Just a heads up, finals are coming around and I might not have a lot of time to write but I will try my best. Good luck to all of you out there that are doing examinations or something! I linked her new outfit here to take you directly to the artist's Deviantart. I AM NOT THE ARTIST. This design is an AaronKTJ original. He's super cool, go check him out if you get some down time.

NOTE: Recently edited for plot holes, typos, etc.

Hitting the Road

They traveled off of the island, and hopped on a Dust plane to Mistral. Weiss was excited to travel again, but she tried to keep the gleeful shouting under control so she didn't look childish to Qrow. The other passengers were mostly Vale refuges or businessmen. She sat next to him the entire ride, trying to stay awake. She did doze off eventually, and Qrow had to shake her when they landed. They stepped into the cool air that refreshed their faces and he immediately headed off of the landing docks towards the city. He led the way downtown and up to a handsome brownstone apartment building. He knocked on the door and a woman answered.

She was very short, she was only an inch shy of being smaller than Weiss, but she hugged Qrow with all the force of a raging Ursa.

"You made it!"

"Sure did." He grunted, returning her hug.

"Come on in!" she ushered them in and closed the door, only noticing Weiss when she turned around to look at them in the light. "Who is this? She looks a little young for even you, Qrow."

Weiss huffed indignantly "I am-"

"One of my niece's friends. Weiss, meet Violet. Violet, this is Weiss. She's traveling with me to find Ruby, Taiyang's youngest daughter. Violet here is one of my old classmates."

"Not much good in battle anymore, I'm afraid, but I make do."

Weiss grit her teeth and plastered on her best fake smile, not forgetting the comment she might be Qrow's girlfriend. "It's nice to meet you. You have a lovely home."

"Thank you, dear. Come on, into the living room. I'm sure you two are hungry."

After serving them sandwiches and lemonade, with a little something extra for Qrow, she sat across from them. She had brunette hair with purple streaks that she kept back in a modest bun. She was in plain black pants and a purple top that hung off her shoulder. She looked like a cross between a Mom and a teenager, but the look worked for her. Despite the slight earlier, Weiss found herself not completely hating the girl.

"So how have things been here, Vi?"

"Not bad, but certainly not great. Everyone is so paranoid of the military now. It's refreshing not to be assaulted by those robotic monstrosities around every corner, but crime is on the rise. Break-ins are more frequent and a lot of Dust stores are being robbed."

"Dust stores?" Weiss asked her, interest piqued.

"Just the other day the Dust shop just up the road was robbed. Didn't take any cash, just Dust."

"Have you been hit?" Qrow asked.

"No, most locals have the good sense not to mess with us Hunters."

"Well, we can't thank you enough, this should only be temporary. I intend to get the information I need and move on pretty quickly."

"It's not problem, stay as long as you need. It can get a little lonely with just me around here. Feel free to use the guest bedroom. Only one bed, unfortunately, but one of you can use the couch. Bathroom is down the hall if you need it."

"You're a lifesaver, Vi." Qrow gave a smoldering smile.

"Don't you flirt with me, you big tease." She blushed despite her words. "You both sleep good now. And Weiss, I hope you find your friend."

"Thank you." She gave a genuine smile this time as the woman walked upstairs.

"Dust store robberies are how it started in Vale." Weiss said, finishing off her sandwich. "Roman Torchwick and the White Fang nearly cleaned out Vale before they started the train run."

"I know, Ozpin mentioned something about it at one point in time. Can't imagine they'd try anything like that here, though. There aren't many trains around here."

"Maybe they're planning something else."

"And maybe it's just a bunch of kids trying to take advantage of a scared country." Qrow took a swig of his spiked drink. "We shouldn't think on it too much."

"Of course we should. It could mean they are here!"

"Who? Torchwick is dead, Ruby and three other witnesses saw him eaten alive. The White Fang are scattered right now after the attack on Vale, and we don't even know if Cinder is alive."

"But they all could be right here, plotting against Mistral."

"Yeah they could, and we will cross that bridge tomorrow. For now, we need to talk about something else. While I know you're proud of your family heritage, I don't think it best to walk around with their logo on your back."

"You want me to- to change?"

"At least take the symbol off or something. While your family has done great things, it also has done some less-than-admirable ones. I think it's in our best interests."

She bit her lip in thought. "I guess I could change."

"Vi runs an ammunitions shop downtown. If you go with her tomorrow, I can give her some money to get you something new while I go and figure out our next move."

"You're just wanting to send me to daycare while you go out and gather intel."

"I can't exactly have a little girl with me when I am questions street thugs, now can I? But you do need something else. I don't want your Father finding out where we are and come beating down my plan to drag you back."

"My Father doesn't care where I am." She cast a glance out the window.

"He would care if he thinks you've moved on." He noticed the look on her face. "Just in case, okay?"

"Alright." She sighed.

"You take the bed, I'll crash here."

She nodded and stood up. "Goodnight."

She walked into the guest room. It was comfortable but a little smaller than the room on Patch. She undressed and laid down, staring at the ceiling. She felt the whirring of the Dust plane in her ears still, thrumming like a Nevermore. She thought back to the night of the tournament and the huge avian Grimm circling them. It's sharp claws piercing the force field. She shivered as she imagined those sharp appendages wrapped around one of her friends, or an innocent pedestrian. Who knew what could have happened if it had been let loose in Vale.

It took longer than usual to get to sleep, so she woke up a little groggy the next morning. She went with Violet to her store and helped her set up for the day. They had a few Hunters come in to buy extra rounds or browse the weapons. Violet didn't talk to her much and no one really paid her any attention while she fiddled on her scroll. A little before lunch Violet said she could go for a while. She walked her down to an outfitters and helped her browse.

There weren't many options but she made do with what she had. A short white dress with small red details, and white thigh-high boots. She topped it off with a jacket that gave her shoulders the familiar support and also added a touch more red. After seeing the dress was a little more revealing than she'd wanted, she chose a corset-like top that wrapped around her torso. The details were distinctly Schnee but as promised her family crest was nowhere in sight. It was definitely something she had never worn before. ( aaronktj/art/Shattered-Tomorrow-Weiss-Schnee-581806672 )

Violet whistled as she walked out of the changing rooms. "You look lovely."

Not used to the praise, a light blush ran over Weiss' cheeks but she ignored it. "It'll take some getting used to."

"You'll learn fast. A lot faster than I would in it. I never could come around to dresses. I was always scared I'd flash the whole battlefield."

"It's a combat skirt." Weiss said softly as she examined herself in the mirror.

"No, you look great. We can go pay and then you can load up with stuff from my store. I'll give you the special discount." Violet winked as she dumped the rejects on the return rack.

They paid for the goods and walked back to the store, and after addressing the small rush of customers they got at lunch hour, Weiss looked around for Dust rounds. She filled up on the usual and also added some emergency supplies. Two packets of rations and a survival kit went in the smallest pouch on her bag. It wouldn't do much unless it was a serious survival situation. Myrtenaster slipped nicely into the look on her left hip. Just before it got dark Violet closed the store and they walked back to the house.

Qrow walked in late, smelling of alcohol and victory. He nearly ran into the wall on his way in and grinned in triumph at Weiss. "Got some intel, we leave tomorrow."

"Are you drunk?"

"He's always drunk." Violet gave a sad smile and walked forward.

"That's not true." Qrow hiccupped as Violet took his arm and guided him to the guest room. "Sometimes I'm asleep."

Weiss shook her head. A few seconds later Violet walked out and shut the door. "He'll be fine in the morning."

"Do you know why he drinks so much?"

Violet sighed. "In school he was always down for a good time, you know? He was always happy, the life of his team. Him and Taiyang were very close. And we all had fun at parties and stuff, but he wasn't anywhere near this. A few years after we all graduated, Raven had disappeared." Violet walked over to the counter and placed her hands on it, facing away from Weiss. "When Summer died, it hit both of them hard. They'd already lost one teammate. Qrow took it really hard. He started drinking more and just never stopped. All hunters, all of us, have seen some awful things. Qrow probably the more than most.

"Taiyang had two girls to take care of with no Mother, so he settled down. Most people expected Qrow to follow suit, or at least teach or something. But he went out there alone. And he's been alone for a long time now."

Weiss took all this in quietly, thinking on how it must have felt.

"He's been solo on the front lines for years. He fights Grimm, people, anyone he thinks is out to get us. He's our savior but he destroys himself in the process." Violet sighed. "But enough of that. I'm headed to bed. I'll see you tomorrow. And don't worry, while he might not be the best at taking care of himself, I don't know a better Huntsman." She smiled at Weiss and headed upstairs.

Weiss walked into the guest room and looked at Qrow's sleeping form. She walked towards his feet and slipped off his boots, covering him with a blanket from the back of the couch. He stirred slightly and she looked up to see his eyes open.

"Sorry, I just thought you might want to be a little more comfortable." She blushed and stepped away.

He regarded her for a moment and squinted a little. "You look like your sister." It slipped out of his mouth like he hadn't meant to say it, then he hauled up to one of his elbows to get a better look. "You still look like a Schnee."

"I can't help who my family is."

He shrugged. "Guess you can't. I'll wake you up tomorrow. Get some sleep, because it might be the last goodnight you get for a while."

Weiss nodded and headed to the living room, both excited and nervous.