story
/ˈstɔːri/
noun
1.an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment.
"an adventure story"
2. an account of past events in someone's life or in the development of something.
"the story of modern farming"
When Oscar finally laid eyes upon Qrow for the first time in over a year, his body filled with warmth and joy, some his and some Ozpin's.
Even with his back turned, hunched over the bar, Oscar still got that familiar sense of safety that he always felt in the older Huntsmen's presence.
Taking a deep breath, he headed over to reintroduce himself to his loyal companion.
Once he was standing just behind him, he cleared his throat to grab Qrow's attention.
Qrow turned to look at him, "I don't think they allow kids in here, pipsqueak.
Oscar smiled up at him, feeling a sense of deja vu at Qrow's words, the exact same ones he said the first time they met.
"I'm supposed to tell you, I'd like my cane back." This time, the line was delivered with far more confidence then the first time he'd uttered them.
Once the magic words were said, Qrow smiled and nodded to himself before standing and pulling the ornate cane from his hip and tossing it to him.
Oscar caught it and immediately, the cane extended to its full length ['hello again old friend'] he and Ozpin said in unison.
"Good to see you again, Oz"
"And you, Qrow."
{May I take over from here for a moment, I'd like to talk to Qrow myself for a bit before you tell him your story.} Ozpin asked, Oscar nodded and relinquished control to the other.
--
"So, New kid. How's he taking everything? Acted pretty confident, doesn't seem to be taking the whole 'chosen by destiny' thing the way I'd expect a kid to"
"Oscar is an interesting young man, with many unique secrets of his own. But I'll let him explain those to you later, first I must inquire into everyone's wellbeing."
Qrow took a long sip of his drink before starting into the amber liquid, his eyes were far away… as if he was lost in a memory. "You and the Nikos girl were the only major casualties, Cinder did you both in. Couple of kids from Atlas were taken out by the White Fang, bunch of civilians were killed by Grimm, but most were able to escape,"
"James packed up his men and his students and left soon as all the major threats were cleared out, same with the Mistral and Vacuo kids. They were all on the first transport out of Vale."
"Beacon was destroyed, Vale took a pretty big hit too, but Glynda and many other Huntsmen are doing what they can to fix what they can, hopefully get the civilian parts of town back in working order."
Qrow seemed to have finished his recount of the fall, but something about his expression told Ozpin that he wasn't done, that he had more to say… and while he had gained the knowledge about everything that had happened between his death and them reuniting with everyone, he felt that Qrow needed tell him regardless.
Moving to take the alcoholic beverage from Qrow's hand, "what else? I know that look Qrow, something else happened that your not telling me." He asked.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Qrow began to shake his head as if to rid himself of a painful memory. "it's Ruby and Yang… Ruby saw Cinder kill Pyrrha Nikos. She awoke her Silver Eyes, took Cinder down a few pegs I reckon, but still, what she saw up there…"
"And Yang… that bastard from the White Fang- Adam Taurus cut off her arm! He butchered her!" In a fit of rage, Qrow slammed his fist down on the table they were situated at, causing everything on top to rattle.
"I swear Oz, if I ever get my hands on either of them… I'm gonna kill them. They hurt my girls, and I'm gonna make them pay for it!"
It was Ozpin's turn to look away, guilt filling him as he thought of how much everyone had suffered because of his failure to protect them.
[It's not your fault, you did everything you could to protect and prepare them, Salem's forces just happened to be better prepared. Next time, we'll be ready when they come.]
{Thank you Oscar, but this once, I have to disagree with you, there is so much more I could have done to prepare them… but I didn't, I failed… and they suffered for it}
[Fine. You failed. So did I, that's why I'm here, that's why both of us are here, but you know what; we won't fail again!]
Ozpin let out a sad, pain filled laugh. {And what makes you so certain we won't fail again?}
[Because we can't, if we fail again then that's it, everything we've all fought and suffered for, all the people we've lost… they'll all be for nothing. So we're not allowed to fail. Not again.]
Oscar was right, Ozpin knew that. They had to win, for all the people they'd lost and for all the people they still had to keep safe.
"So, with that out of the way, you wanna clue me in on whatever you and the kid are discussing?"
"Well, he was just giving me a pep talk that's all. But, he does have a story of his own to tell you. It's long, and going to sound insane… but it's true. Every word of it."
Qrow just raised an eyebrow "more insane than any of the other things you've told me? I doubt I have the capacity to actually be shocked by anything anymore Oz."
Ozpin smiled at the blaze comment, "we'll see." And with that, their eyes glowed bright yellow and Oscar was once again in control, while Ozpin sunk back into the depths of his mind to think on his talk with both Oscar and Qrow.
--
"Alright kid, what's your story?" Qrow asked, retrieving his drink and taking a swig.
"Well, to put it simply. I'm from two years into the future, Salem won. But, the God of Light and I made another deal. I'm here to make sure she doesn't win again."
Qrow just stared at him for a moment, completely silent. His eyes slowly drifting between him and the almost empty glass in his hand. "What do you know, all these years and your still finding new ways to surprise me Oz."
"He told you so"
"Yeah, that he did. Heh, I think I might need another drink."