Beneath the floating city of Atlas adorned in the night sky like a star among other glittering bodies, was Mantle. Hours away from knowing who would be voted into the available council seat, Robyn Hill's victory seemed all but assured. With citizens casting their ballots and the upper echelon of Atlas awaiting the shifting of a political landscape come the morning, that left its defenders with a night to themselves.
Finding a moment to catch his breath, Qrow Branwen stood outside the Screwed Loose bar, popular among those looking to drown their sorrows or lift their spirits. He checked the time through the window of the bar, regretting how long he had already waited.
"What am I doing here?" Qrow lamented.
The seasoned and cynical hunter made to leave, turning about and walking back the way he came. Keeping his head down, he couldn't stop himself before bumping head first into a familiar face.
"Hey, sorry I'm late. Lucky I caught you in time, though." Clover remarked as he brandished a smile.
Qrow scratched the back of his neck, desperate to come up with a response, "... I chalked it up to my semblance; figured you got held up by Ironwood or some other natural disaster that sprung up."
"The former." Clover confirmed with a chuckle. "But semblance or not, I'd never stand you up after making the invitation. Blowing you off after getting the first night off in weeks; that's just plain rude."
"Right..." Qrow replied, hands still in his pocket. He looked back at the bar, neon lights casting a wide shine down the block. "Still, might have to pass on the drinks. I'm uh... trying to cut back."
"I remember." Clover assured him as he made the gesture to follow past the bar. "The place we're headed to is a block down."
Qrow found his feet following the Ace Ops leader without hesitation. "Then why did you tell me to meet you by the bar?"
"You're new in town. Figured the biggest, brightest tourist trap that Mantle has to offer would be easy to find on your own. Didn't want you getting lost."
Qrow ignored the misdirection, curious to see where the night would take him. "So, where to, then?"
"It's a surprise." Clover teased.
"Never been much for surprises." Qrow muttered under his breath as he caught up to Clover and kept an equal pace.
"Trust me on this one." The Atlas native told him.
A little more than a block away, the two hunters found themselves in front of restaurant simply called, The Four Stars.
Qrow raised an eyebrow at the name, glancing over at Clover, "The Four Stars? Why not five?"
"Oh, the place is run by four Faunus chefs." Clover explained. "Some hotshot food critic from Atlas came down to review the menu after hearing all the buzz. Once he found out who the owners were, he docked them a full star and bad-mouthed the place. The chefs changed their restaurant name after that, wore the review like a badge of honor."
"Huh... sounds like my kind of people." Qrow mentioned.
"I thought you might like it." Clover confessed as he held the door open. As soon as Qrow passed through, he added. "Good to know you have a type though."
Qrow froze for moment, eyes swelling with surprise as he waited for Clover to enter alongside him. He cleared his throat, composed himself and said, "I like anybody that can take bad news in stride."
Clover went to the hostess, a Faunus with a mouse tail eagerly whipping from behind her. "Table for two, please."
"Great timing; some tables just opened up!" She stated as she picked up two menus and escorted them towards the seating area. "Would you prefer by the bar or a booth?"
Qrow winced as he hesitated to answer. Clover took the initiative to promptly respond, "We'll take a booth away from the bar. We've got work in the morning, after all." He added with a quick jab to Qrow's elbow.
"Right this way then."
The hostess brought them to a table for two in short order, reminding them their server would be along shortly. The ambiance was soft and warm, light music playing above their heads as a crowd formed around the television talking about the election. Hill's early lead seemed to soften as Schnee was winning over the last minute voters.
Clover glanced over his menu to Qrow, nodding to the crowd. "Got a favorite to win?"
"Is anybody besides Schnee is an option?" Qrow said without breaking eye contact with his menu.
Clover laughed as he remarked, "It is. I'm in the same boat myself."
"Didn't seem like it when we were up against Hill during the supply run." Qrow commented.
"Part of the job. Hill's a good lie detector." Clover told him. "Sometimes you have to lay it on extra thick."
"I suppose it's either that or have Pietro's daughter force a ceasefire." Qrow said as he turned away from the alcohol selection of his menu.
"It worked, didn't it?"
"Won't work forever." Qrow shrugged.
"You really are cynic." Clover smirked.
"If you knew that, then why did you invite me out?"
"Because you don't give yourself enough credit." Clover said as he put aside his menu. "Those kids you brought halfway across Remnant have talent. But no one gets this far fresh out of the academy and makes it in one piece without experience."
"We didn't..." Qrow said with bitterness on his tongue. "We lost good people... still might before this is over... if it ever ends."
Clover leaned back, arms folded. "So, why did you become a huntsmen?"
"What?" Qrow remarked as he let his menu fall flat on the table.
"Everyone's got a reason, what's yours?" The Ace Ops leader suggested.
Qrow's mind wandered back to his sister and their youth in the Branwen tribe. Getting into Beacon under false pretenses when all along their motive to becoming huntsmen was to learn how to kill them. The memory resurfaced like a bad dream, only Qrow couldn't tell himself it wasn't real.
"A bad one..." Qrow finally said. "But I wised up... eventually. Made the best of a bad situation and learned to see the difference between what I was expected to do and what I should do."
"I see." Clover mulled over the admission. "Sounds like the type of situation that made you better for it."
"Yeah yeah, and if I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all." Qrow mocked. "I've heard it all before. It doesn't change the way the world works."
"No." Clover agreed. "That's what huntsmen and huntresses are for."
"You've got an answer for everything, don't you?"
Clover winked, "It comes with the territory."
"Alright then, what about you? What's your story for becoming a huntsmen in a place like Atlas?" Qrow threw back at him. "The screams in Mantle make it hard to sleep in your king-sized bed?"
"It's a standard issue bunk. You're welcome to see it sometime." Clover corrected. "No, I became a huntsmen because Atlas is the way it is. Because there weren't enough people around to change the way it works. I may not like the orders from time to time but they're there because we're trying to push in the right directions."
"And what about when someone pushes back?" Qrow questioned.
"That's what the luck is for. That and the Ace Ops team... and Penny... Ironwood... and the best training and resources-"
"Alright, I get it. You've got an answer for everything and you're very confident in what you're doing." Qrow admitted with a smile he didn't realize he was cracking.
"I'm not trying to ruffle your feathers, Qrow."
"Right, just trying to get under my tough exterior and find some soft center you think is hiding somewhere?"
"That depends... is it working?" Clover said with a smug grin.
Qrow chuckled into the air, staring into the Ace Ops leader's determined eyes. His past told him to know better. His experience told him he'd just be wasting his time. His heart told him it wouldn't work out in the end. But even with all that at the back of his mind, he couldn't look away from Clover's piercing eyes and sincere expression.
Even his semblance needed a night off, right?
"It's working," Qrow confessed. "But it'd work a lot faster if you said dinner's on you tonight."
Clover proceeded to put his wallet on the table. "Dinner's on me, tonight. But maybe next time we go half? My salary only goes so far."
"Next time?" Qrow echoed. "You think you're that lucky?"
"Only one way to find out." Clover winked.
Qrow smirked, his gaze noticing the approaching waiter. "You're on."