Gretchen's first day at Beacon Academy came and went. Hazel helped her move into her dorm, even as she protested him being there and doing as much. But she hadn't made him leave, not even when her teammates were doing the same as she was. She hadn't even brought up that she only really had two bags that she was bringing with her and that she really didn't need his help.

She'd let him help, though it wasn't needed.

After that, all Hazel was given was a hug and a goodbye.

That night, for the first time in his entire life, Hazel had learned what it was like to go to sleep without knowing that his sister was a mere room away, or even in the same room.

The first night was the hardest, because all he could think about was how wrong it was. In the end he hadn't ended up sleeping at all. He instead ended up sitting up late on his scroll reading article after article because it felt like the only way to occupy his mind that night.

He knew that he couldn't just call Gretchen. Not when it was so late and she was living with other people.

For the team naming ceremony, Hazel went and watched as his sister was assigned to team GREI.

She was named a leader.

He was proud of her.

He was deathly afraid for her.

His little sister was going to be a huntress. She was going to put herself in the line of fire every day, put herself in danger, put herself in an early grave.

Bit by bit, Hazel began to become afraid of certain things that had never bothered him before. He'd never been worried watching the news before in his life. He'd never found himself terrified of every call that came through on his scroll. He'd never dreaded the sight of an airship departing the academy up above the city.

But with time, that fear began to ease, inch by uneasy inch.

Gretchen always made sure to come down to the city to see him on days where she wasn't in classes. She'd come for lunch, just to make sure that the two of them had a little bit of time where they were together. She also made sure to call him every few nights to just let him know that she was okay.

Hazel began to look forward to those calls more than anything else.

He found a job at a little dust shop in the city. Most of what he did was simply move stock in the back because he was big and more than capable of carrying heavy crates from one place to another.

The shop owner didn't know much about him, but once he'd found out that Hazel had a sister at the academy there were questions that started being asked. Like why he wasn't there with her, and whether or not he was worried. Sometimes there was even the odd comment that he would have been a natural fit to become a Huntsman, or that he was somehow a waste of talent.

Hazel knew better than to think there was a waste of talent. Gretchen had more talent in her pinky finger than he had in his entire body.

The next thing Hazel knew, he was being given more and more assignments to bring deliveries up to Beacon in the hopes that he'd get a chance to see his sister.

Most of the time it really did turn out to only be a chance. Usually when Hazel was sent on a delivery it was during daylight hours when his sister was in classes. Of the twelve trips that he made up to Beacon, he only managed to see Gretchen for three of them.

One had been because she'd been between classes.

The other two were because her combat instructor had heard that he was coming somehow and given her the chance to be out of the class to see him. Hazel could appreciate it, but it did little to ease his worries.

The truth of the matter was that every time he entered the academy, he had to pass through the front lobby, then the hallway to its left which had been turned into a memorial hall of sorts.

Every time Hazel went to Beacon, he had to pass by the names and faces of students who had lost their lives while at the academy. And he desperately feared that one day he'd arrive to find that his sister was among them.

In a way, his life was a haze. It was getting up, going to work, worrying about his sister, and then going home so that he could sleep before doing the same again.

Gretchen came to his apartment on a Wednesday morning, alone.

She rapped on the door with such urgency that the only thing Hazel could do was let her in, even though she had a key of her own she could have used to let herself in. Hazel went to the door and pulled it open, because he knew that she was the only one that would have come there to see him anyways.

"Hey, Hazel." Gretchen said as she stepped inside, carrying a jar of a thick red syrup. "I brought you something."

"Don't you have classes?"

"Don't you have work?" Gretchen retorted, setting the jar down on the table.

Hazel rolled his eyes. "I don't have to be at work until later." He explained patiently. Gretchen was hurrying her way around his kitchen, pulling open cabinets and drawers in search of something. "Overnight stocking."

"That… sounds boring." Gretchen said before turning to him. "You don't have anything we can use that with." She gestured towards the jar again. "When's the last time you got groceries?"

Hazel shrugged the question off. "I get my paycheck tomorrow." He explained. "You still haven't explained why you're here."

"Oh, right." Gretchen said as she picked up the jar. "Syrup, from the trees at Forever Fall. It's really sweet, kind of nutty. I thought you'd like it. Had to fight off some rapier wasps to get it, but that's not such a big deal." She let out a little laugh. "Went a lot better than going to get honey ever did for us."

Hazel nodded along and took the jar, not quite sure what he wanted to do with it. "And you aren't in classes, because—"

"Oh, right." Gretchen hummed. "Ozpin's sending me and my team on a mission tomorrow. I wanted to… see you before I left. And make sure that you knew about it so you'd worry a little bit less."

Hazel paused. "Where would this be… exactly?"

Gretchen sighed. "It's just a patrol in Mountain Glenn. It should only be a few days, if what Ozpin said was right. Search and destroy, nothing that we can't handle."

And that was the thing that made Hazel really start to worry. Several days in Mountain Glenn could only be dangerous, and Gretchen was only sixteen. Her teammates may have been older, but that wasn't enough to make Hazel feel okay with it.

Every night that she was in Mountain Glenn was one where she ran the risk of getting killed.

He let out a heavy breath, barely able to hold in how awful he felt.

Her expression sank all at once. "…Hazel?" Her voice came only as a tiny whisper. "What's wrong?"

"It's too dangerous." He mumbled, burying his face in his hand. "I can't lose you too."

"Hazel…" She pressed in close to him, a hand on his arm. "Come on, you know that I can handle myself, don't you?" She pressed in closer, gripping onto him tight enough that he couldn't just ignore her. "I'm a Huntress. I may be in training, but that's what I am. Ozpin wouldn't be giving us this mission if he didn't think that we could handle it."

Hazel shook his head, unable to find a single word that he could say to her. Nothing would make him feel better short of hearing that she wasn't going.

There was a quiet breath out of Gretchen. "It's a training mission. Professor Ozpin is even going to be with us. We're going to be okay."

"And what if you aren't?" Hazel asked Gretchen through his hands. "What if I have to bury you too? Or you never come back?"

"That isn't going to happen." Gretchen stood up tall and crossed her arms over her chest. "You've always worried too much. Why can't you trust that I've got this? It's just a training mission. Hundreds happen every year. There's nothing to worry about."

"And how many fail every year?" Hazel snarled back at his sister. "How many students never come home?"

Gretchen stared back at him, clearly not sure what she was even supposed to say to him. Hazel pushed his hand through his hair and brushed it away from his face. He turned away from his sister, dead certain that she was going to be furious with him for what he'd just said.

She let out a heavy breath. "I know that you're upset and scared. But you don't have the right to treat me badly because of it." He heard her footsteps retreating. "You know, I can't help but think that you're always angry at me for choosing Beacon. Here's the truth, Hazel. I like it there. I'm happy. I'm good at being a huntress. I'm not going to let you stop me."

"I know you aren't." Hazel grumbled back. "Just make sure you come home."

"Stop worrying about me so much." She replied. "I'll talk to you when I'm back."

"I'm sorry."

"I know." Gretchen replied quietly. "I'd probably feel the same way if I were you. But you won't stop me. I'm choosing this life."

"I love you." Hazel mumbled. "You know that right?"

"Yeah." Gretchen said. "I know." She crossed the room and Hazel felt her arms wrap around him him, her lips pressing to his cheek. "You're my twin brother. You could never stop loving me, I know that. Being apart is… hard." Gretchen admitted. "I at least have my teammates to make it less lonely. You don't have that and that has to be really difficult."

There was a pause. "Just don't treat me like some kid. That's all I'm asking. I know that you're pretty much living as an adult now—" Gretchen cast a glance around the room. "But so am I. Just because I'm at a school that doesn't change."

"We're sixteen." Hazel mumbled. "Neither of us should be living like adults."

Gretchen shrugged. "It's not like either of us have had much of a choice. We're both on our own."

"We shouldn't have to be."

"But we are." Gretchen said. "Dad died. And it's not like we ever had a mom around for us."

Hazel sighed. "I'm just afraid one of us will end up alone."

Gretchen nodded along. "And it's more likely to be you, since I'm the one going out and doing dangerous things all day, right?"

"Right."

She leaned against him. "I wish you could have come to Beacon too." Gretchen admitted. "But being honest, you probably would have hated it."

"Probably."

Gretchen hugged him. "Two days. I'll be back, and I'll be fine. I promise."

"I'm holding you to that."

She laughed. "I know you are."

Hazel let himself give in, if only for the moment. He let his eyes slip shut and let his hands cover Gretchen's where they overlapped on his shoulders.

She had to come home.

She had to.