Racing to her Side
At long last, they had finally arrived. The house looked even more dreary than in the photo, more like an abandoned shack than a true home. Exhausted, Yang dropped the handle of the red wagon and shakily lowered herself to the ground. Her limbs ached from pulling her baby sister around for so long. They had left in the early afternoon, yet the sky was pitch black, at least past midnight. Yang was surprised that the wagon was still intact; surely by now, with all the rocks they had hit, it would've been broken by now.
Yang looked down at her arms. There were scratches all over them, and similar marks were present on the exposed parts of her legs. The deeper ones were from the times she stumbled and fell along the way. Somehow, they had stopped stinging midway through their journey. It even seemed like they were starting to heal just a little bit. It seemed like a miracle that she had made it this far, but Yang didn't question it. All she cared about was finding her mother.
As she sat there, trying to recover her breath, she looked again at the rickety house before her. Yang couldn't understand why her mother would choose to stay in a place like that. Their home back in Patch was so much nicer. Yang couldn't help but wonder if she really hated Dad that much, to the point that she'd rather live in the middle of the forest. What if it wasn't even him? What if it was me she didn't like? That thought bothered Yang more than anything else. Tears began to collect in her eyes. What if she doesn't want to see me? That even after all this time trying to find her, I'm just going to get ignored like I have been my whole life?
Yang felt the years of confusion and frustration bubble up inside her. As much as she feared the truth, she knew she couldn't turn back now. She needed to know what her mother thought about her family. She wanted their family to have a mother figure again. She knew that she had to face her.
Yang got back onto her feet and took hold of the wagon's cold, wet handle. She slowly approached the building, preparing herself for the worst. Before she could get any closer, however, Ruby awoke and began crying. Yang stepped back to comfort her sister, when a sharp, low growl made her freeze in her tracks. She looked around anxiously, only to be met by a pair of glowing red eyes in the darkness of the forest. More and more demonic eyes appeared in the woodwork, the hungry beowolves alerted by Yang's fear and turmoil. One crawled menacingly into the clearing where Yang and her sister stood, blocking her path to the house. She looked back at Ruby, who was trembling. At that moment, Yang realized that all that mattered now was keeping Ruby safe.
Unsteadily, she faced the enemy before her. The beowolf stood up on two legs and swiped its claws at Yang. She was knocked hard onto the ground, remarkably without getting scratched. Yang knew she had to get back up if she was going to protect Ruby. Before the beowolf had time to approach the wagon, Yang blocked its path, allowing herself to get hit again. She got up once more, went down again, got back up. She knew that the only way she could do this was to stand her ground. She stared down the beowolf, a small, innocent little girl against a creature of enormous stature. Before the beowolf struck again, Yang heard a noise to her right. Out of nowhere, another beowolf leapt from the trees and straight for Ruby. Acting purely out of instinct, Yang jumped straight into the beowolf and was knocked right into a tree. Yang felt the wind get knocked out of her, and the cuts she had suffered before began to sting again. She knew that she couldn't keep this up, but what other choice did she have? She had to protect her sister.
Unable to stand, Yang crawled back to the wagon, leaning against it and facing the beowolves. She looked at Ruby one more time. "I love you," Yang whispered. "I'm sorry I have to leave you too."
One of the beowolves reared back, ready to bring its deadly claws down upon the two sisters. At that moment, Yang's thoughts became a whirlwind. How could I let this happen to her? How could I put her in such danger for my own selfish quest? And Dad. First he lost Mom, then Summer, and now he's going to lose us both because of me. What was I thinking?!
Yang's frustration turned into anger: anger towards the evil Grimm, anger towards her mother, and most of all, anger towards herself. She felt the rage boiling deep inside her, begging to burst free. As she watched the beowolf move in for the final blow, she felt the world melt away. She somehow found the strength to rise to her feet. Her vision blurred, her thoughts faded. All she could feel was the burning heat of anger. In the blink of an eye, she threw her arms up in front of her and her sister. What she thought would be excruciating pain, or perhaps a swift death, was instead a standstill between her and the Grimm. Somehow, she had stopped the beowolf's swing with her bare hands. The beowolf, caught by surprise, reeled backwards away from the wagon. Yang fell to the ground, completely winded. She had nothing left, drained of every last ounce of energy. The last thing she remembered before she blacked out was a black crow, faintly lit by a fire's flame.
"How could you let them get this hurt? I thought you were supposed to be a master at finding people."
"Look, I wish I could've been there sooner, too, but it was the dead of night. Plus, I couldn't fly too close to the tree line and risk accidentally affecting them with my semblance. I'm lucky I found them at all."
Yang opened her eyes slowly, struggling to adjust to the light in the room. She could hear her father and uncle arguing down the hall.
"What matters most is that they're here and they're safe now," continued Qrow. "Forget about me for a second. I have something important to tell you about Yang. I think she unlocked her semblance last night."
Semblance? Yang wondered. The super cool powers Dad always told me and Ruby about? I thought you weren't supposed to unlock it until you got into training school.
Tai's voice matched Yang's confusion. "That's impossible! She hasn't even unlocked her aura yet. How could she have gotten her semblance? And at this young of an age? What could you have possibly seen to make you think that?"
Qrow's voice was gruff with irritation. "If she didn't have her aura before she left, she must've gotten it during the trip, too. That wagon wouldn't have made it as far as it did without some sort of aura reinforcement. Plus, some of Yang's cuts are already partially healed. That's not possible without aura."
"Ok," Tai said shortly, "but her semblance? Even the best warriors don't unlock theirs until combat school, or at least when they're older."
"Hey, I've probably had mine my whole life," Qrow pointed out. "The only reason I found them was because I saw a sudden flash of light from a flame. When I got to them, the tip of Yang's hair was lit like a candle. There's no way a fire could have naturally occurred in the rain like that."
By the sound of things, Tai seemed to have calmed down. "So you think her semblance is lighting on fire?" he asked.
"I have no idea," said Qrow. "All I know is that she made it all that way basically on her own, pulling some pretty precious cargo the whole way. That's a trek we would've made as a team. No ordinary kid could do that, Tai."
Yang's mind was reeling. She didn't think there was anything that special about her, apart from her obsession with her mother. She wished she could remember more from that night. Desperate for answers, she tried to climb out of bed, only to be stopped by the screaming of her muscles. She groaned, prompting Qrow and Tai to run into the room.
"Oh thank goodness you're awake," said Tai, relief flooding his facial features. He hurried to Yang's side and helped her sit up. "I've been so worried. I came home and you weren't here and I freaked out. I sent Qrow to find you and he brought you back knocked cold. You've been out for almost a whole day!"
Yang was having trouble processing her father's frenzy. "Wait, where's Ruby?"
"She's in the other room, doing just fine," Tai responded. "She was cold and scared, but she's better now. You did a good job keeping her safe."
Yang looked down at her hands. "She wouldn't have been in danger in the first place if it weren't for me," she muttered. "I'm sorry."
"Shhh." Tai held her eldest daughter's small hands in his own. "Don't worry about that right now. I'm just glad you two are safe."
Yang glanced at Qrow in the corner. His stance appeared standoffish, but she could see the concern in his face, too. She had to ask. "What were you guys talking about in the hallway?"
Tai looked at Qrow, who shrugged his shoulders. "I'll tell her if you don't want to," he stated.
Tai sat up but made no move towards the door. "Yang, what do you remember about that night?"
"I... I don't," stammered Yang. "I hardly remember anything. It's all cloudy."
"That's ok," comforted Tai. "Qrow here says that he fought off a pack of beowolves to get to you. Do you remember them attacking you?"
Yang closed her eyes, then winced visibly. "Yeah, I remember that. They... they hit me a lot."
Tai looked at Qrow again. Without aura, one blow from the Grimm would've ended her life. She must have unlocked it, after all.
"Ok, good. What happened after that?"
"The Grimm was about to swing again and I... I was getting desperate." Yang's feelings from that night started rushing back to her. "I kept thinking about my mom and the Grimm and Ruby and..." Tears began to flow down her face. "...and I got mad at myself for being so reckless and leaving home and putting Ruby in danger. It kept getting hotter and hotter, like I was burning up with a fever."
Yang looked up to see the gazes of both her father and her uncle. They were staring at her. "What?"
"Your eyes," Tai replied simply. "They're red. Just... just like your mother's."
"What?!" Yang repeated, more urgently this time.
Qrow zipped out of the room in bird form and returned with a small mirror. He held it up to Yang's face. She could see it, her resemblance to her mother. It was almost uncanny. Startled, Yang blinked and saw her eyes change back to their normal, purple hue. Tai and Qrow were similarly surprised.
Tai finally understood what Qrow had been implying this whole time. He looked at his daughter and smiled. "Yang, whatever you did that night... that was something special. You unlocked your semblance trying to protect your sister. You staved off a beowolf attack all by yourself."
At this, Yang calmed down a little. "I did all that?"
Tai nodded. "I think so."
Qrow finally spoke up. "You're really something, kid."
Yang looked down at her hands again. "So, what is my semblance? How do I use it?"
"We don't really know yet. We haven't actually seen you use it, and I hope you won't have to for a few more years. When the time is right, we'll figure it out together.
"For now though, get some rest," Tai said, hugging his daughter gently. "I love you my sunny little dragon."
Qrow gave Yang a smile and headed for the door, but not before telling her one last thing: "Good job, firecracker. You'll make a great huntress someday."