Hi guys! Here's another one! Hope you like. Please review if you get the time, they really do make a difference!

NOTE: Recently edited for plot holes and stuff.

The Rally

She sat down and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was disheveled after her tussle with Qrow, and her nightgown was dirty. She noticed her sagging eyes in horror. How had she not noticed this? She spent the rest of the morning cleaning herself and her weapon. She apologized to it for letting it be treated so badly. She hoped it understood. She cleaned out the chambers and polished the blade, working off that horrible night. Next was herself. She brushed her hair and put it in its ponytail, also putting on her combat outfit. It felt odd to be back in her war uniform. She slipped on her boots and headed outside.

She walked a little ways from the house into a quiet little glade. She drew her weapon and loaded one of the cartridges with ice dust. She squared off with a tree and rushed it, slashing divots into the wood. She activated a glyph and stepped up, cutting at a low branch. Flipping away, she twirled her cartridges until the ice was active. She took her usual stance…and chickened out. All of a sudden she was back in the choking air of Beacon. The sirens were going off, Velvet was fighting for her life, and her body was physically exhausted. She screamed in fear and fell to her knees. A glyph activated, a huge sword appearing. It sliced the tree in half before disappearing. She curled up into a ball on the forest floor. No one could see her, no one was here; she was safe.

Myrtenaster lay gleaming on the grass in front of her. She reached out and grabbed it. She couldn't let this get the best of her. She stood up and picked a new tree. She dashed and sliced, pirouetted and parried. Every time she felt the choking of the Beacon air, she pushed it down and changed pace. She tried to summon the knight's sword again but she couldn't seem to do it. As the sun started to set she sheathed her sword and headed back to the house. She was starving for the first time in days and sat for dinner with Taiyang and Qrow. They didn't ask where she had been all day, but something in their faces told her they didn't need to. They knew she was back.

After changing into a clean nightgown, she sat on Ruby's bed again. She looked as peaceful as ever, but she still hadn't woken up.

"Hi Ruby." Weiss whispered. She felt really foolish but she needed to talk to someone. After their falling out, she knew she couldn't go to Yang, and the two men were out of the question. So her sleeping partner had to do. "I went out to practice today. Your Uncle made a fool of me. I was so embarrassed. But I went out on my own after that and I didn't do too bad. I Summoned again, but not for very long. I cut a tree in half but hopefully that's okay." She took the sleeping girl's hand. "I really miss you, Ruby. Please wake up soon."

She sighed and walked over to her own bed. She hadn't found the strength to take the spare room Taiyang had offered her. She didn't want to leave Ruby. She slid under the covers and turned off the lamp, falling asleep before she hit the pillow.

The next day she was up at her usual dawn hour and got dressed quickly. She wanted to Summon again, even if she had to be out there all day. She left the house early, before even the coffee had been put on, and headed into the glade again. She sliced the fallen tree with some Dust and rolled the discs of wood around the clearing, making makeshift targets. She situated herself in the middle and readied herself. Head up, shoulders back, right foot forward, and go!

She shot fourteen ice shards in rapid succession, hitting ten of her targets. The four rogue projectiles flew into the forest and she winced as they hit stray trees. Only one of her hits was a bullseye. She was out of practice.

She repeated this exercise three more times before switching to hand-to-hand combat. She laid out a series of glyphs and darted around the circle, slashing each target. She did much better on these, but her little rapier wasn't very effective against the thick wood. She was too scared to use fire on the forest but she did practice with time dilation for a little while. After she was warmed up she sat down and meditated. She remembered the feeling of the Summoning. It was like her usual glyphs but it lasted longer and felt like an extension of herself. It took a lot of energy but it was a rush. She focused as hard as she could and a white glyph lit off in front of her. A white arm extended out of it, sword in hand. She even summoned a little of his chest plate but not as far as she would have liked.

She had it swing it's arm and it knocked over a few of the targets that were close. As the sweat beaded her forehead the white arm sank back into the glyph and it disappeared. She let out a whoosh of air. Her shoulders didn't slump but she did sag against her elbows for a moment. It had taken a lot of energy. She had no idea how she had summoned it during the Battle. She had been so tired.

To cool down she did some more exercises with the targets. She worked with a few more glyphs before calling it a day and heading back. She saw Qrow in the front yard, sitting on a swing that was tied to the branch of a tall tree in front of the house. He looked contemplative. She went inside and cleaned off her sword before placing it in the corner again and heading to get a before dinner snack. Taiyang was in the kitchen cooking and listening to music. He nodded in greeting at her but didn't try and start a conversation.

She went into the living room and opened her Scroll more out of habit than anything else. There wasn't much to do on a Scroll with no service, so she started flipping through her photos. And immediately regretted it. Happy pictures of team RWBY and JNPR smiling and laughing. In Vale, one the grounds of Beacon, it hadn't mattered were they were. They were happy. There was even a couple from the competition and the fairgrounds. Her eyes were always drawn to Pyrrha in every picture, and she noticed usually the girl was looking at Jaune with almost admiration. Pyrrha had always seen something in Jaune the rest of them hadn't. They didn't know what had happened while Jaune and Pyrrha had been missing, or how they got separated, but after hearing the desperation in his voice when he had called her she knew something had happened. Something they went through had done something to Jaune.

Taiyang called dinner and she closed her Scroll, swiping at some rogue moisture on her skin before joining the older men at the table.

"I might have to be heading out in a couple weeks. Some work of Ozpin's might need to be done sooner than I thought." Qrow told Taiyang

"The girls will miss you."

"I won't leave until after Ruby wakes up, after that I'll have to see."

Taiyang nodded and the conversation dipped again.

Weiss cleared her throat. "If you wouldn't mind and if you had the time, do you think we could spar whenever you're free tomorrow?"

"Of course. Have to leave my nieces with some kind of protection other than this old coot." Qrow chuckled.

"Let's not forget who can beat who." Taiyang smiled at the jest.

"Please, I could take you with one hand tied behind my back."

"What, are you going to throw your flask at me?"

Weiss tried to choke down her chuckled and Qrow raised his eyebrow at her. She blushed and looked into her plate.

"You win Taiyang, for now." He pointed his spoon at his brother-in-law "But only because I'm feeling nice."

"I'm sure you'll go back to normal any time now."

Weiss hid her smile behind her napkin and Taiyang smiled at her.

"How are you liking it here, Weiss?"

"It's so peaceful. Quite the change from Atlas and Beacon, but it's nice."

"I like having my own space, and it was nice with the girls growing up." He looked out the window. "It's beautiful this time of year."

"I went out and practiced in a little glade in the woods to the west. I hope that's okay."

"Of course, unless the squirrels mind. Yang and Ruby used to go out there all the time. It's been so quiet around here lately, it's nice to have some company for a change."

"I'm sorry I imposed. I just couldn't leave everybody and when I told my Father I wouldn't come with him…well he didn't take it well." She cast her eyes down remembering his anger.

"Well, anyone who can take on Papa Schnee is alright in my book." Qrow smiled.

"I can't say I approve of what you did as a Father." Taiyang scowled at Qrow. "But I do appreciate you making sure my girls were safe as much as you could."

Weiss set down her fork, feeling nauseous. "It's not like that. If it wasn't for me-" Weiss cut off. She took a deep breath before continuing. "I helped Ruby get to the top of the tower. If I hadn't-"

"She would have found another way." Qrow cut in. "Ruby is as stubborn as they come. If you hadn't helped her, she might have gotten herself into more trouble trying to do it on her own. You can't blame yourself."

"But that's where that woman was. That's where Pyrrha was…it's where everything happened. I allowed Ruby to walk right into that."

"And because of it, that Grimm is frozen. I'm not happy what happened to Ruby but her actions are saving many lives from it." Qrow pushed his plate forward and leaned on the table. "We can't live in our regrets Weiss."

She nodded silently and Taiyang stepped in. "We aren't meaning to sound harsh. I for one am glad to have you here, and I know the girls appreciate it. It was just us three for a while."

Weiss smiled but didn't respond. Despite what they had said she couldn't help feeling a little like a burden, and she still felt guilty about helping Ruby. She shook off the feelings for the moment and helped clean up after dinner as best she could. She wasn't really accustomed to cooking or cleaning but she was trying to help out a little more. She read a book after dinner until she started yawning. She ran into Qrow in the hallway, who was standing in Ruby's open door. She debated walking away but he turned and saw her.

"I guess I should let you get to bed."

"If you want some time alone with her that's fine."

"Nah, I was just checking on her." He looked back. "Yang and Ruby both mean a lot to me."

"Is that what you were thinking about on the swing this afternoon?"

He raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed.

"I couldn't help but notice you as I was coming back to the house."

"Partially, yes. I know this goes against what I told you, but I wish I had done more to help them. I might have been able to stop this." He pulled out his flask and took a swig. The alcohol stench around him was already pretty strong and Weiss knew he had had a rough day.

"According to what we've pieced together, there wasn't much that could be done. Yang and Blake were attacked by a White Fang member, and you know what happened to Ruby."

He nodded, leaning on the door frame. "Thanks for trying to help, by the way. But there isn't much that can be done that can make this grizzled soul feel anything anymore."

"Maybe you're not trying the right things." She nodded at the flask in his hand. She had never really liked alcohol to begin with, and she knew what it could do to a person when they used it like Qrow did.

"Only thing that works." He slid it back in his coat pocket.

She bit her sharp retort back and slid past him into the room. She grabbed her night clothes and went into the bathroom to change and get ready for bed. Qrow was still slumped against the door when she came back. She went to squeeze past again but he stopped her with his voice.

"Weiss, can I ask a question of you? It's a little personal."

"I suppose." She replied slowly. His slurred speech told her he had probably finished his flask while she had been gone.

"Are you and Ruby a thing?"

She blushed to her toes. "Oh no! I mean she's my partner, but not like that!" she kicked herself mentally for her embarrassment. "No, Ruby and I were just on the same team."

He slid his eyes over to hers in an almost smolder. "It was just a question. No need to get flustered."

She huffed and tried to push past him but he didn't move. "Excuse me."

"You're excused." He smirked without moving.

She stomped her foot and crossed her arms. "May I please get by you?"

He chuckled and let her get by him. She put her battle outfit on the chair at the foot of the bed and sat down, laying her Scroll on the nightstand.