
Something clinked when he moved his foot, a bottle and he didn't need to bent over to know what kind of bottle it was as he saw the transparent content still remaining. "Vodka eh? You really stepped it up..." Rizzer pulled out a grey bang of hair coming from the right side as he groaned. "I could've helped you mom...why did you kept this away from me?" He asked to himself almost hoping for the ghost of her mom to answer his question he scoot over carefully enough to not tumble against the other bottles and cans with alcoholic mixtures.
He put one kneel on the couch, a little cilindric-shaped object making contact with his leg. A plastic noise as he removed the sheet covering a small bottle of medicine of some kind. He read the name tag on it. "Valeasy. Slow-acting painkillers for when you need to be at ease for the entire day." He turned the bottle, his eye able to catch the many little words written in the back of the bottle. "Warning. This pharmaceutical drug contains slow-acting morphine for extended periods of pain; only consume two pills maximum per day in order to avoid potential overdose. Do not ingest with the use of alcohol- well that surely went great." Rizzer sighed, as the anxiousness began creeping into him.
He knew his mother was like this, the cigs, the booze. He could understand that, he lived with it and sometimes it got bad but on top of it all Eril wasn't a bad mother. Never in her life she hit him over his misbehaviour or a tantrum. She never drank enough to actually get drunk or if she did she knew how to hid it pretty well. Eril was not a role model but she was what Riz had and he was happy with her.
But pain meds? And real strong at that. He was just finding it hard to believe that her mother was drugging herself. Or course morphine was an opiod, addictive shit but not once in his life he saw her medicating herself like that.
"Maybe I just...didn't see it?" Was it like that? No, it couldn't. He was positive that if her mother was into drugs he would've found out eventually. So this was a new thing.
What could it be? He asked himself as he stared at the bottle whilst getting himself inside the bed. His wondering only getting him more curious. Leaning onto the side of the bed he opened the drawer on the night table, something shimmered into his right eye. The metal end of a scroll. "Must be hers..." He picked it up, discovering it was already open, still charged as well.
Now that he noticed this room was posibly the only one that the girl didn't barged in...at least she respected the privacy of a grown woman. A thing he clearly did not.
The fiddled with the scroll. Looking through the messages only to find out that she barely had any contacts. Himself, Qrow although that wasn't much of a surprise. "Glynda Goodwitch? Huh so that's how I got into Beacon that quickly...". The lastest addition into that list was Yang that had a little heart emoji on the side of the name, Rizzer sighed at that with a little smile. "Of course you did..."
He decided to let the text messages alone, not being really that interested in reading about her talk with Yang about having grandchildren. Something did piqued his interest as he saw only two recorded videos in her camera, no photos asides from the ones about the Vytal festival he himself took. Rizzer swallowed as he saw the date of the first video, about a month back...a day later after he went to visit her for the first time after the fight that they had about him loosing his foot. The other video was more recent, only five days.
"Before the fall..." he muttered to himself. His thumb slowly falling into the play button without his knowledge as he was still struck by the shock. Her voice in a soft motherly tone cut off his thoughts.
"Hey Riz..." Her face in the screen, she was recording herself. Rizzer's mind uncapable of processing the image of his mother, still alive. His right eye quickly becoming clouded.
There was a small pause in her mother's voice, the sad features in her face were not helping to a sobbing Rizzer.
"If you are watching this then I must be-"
"No..." He said in a whimper as he closed the device and threw it into the drawer, slamming it shut and out of his sight. Where the face of his dead mother could not make him replay her last moments in his head.
But it was too late.
"I love you as well...my little flying wingman"
Riz clutched his chest in the fear that his heart might burst out. A wail full of pain escaped out of his lips as he finally decided to let it all go. Away from the sight of everyone, away from their looks, their words of comfort that even if were good intended the only thing they brought to him was pain.
Physical pain he could endure, he already had in the past. This was different, there was no escaping it.
There was no amounts of painkillers that could liberate him from the grief. A feeling of emptyness that had done nothing else but grow since he woke up in the morning. He had other people sure, he had Qrow, Yang, Irina when and if they ever got back in contact; but he wanted his mother, his guidance.
He wanted Vis to be the trusty companion that she was. The little voice that never left him alone.
He wanted Treynor and his idiotic ways. The big mocking shit stain that always enjoyed a good fight.
He wanted Kairi, her very torned and emo looking outfits that looked like she had cutted them herself using a razorblade and then claiming that it was 'the latest in fashion' only for Irina to blast her in the ass with a kick. Even though they fighted, even after everything that happened and despite her mistakes he never stopped loving her as a friend, and a platonic partner.
Rizzer grabbed a pillow and he buried his head deep into it as he muffled a scream of sorrow, tears quickly wetting the soft silk.
He wanted his mother back. The woman that rescued him; the one that gave him a chance and showed him that the world was worth living. The one that taught him all of that she had to offer and then pushed him in order for him to pursue more knowledge. The one person that showed him that is okay to trip on your feet and that no matter how many times he fell she would always be there for him, reaching out a hand for him to grab and get back up.
He wished them to be back and right now.
The crying died down eventually as Rizzer lied by his good side, his sling over his chest. A small sob dying along his wish. He closed his eye as he escaped from this pain if only for a few hours.