Here's the second chapter for you all!

Raven carefully gauged Qrow's reaction as he stood in front of her, silent and unflinching.

He continued to stare as if he didn't know how he felt about seeing her at his doorstep. Raven was positive that reuniting with his estranged sister wasn't on the top of his to-do list of the day. Hell, it probably wasn't even on the list at all. Either way, she was there. So she patiently waited before the man, letting him slowly process what was happening.

After a long minute, Qrow coughed into his hand and moved to the side.

"Er. Hey... Rae."

Taking that as her cue, Raven stepped into his apartment.

Her nose was instantly assaulted with the smell of alcohol... and dust. She basically grimaced as she took in the man's living space. It was a mess. There were bottles haphazardly placed on the floor and the man's kitchen counter. It... looked like-

"This place looks like shit."

Qrow hissed, almost playfully. "Yeesh."

"How do you even manage to function in this type of environment?!" Raven said, directing a disbelieving look towards the man.

Her brother looked at her, unbothered. "My job requires a lot of travelling. I'm barely even here." Qrow then snorted. "Honestly, Rae, you're lucky that I was even here to open the door..."

"Oh."

Qrow sighed. "I was actually in the middle of working with a client, but then I had to come back home."

"What for? Was it an emergency?" Raven asked in concern. She had hoped that he wasn't involved with anything shady while she was in prison. Considering their family history, there was a chance he might've been. But he knew Qrow was smarter than that.

Qrow simply gazed back at her with a tired sadness that seemed to fill his entire being.

"Raven... Tai- His funeral is tomorrow."

Raven froze in place at the mention of the man's name. Swallowing thickly, she nodded slowly and tried to digest that piece of information as best as she could. She then opted to sigh. "My timing's rather impeccable, isn't it?"

Qrow exhaled sharply. Raven couldn't tell if it was out of exasperation or amusement.

"I'm not too sure that's how I would describe it."

Despite the situation, she couldn't help but laugh. "Don't worry, I wouldn't describe it the same way either."

He chuckled along with her, but then the exchange briefly entered a lull. Unsaid questions flowed between them in the air. For a moment, Raven believed that those questions would just die there. If she were being quite honest... she kind of hoped they did.

It was Qrow who decided to answer (un)said questions.

"I... don't think it's best that you-"

"I know." Raven swiftly cut him off. "And I agree."

Qrow furrowed his brows and frowned. However, before he could voice his opinion on the matter, Raven continued on. "I don't want to cause a commotion, especially on a day like that. Besides, I'm sure there will be people that'd be there who'd rather not see me. At least... not yet."

There was a good list of people Raven could think of that would've loved to chew her out.

She had a feeling Qrow knew who'd be on top of that list.

"Yeah... Good call." He awkwardly scratched his head, and exhaled deeply. "I'll tell you the location of the gravesite, and you can go to him on your own time."

Raven simply nodded, silently agreeing to the idea. She then made her way onto the man's couch - plopping herself right on it rather unceremoniously. Leaning back into her seat, she stared up at the ceiling; focusing on nothing in particular.

Honestly... this could've gone worse.

Qrow could've slammed the door right in her face. He could've flat out ignored her and waited until she left. Hell, he could've started screaming at her right there and then about not keeping in contact with him, amongst many other things.

But he didn't.

Granted, Qrow was never the type to be overly confrontational. That was moreso her thing. Either way, it was comforting for Raven to know that she could fall back on him. Even after all this time.

"You've got any spare booze or did you drink it all already?"

Qrow snorted at her question. The tell-tale clinking! of glass bottles shortly followed suit. "Heads up!"

Raven sat upright, and caught the bottle just in time.

She gave him an unimpressed look, but opened it nonetheless. She saw Qrow reach into the fridge to grab a drink of his own. Acting quickly, Raven whipped a couch pillow at him - effectively causing the man to spill the drink on himself and the floor.

He groaned, raising his hands to his sides. "Rae, what the fu-"

"The only thing you're going to be drinking until tomorrow is water."

Raven watched as Qrow clenched his jaw. She swiftly decided to try and reason with her brother before anything could needlessly escalate.

"Qrow, I don't think this is going to be an event that you want to be hung over for." Raven said, letting out a deep sigh. "She'd never forgive you if you showed up like that..."

There was a standstill that occurred between them after she stated that fact, but the moment left as soon as it came.

"I hate that you're right." Qrow finally relented. He then walked out of the kitchen, muttering something under his breath. Specifically about how Raven didn't need 'to spill the drink all over' him.

"Where are you going?"

"To take a shower." She heard his voice call out from the hallway. "I have booze all over me thanks to you."

Raven could only awkwardly grimace at his words. Admittedly, she may have gone a little overboard with her actions. But it worked.

Thinking that he had gone to the bathroom, Raven brought her own drink up to her lips.

"Oh and Rae?"

She flitted her gaze towards the man in the hallway. "Hm?"

"I'm glad you're back." Qrow said, grinning slightly. "I've... missed you."

He turned around before she could even respond to his small confession.

She leaned back into the couch, and smiled.

"I've missed you too, bro."

Raven strolled around Qrow's general 'neighbourhood' - if she could even call it that - after they did some catching up. Once he got out of the shower, she immediately bombarded her brother with a number of questions. She mostly asked about current events, and maybe about one or two people that they used to hang out with during their Academy days. Of course, she also asked him what he was up to.

"A Private Investigator, eh?"

Out of all the career paths her brother could've taken... Raven was actually surprised to hear that he wanted to do detective-like work. However, once she actually thought about it, the man had an uncanny ability on digging up dirt on people. Even when they were teenagers Qrow was always the first to know about the most obscure scandals.

She was glad he made a living off it.

Speaking of making a living...

Raven also asked her brother if there were any places that'd be willing to hire an ex-convict. According to him, most of the places in downtown Mistral didn't care to do a background check on people who were looking for jobs. The upper tiers, on the other hand, were a bit more nitpicky. It would seem that the business owners in the lower tiers were moreso concerned about getting people to actually work for them... despite the surrounding area.

Raven tried to eye for a certain sign as she walked. If her memory served her correctly, the facility she looked for was near a blocked off road.

"Ah- there it is..."

She stepped up to the 'blocked road' sign and swallowed thickly.

Her heart felt heavy when she remembered what caused the road to be blocked off. There was still debris leftover from the aftermath of it all.

These poor people were innocent... they had nothing to do with the White Fang, and yet-!

Raven clenched her fists in an attempt to keep her anger at bay.

When she asked Qrow about 'current events,' this was one of them. Apparently, there was a bombing that happened in downtown Mistral a week before she was released from prison. A Faunus Right's protest was taking place in the area. There were even Faunus officials that came from overseas to participate in it. The gathering set a world record for most participants involved in an organized protest.

It also set a record for most civilians massacred at a public event.

Anti-Faunus terror groups saw this as an opportunity to get the White Fang back for the attacks that happened near the mines a couple of weeks prior. They didn't care if these Faunus were associated with the White-Fang or not. To the human supremacists, all of them are the same. It didn't matter if they were Faunus adults, children, half-breeds, or even human allies.

Raven took in a deep, calming breath and slowly let it out. She stared out into the debris of whatever was left of the protest, and then walked away.

I'm surprised Grimm didn't swarm the city after the bombings happened.

With all the chaos that probably ensued, they should've came. Maybe there were huntsmen behind the scenes making sure there were none in the vicinity. It was a gathering of thousands and everyone's emotions were most likely running high already.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the Grimm that ended up being the actual threat.

She thanked whatever Gods out there that Qrow and the others weren't in the area when it happened. She was still trying to process the loss of Taiyang. If she lost anyone else... she wouldn't know what to do.

She then vigorously shook her head, brought up both of her hands to her face and slapped her cheeks.

Raven stopped dwelling on those, rather depressing, thoughts.

Instead, she decided to think about the less depressing, but still so, aspect of trying to find a job. As a freaking ex-convict.

She stepped right up to the facility she was searching for, and hummed in thought.

Nikos Kickboxing...

Hopefully they were also a part of the group of business' that didn't care about an employee's background. Thankfully, there was a 'now hiring!' sign situated in front of the gym's main entrance. If it were for a general job like a front desk worker or a cleaner, then maybe she had a shot. However, if it was for a personal trainer... then her chances were probably slim.

Raven opened the front door with conviction.

Once she saw the inside of the facility she was... unsurprised? It wasn't underwhelming, but it looked like a pretty standard kickboxing gym. There was a crazy amount of open space. It seemed like the owner was going for a bit of a 'warehouse' theme.

Directly in front of her was the front desk. There was a rather sizeable man standing there, sifting through used gloves and putting them back into, what looked like, a cubby system.

Behind the front desk was where the actual 'gym' part was situated.

Right in the middle of the facility was the boxing ring. It didn't seem to be anything too special. However, it looked to be well-used - that much she could tell. Raven could see the telltale signs of use from how the ring ropes slightly slacked from the users pulling on them repeatedly.

Her eyes then travelled to the perimeter of the gym. There she could see a number of workout machines evenly spaced out by the walls. Right next to the machines were the free weights. Some were placed back in their rightful place on the rack, whereas others were haphazardly scattered on the ground.

Whoever is in charge of cleaning this place is doing a horrible job.

"Although that's part of my job... I agree with you ma'am."

Raven's eyes widened in embarrassment when she realized she said that out loud.

She redirected her attention to the large man at the front desk.

Upon closer inspection Raven could see that the man was, in fact, a Faunus. And an extremely human-passing one at that. He seemed to be some type of albino reptile Faunus man. She almost didn't notice his scales at all. However, the man's slitted eyes were dead giveaway on the fact that he wasn't... well, human. She also took note of the uniform he wore. It was simple, really. Just a red, form-fitting tee and some black joggers.

So it's a Faunus-Friendly facility... I like that.

Raven offered the Faunus man an awkward smile.

"Umm... Any chance I could take that part of your job away from you?"

The Faunus man quirked a brow at her. "Weird. Most people come in to inquire if there's a personal trainer job available when they see the 'now hiring' sign."

"I'm not 'most people.'"

"Well, then who are you?"

It was Raven's turn to quirk a brow at the man.

He chuckled. "For the application. I need a name."

Oh... right.

This was the part Raven dreaded. Once she revealed who she was, then the Faunus man would definitely know what she was affiliated with (in the past). She quickly pondered giving him a fake name but discarded the thought. It would probably come back as a problem if they really decided to do a background check.

Instead, she sighed.

"Raven. Raven Branwen."

Realization entered his expression almost immediately.

Raven braced herself for when he would kick her out of the gym.

He didn't.

He kind of just stood there silently - as if he were contemplating something. In her case, she hoped he was thinking about giving her the damn job.

She was suddenly pelted in the chest with, what seemed like, a uniform. She quickly caught the shirt and held it an arms length away. It was the same shirt the Faunus man wore. Raven simply stared at him, waiting for some kind of explanation.

The man, for whatever reason, grinned.

"Wait here. The actual owner of this entire franchise is here..." He then scratched the back of his head. "She'll probably want to do an interview with you herself..."

Raven stared it him, slightly confused.

Why does he look concerned?

She inwardly shrugged and ignored his strange behaviour.

"So what would you like me to do in the meantime?"

The Faunus man frowned in thought for a brief moment. His eyes travelled the room and landed on a certain part of the gym where the weights were atrociously disorganized.

"You could put those weights back on the rack?"

Raven stared back at him flatly.

He rolled his eyes. "Do you want the job or not?"

She chuckled at the man and did as she was told.

While she walked towards the weight rack, Raven couldn't help but wonder about the owner of this place. The Faunus man mentioned that it was a franchise. Insinuating that this gym probably had multiple locations. Why would they set up a location in downtown Mistral? Unless this was an establishment that offered cheaper services.

Honestly, Raven had no idea what she was getting herself into.

She began to mindlessly put the weights away.

I guess I could get used to this?

Soon, she heard footsteps - slowly making their way towards her. She assumed that it was the owner of this place.

Her brows started to furrow in confusion when the footsteps got... faster? Were they running at her?!

She turned around just in time and sidestepped from a fist that was sent right to her face. Her eyes widened in shock when she practically felt that her assailant made a dent into the wall behind her.

Raven gritted her teeth. "Who the hell-?!"

"Long time no see, Branwen."

She immediately recognized that voice... and the vibrant emerald eyes that glared right back at her.

Raven couldn't help but grin at her old boxing partner.

"Hey Aurelia."

Again, she was thrown for a loop when the redhead grabbed her by the collar. The other woman basically growled. "Don't 'Hey Aurelia,' me! It's been ten years and that's all you've got to say?"

The Branwen woman scoffed, and shoved her old friend's arm away. "Like you said: it's been ten years... what the hell do you expect me to say? Oh I'm sorry for going to prison?!"

"How about 'I'm sorry for not returning any of the freaking letters you sent me?!'" Aurelia shot back. "While you were in said prison!"

Raven opened her mouth to make a retort. But then closed it.

She... didn't have an excuse.

Now that she really thought about it, she cut so many of her friends off. It wouldn't be fair if she tried to justify her actions now. Especially when she knew that the choice she made to push them away was wrong. So rather than escalating the situation, she awkwardly coughed into her hand.

"Right, I'm sorry for wasting your time."

Raven tried to walk away but was surprised yet again when Aurelia's arm blocked her way. She glanced at the redhead, and frowned.

Does she actually want to fight me right now.

"Don't go. You've got the job, idiot."

"I- uh, what-?"

Aurelia sighed. She then, despite the situation, laughed - almost disbelievingly. "I just had to see for myself if it was actually you. A while ago, I've given all of my facilities instructions to let me know if they ever saw you around..."

The Branwen woman quirked a brow at her. "And what made you so sure that I'd be at any of your gyms?"

"Well you're here right now, aren't you?" Aurelia rolled her eyes. "Besides, I know how much you loved kick boxing, Rae. I'm assuming that's what made you apply to this job in the first place."

She wanted to deny the other woman's conclusion, but couldn't. Raven really did want the potential perk of using the gym if she managed to get a job there.

"You're lucky that I was even in the country."

That statement piqued Raven's interest. "Do you still live in Vale?"

"Yeah. I live there with my family," Aurelia answered. "I, uh, actually have a daughter now... she should be around the same age as yours..."

"Oh." Raven said, rather lamely. She cleared her throat, and tried to continue the conversation without being rude. "Er, what's her name?"

"Pyrrha."

Raven took note of the small smile that Aurelia held once she uttered the child's name. It was kind of heartwarming, seeing her old friend act like a proud mother. However, a wave of guilt slowly hit her when she thought of her own kid. And how saying the girl's name would probably feel foreign to her.

She could feel that their interaction got quite awkward. So she decided to change the subject.

"So what brings you to Mistral?"

Aurelia didn't answer her right away. There was a pause that occurred right after she asked the question that seemed to go on forever.

Finally, the redhead sighed.

"Taiyang's funeral."

I've somehow managed to make it more awkward. Great.

Raven swallowed thickly. "Oh."

"Are you goi...-?"

"No." She interrupted Aurelia rather curtly. "I can't. Most people don't even know that I've been released." She then sighed. "If I go, I'll just cause trouble."

Despite her words, Aurelia nodded - understanding her logic. She then furrowed her brows. "Who else knows? That you're back."

She directed a tired look at her friend. "Just you and Qrow."

Raven could feel that Aurelia wanted to ask if she knew that she was out of prison. But thankfully, that question never came. Instead she watched as the woman walked away to sit on a work out bench that was in front of them. The redhead then stared off at nothing in particular - a small smile reached her lips as she was deep in thought.

"I was pissed when I found out that you weren't going pro." Aurelia finaly let out. "I really wanted to settle the score between us. Y'know... officially."

Raven snorted. "Sorry to disappoint?"

They already went over the fact that she was kind of stuck in prison for the past ten years. So really, what did Aurelia expect her to say.

"You can pay me back by working for me."

"Uhh... I already am?" Raven gestured to the uniform she had on to remind Aurelia of that. Was she trying to rub in the fact that her life basically went nowhere?

"As an instructor, you idiot."

Raven gaped at the woman in disbelief. "You're kidding... You do know that I'm a convicted felon, right?" She kept watching Aurelia as she stood up. "Is this even allowed?!"

"I own this institute, Rae. I can do whatever the hell I want." Aurelia replied, undeterred by the facts Raven threw out there. She walked towards the building's exit, but before leaving she looked over her shoulder and offered Raven a shit-eating grin. "And once you feel like you're up to it... spar with me."

Raven smiled widely.

"Oh you're so on."

Okay... so far so good.

She couldn't believe how well her first day out of prison was going.

She managed to find a place to stay and got a job. All in one day. Honestly, she could've cried from relief in that moment.

After somewhat securing a job, she basically ran back to Qrow's place in excitement.

Raven fumbled with the key that Qrow gave her to his apartment. The lock was so flimsy. It almost seemed like it was just for show. Seriously, someone could've easily broken into it.

Once she finally unlocked the damn thing, she wasted no time barging into the place. However, her brows furrowed when she heard a voice basically grumbling in the man's living room. She could immediately tell that it wasn't Qrow.

Instead of calling out, she silently made her way to the living space.

Once she got closer she could hear what the person was saying.

"Gods, this place is a freaking mess..." The intruder(?), who she now knew was a woman, complained. Raven could also hear the clinking of bottles, and the rustling of a plastic bag.

Are they... cleaning?

Her curiosity finally got the best of her, and she stepped into the living room.

"Er-"

Her voice got caught in her throat once she saw who was there.

The woman immediately stopped what she was doing, and stared at her in shock.

Her heart seemed to stop. Raven could feel herself shaking, and her breathing became uneven. If this sudden reaction was from anxiety or absolute terror, she didn't know. It was probably a mixture of both. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she tried to think of something- anything to say. She then swallowed thickly, and kept opening and closing her mouth. She had no idea what to do. Should she have bolted it out the door?

Thud!

The woman dropped the garbage bag that she held in her hands.

She walked straight up to Raven without hesitation.

Raven gulped, and finally found her voice.

"Summ-"

She couldn't even utter the woman's name before she could register that a fist had been sent flying right towards her face.

WHAM!

Her whole world went black.

Obviously, Summer isn't too happy to see Raven.

LOL, I hope you guys are liking it so far! We may see the Ruby/Yang/Velvet trio soon! :P
Thanks for reading!

Until Next Time,

MediocreWriter.