Weiss sat on deck, eyes scanning the ocean around her. She sighed heavily and rested her head on the ship's railing. She tried to ignore the squeals of delight and joy from the kids playing behind her. Ruby was dancing around with the redheaded girl that they rescued. The dark haired boy sat beside Blake, discussing books over a cup of tea. Yang sat next to them, manning a rod on the other side of the ship. Blake would get excited every time Yang got a bite and would rush to help her. Tai sat down beside the white haired girl.
"What's up kiddo?" He asked, clapping a large hand on her shoulder.
"I'm worried about them." Weiss admitted. She knew her sister was strong, but the enemies they had fought were strong too. "What if they get captured before we can meet with them. What if they were hurt. What if Qrow…" Weiss trailed off. She didn't want to think about losing part of her new family, even if she wasn't the most fond of him. She knew Winter would be hit hard by the loss. In Winter's mind she owed him a debt, and if he died after saving their lives Weiss knew that Winter would never forgive herself.
"If his drinking and his big mouth haven't killed Qrow yet then I'm sure a little poison won't take him out. Besides, your sister won't let anyone hurt him except for her. She's tough and strong and she is going to make it to Southport because she has the most important reason to." Tai smiled.
"What?" Weiss asked.
"She has to find you again. You know she would never abandon you. I'm sure that if it wasn't a matter of life and death that she would have sent me with Qrow and taken over as captain so that she could stay with you." Tai hugged the whitehaired girl tightly. Weiss smiled.
"I'm sure she would have made a great captain, except that she wouldn't know where to go." Weiss giggled.
"Well, we are going a little further out to sea than we usually do. Usually we keep the coast in view so it's easier to navigate, but we can't risk getting seen and it'll give Qrow and Winter a few days to catch up to us."
"I caught one!" Yang shouted in the distance.
"Also because we are a little short on rations." Tai grinned sheepishly.
Weiss nodded and went back to scanning the seas. Tai was very good at comforting kids when they needed it. If he ever decided to stop being a pirate, he would make a very good teacher. Weiss watched as Tai picked up Ruby and Nora with each arm and spun them around before putting them back on deck to stumble around and chase each other. Maybe this is just what most fathers are like. She was sad that she had missed out on growing up with a real father.
"Weiss, come here. It's your turn." Tai grinned and held out an arm for her, the other occupied by Ruby.
Weiss smiled and ran over, letting him sweep her into the air and spin her around. He put her on the deck and she chased after Ruby, tripping over her own feet. Nora tackled Ruby and Weiss jumped on top of Nora. Yang ran over and jumped on top of the pile and began tickling them, allowing Blake to take over the fishing rod. Ren approached and grabbed Nora's hand, pulling her out of the dog pile and falling in his butt in the process. Ruby and Weiss ganged up on Yang and tickled her back.
Tai watched happily as his kids played together. As nervous as he was about this journey, it truly did lift his heart to watch them enjoy their innocence and childhood. They may have been understaffed and on half rations but they were full of life and determined to live it to the fullest. He couldn't wait until they moored in Menagerie, with Qrow and Winter in tow, so that they could all relax on the beach and be free together.
Tai saw a ship with a black sail in the far distance, closer to shore and he motioned for Oobleck to steer them further out to sea. At this rate it would take weeks to get to Southport, but he couldn't risk running into any Grimm, especially now that he knew Raven was involved. He looked again at the kids, playing happily on deck and sighed. They had to win, for the sake of the kids. So that they can grow up in a better world than they were born into.