The Heart of Winter

II – Thoughts of a Dying Atheist

Qrow Branwen

Qrow knew not what possessed him – everything hurt and his brain felt like it would melt as his body burnt up. But it was an undeniable stroke of luck that he'd regained consciousness when he did; a building had collapsed as a Minotaur had charged through it, sending Ruby flying. Dragging himself upright as the world came back into focus, Qrow threw himself between Ruby and the Minotaur at the last possible second, his knees almost buckling under the strain of keeping the gigantic Grimm at bay. The older Huntsman held Death's Respite in its sword from above his head, the point was angled downward and the flat of the blade was now pressed his left arm as though it was a shield.

Heh, now this is a proper way to die. Instead of some shitty poison, Qrow thought as the beastly Grimm reared back a step, dirt and rock flying into the air, the beast furious that its charge had been halted. Qrow knew he wouldn't survive another hit. He wasn't that much of a fool. All he needed to do was buy Jaune time to get Ruby to safety. Nothing else mattered in what would probably be his last moments.

But in another stroke of miraculous luck, the reason for Qrow's sudden clear-headedness revealed herself with a chilling caw before something red and black plummeted from the sky, a gleaming red blade piercing the Minotaur's head with a sickening crack as its mask chipped. The beast roared loudly before swinging out wildly to hit back at its attacker, almost taking Qrow's head off of his shoulders – but his knees gave out at that exact moment.

Raven made a graceful landing next to Qrow, the hilt of her weapon, Quoth Shadow, in one hand; the red dust blade still embedded in the Minotaur's massive skull. The Grimm went stumbling back down the street, dropping its axe as it threw up its hands to clutch its wounded head and pull out the broken blade.

Raven quickly lost interest in the Grimm and turned her head to look at Qrow, and although she said nothing her glare was certainly something else. Ah yes, how he had missed that particularly sisterly glare and the warm fuzzies it gave him. Still, he was at a loss for words, so Qrow just threw his head back and laughed. It really had been a strange couple of days.

Shaking his head, he didn't notice Raven pull out a syringe from somewhere, a pouch on her belt if he'd been paying attention, before she slammed the thing into his chest, knocking all the air from his lungs as she injected him with something.

"On your feet, fool," his sister ordered him as he clutched his chest, trying to wrap his head around what was happening. "That was a modified shot of adrenaline that should help clear your head and stop the poison from shutting your body down for a while. It should stimulate your Aura somewhat as well so the Minotaur won't kill you by breathing on you." Must be one hell of a shot, Qrow thought but knew it was for the best he kept that particular comment to himself.

It didn't mean he didn't have another ready to go: "So, is this your way of asking me for help?" Qrow said in a tone he was sure that would have gotten his sister to pummel him any other day. It did at least cause her glare to intensify as she rounded on him. She looked ready to say something but then her eyes shifted to the prone form of Ruby after a second before she turned her glare back to him.

"Be gratefully she's still owed her one, brother." Qrow let out a growl as he staggered upright, ready to tear into his sister and her warped idea of what it meant to be a family when, to his surprise, she added in a softer tone: "Besides, I might believe in strength above all else I'm not a fool. Minotaur's are not to be taken lightly and doing this together increased our odds of victory."

"I'll take that as a yes," Qrow muttered, lifting Death's Respite back onto his shoulder. "It's been a while since we fought together, think you remember how? You were never very good at playing with others not named Taiyang."

"I can still leave you to die, little brother," Raven retorted without looking at him as Jaune came scrambling up, panicked and surprised, his face a ghostly white which was coated with sweat. She's never going to let go of those twelve minutes, is she? "Get the girl somewhere safe. Find a building to take shelter in and we'll find you when we're done here." Raven ordered Jaune without looking at him, eyeing the kill before them instead: "We don't need children getting in the way."

Qrow shot his sister a sideways glance before he looked back to Jaune. It was true the pair of them didn't exactly have the best repertoire with each other but he knew the kid had a good head on his shoulders and a strong heart. Qrow was glad when Jaune shakily nodded back. He had no intention of getting in the way. He would follow Raven's orders without question because Ruby's life mattered more than anything else.

"You shouldn't talk to him like that," Qrow said, rolling one shoulder as heard Jaune pick up Ruby before taking off at the fast speed he could manage. Whilst he wasn't exactly fond of Jaune, he could empathise with the kid on some level. He just wanted to do the right thing. "He's a good kid."

"Being a 'good kid' doesn't make you a capable Huntsman, little brother," Raven replied coolly as the Minotaur finally managed to collect itself, plucking its gigantic weapon from the ground with a roar that shook many of the surrounding buildings. "In fact, if I recall correctly it seems more likely to get you killed more often than anything else."

"Low blow Raven."

"Strangely I don't find it in me to care," Raven said – not missing a beat – reinserting the hilt of Quoth Shadow into its scabbard before the barrel began to rotate. When she redrew the weapon the blade was a cyan colour. "You are in no condition to take point: I will take the beast head on, use the scythe form of your weapon and stay at arm's length and try and go for the back of its knees and try to disable its legs."

"It wouldn't kill you to say please," Qrow said dryly, but he knew in this situation he had no choice but to follow his sister's lead.

"You'd be surprised." Ah, good old Branwen family solidarity at its finest, Qrow thought.

The signal to go was wordless, but even after so many years of being apart, the Branwen twins still found themselves in sync when it came to fighting – shame that connection didn't extend to anything beyond combat. Raven took the lead like she said, charging the Grimm with Quoth Shadow at the ready, running one hand along the blade as the dust suddenly activated at her touch.

Letting out a roar, the Minotaur met Raven head on, lifting its giant axe overhead before swinging down with surprising precision. Had his sister been a second slower, or perhaps a little unlucky, the blow probably would have cleaved her clean down the middle. Instead, she artfully dodged the attack, swinging her sword upwards in a calculated arc as the dust blade melted away into a gigantic air slash that hit the Grimm head-on, forcing it back a few inches down the street but leaving no signs of damage.

Raven recklessly didn't think to move out of the beast's range as she went to draw a new dust blade. She, much like Qrow probably would've in her situation, assumed the Grimm would want to pull its axe out of the dirt and then take another swing at her. Rather the thing just lifted one fist from the axe and swung at Raven, blasting her into the wall of a nearby ruined building.

Damn it, Qrow cursed as he threw himself forward into a run. Idiot, he thought as he'd just stood there and watched. He needed to buy time before the Minotaur could charge Raven whilst she still recovered from the blow.

Sweeping around behind the humongous Grimm, Qrow followed his sister's directions and went for the back of its knees. The blade of Death Respite smacked against the beast's thick hide but left no real impression - bouncing off like a rubber ball. He must've seemed like a fly buzzing around the Minotaur. Still, he was one pretty annoying fly, Qrow thought as the beast turned on him before it could charge his sister.

Using the difference in height, Qrow tried to duck between the beast's legs before it could bring its axe down on him and cleave him into two crows rather than one Qrow. But the Minotaur had been ready for that; to his surprise, it twisted away from him as he dashed forward, before coming back around and kicking him. If Raven hadn't given him that... whatever it was; he highly doubted it was what she said it was, he probably would've been made into a pancake as he was knocked prone and what little Aura he had sparked and crackled.

Another hit and it'd break. Another solid hit and he'd be dead regardless.

The Minotaur was in no mood to surrender its advantage as it lifted its hoof and then stomped on him. Qrow was pounded into the dirt, leaving a person shaped crater in the street as the only thing keeping the Minotaur from crushing him was Death's Respite, which he held above him like a flimsy shield, the weapon's shaft groaning under the weight of the giant Grimm.

There was a sickening creak, then a crack as the body of Death's Respite suddenly buckled and bent. Whilst Qrow swore loudly, he supposed a bent weapon was better than being turned into jam. Thankfully it was in that second as Qrow's arms gave out that Raven made her presence known as she was on the Minotaur's back, hacking and slashing wildly with her weapon.

The Grimm went reeling back and away from Qrow and his hole in the road, once more snatching wildly as it tried to pull the woman attacking it off of its back with a furious roar.

"Buy me a second!" Qrow shouted at Raven as he clambered to his feet, looking around for something, anything, that could help him bend the weapon back into shape. He could hardly fight with a weapon like this after all.

Raven just yelled profanities at him in response as she barely leapt off the Minotaur's back in time to avoid it grabbing her.

Staggering around drunkenly, Qrow headed for the wreckage of the building that had acted as the Minotaur's grand entrance. It was a good thing that Raven was letting her Semblance run wild because he found an old support beam that he could use to help bend the shaft of the scythe back into shape. If he could find the strength to push down.

It took him longer than it should have, but eventually, he was able to slide the blade of the scythe under the beam and, using a smaller beam at the point where the shaft bent, he pulled down on the end and with another sickening crack, the weapon retook its intended shape - for the most part. Summer would kill me if she could see what I've done to you… Qrow thought with a shudder at the idea of his diminutive partner's wrath. Why'd the obsession with weapons have to be genetic?

Either way, the amount of work it was going to properly fix Death's Respite meant he'd be better off just rebuilding the weapon from scratch. Or at least that would have been the plan if he was actually going to survive the night. None of that mattered though because Raven still needed his help – Qrow could worry when he was dead.

Leaping forward, he used the curved blade of his scythe to catch the blade of the Minotaur's axe as it had been in mid swing before it could cut Raven in two.

"Son of a–!" Qrow swore loudly as the Minotaur surprised him again as it twisted its weight, using the blade of its axe to send Death's Respite crashing to the ground before the end of the polearm came swinging up like a humongous white bullet and catching him in the midsection.

Well, there went what little Aura he had left.

Qrow was thrown off his feet and went careering down the ruined street. He landed in a heap, his scythe landing next to him with an awful clatter. The ageing Huntsman could only groan as everything hurt. He was lucky that nothing was broken after such a blow. At least there's one upside to being stuck with Raven of all people, he thought as he struggled onto all fours. Even when they were little and still members of the tribe, their Semblances had often acted to counterbalance one another and cancel each other out. When they spent too much time apart was when things would get bad for Qrow.

Snatching Death's Respite from the ground, Qrow took off into another dash as he could see Raven once more dodging a wide swing from the Minotaur's axe before lunging forward with another cyan coloured dust blade. Again the impact was almost unnoticeable.

Skidding to a stop behind the Minotaur, Qrow pulled his weapon back and then he swung down catching the Minotaur across the back of its knees once again. This time though the Minotaur threw an elbow back, catching Qrow in the chest before it swung at him with its axe overhead. Barely dodging the strike in time, the younger of the Branwen twins lunged forward, swing his scythe at the Minotaur's hand as he jumped onto the axe itself.

Behind it, Raven swung up with a red dust blade and finally, one of their attacks seemed to have some sort of impact as the Grimm roared in pain. The surprises kept on coming though as instead of lifting its weapon from the ground, the Minotaur reached out with one hand and grabbed Qrow, squeezing him like a stress ball and then launching him at Raven as it turned to face the female Branwen.

Qrow hit Raven at ridiculous speeds, lifting his sister into the air as they went for a tumble down the street together. Using Death's Respite Qrow caught himself before he could fly too far, the scythe acting as an anchor as it dug into the old cobblestone.

Damn, he thought, I've heard stories about these things but it sure can take some hits. Looking over his shoulder quickly, Qrow saw Raven drag herself to her feet, her Aura flickering a little. Even though the damn thing had only touched them a few times every hit was comparable to a few dozen regular Grimm attacks.

"You got a plan?" Qrow shouted over his shoulder as the Minotaur gathered itself, rising back to its full height, snorting out a cloud of smoke in frustration. It was going to charge. It probably intended to flatten both annoying humans in a single run.

"Qrow, fastball!" Raven shouted at him as she ran towards him and Qrow really wanted to yell curses at her. Really? The fastball special was what they were resorting to? They really must've been desperate. But Qrow bit his tongue and swallowed his pride as he assumed the position – Death's Respite in both hands with the weapon held over his head and curling down back towards the ground behind him.

The next thing he felt was something push down on Death's Respite as it suddenly became much heavier. It was a monumental task to swing the blade overhead, acting as a launched pad for Raven as he threw his sister into the air. Thankfully she'd been balancing perfectly on the scythe's edge and she went spinning into the air.

Having been more focused on charging Qrow down, the human who had been slashing at the back of its knees, the stupid Grimm hadn't thought to look up for Raven as it moved. And then she came crashing down, the red dust blade of Quoth Shadow suddenly bursting into flame as it swung in arc, catching the Minotaur down the right side with a roar of fire and serving one of its horns and leaving a burning cut down it chest and severing several of the creature's fingers as its weapon was snapped in two.

Watching from afar, it had been like watching a knife go through hot butter. Raven made her three-point landing, the hilt of Quoth Shadow going straight for the scabbard so she could draw another blade. But the Minotaur had already staggered away from his sister, dropping both halves of its weapon as it cried out in pain.

It fixed them with one last look of hatred before it turned its head and broke into a running charge. A retreat as its severed body parts burst into black smoke. It was over, Qrow realised with a sigh of relief, they'd survived.

They'd actually won. Sort of.

Qrow just about collapsed when the Minotaur crashed through a nearby building, making a hasty exit. Smart bastard, the trained Huntsman thought as he used Death's Respite as a crutch in a poor attempt to support himself. Most Grimm lacked the sense to run when they realised the prey they sought was beyond their reach. It'll be back, he thought as he lifted his gaze from the ground to see his sister kneel before him.

Even if she wouldn't admit it aloud, she was visibly exhausted and oddly concerned. If they'd both been at full strength things might have gone differently, but they were both lucky to still be breathing. Even if Qrow wouldn't be for much longer. Raven had been right, if she'd fought that thing alone she'd have lost. Maybe she'd have escaped with her life but she most certainly wouldn't have won the duel. The Minotaur was slower but all it needed was one or two hits to match their damage they'd dealt with dozens of blows.

None of that mattered now though. All that mattered was that the Minotaur was gone and Qrow again owed his sister a great debt.

"Thank you," Qrow breathed as he hung his head – he did not want his last conversation to be an argument between siblings, he decided, "thank you for helping me save Ruby."

"Everybody gets one," Raven said with a bow of her head. Standing, she dusted herself off before she moved to support his weight and help him walk. Raven chanced one last glance at where the Minotaur had run before shaking her head: "We should find the children, things have changed drastically since our last conversation and we need to have a talk."

Sorry, Raven, Qrow chuckled to himself as he found the entire situation oddly humorous, I'm spent - time for me to shuttle off. It seemed fitting that he'd die in the middle of nowhere, in an abandoned village with only his sister's company. Well, at least no one else would be around to see his rather pathetic end, he guessed. Although now when he saw Summer again at long last, he could say he went out like somewhat of a badass instead of dying of liver failure or something stupid like that. Just wait for me a little longer Summer, I'll be there in just a second. And with that as his last thought, Qrow let his eyes close as he gave into exhaustion and the poison in his system and slumped forward as he let consciousness leave him, a faint smile on his lips as Death's Respite clattered to the ground and the last thing he heard was his sister call his name.

Song: Thoughts of a Dying Atheist as performed by Muse