Howdy! Well here's another one. Hope you like it.

Hurry Up and Wait

She grabbed the bag of supplies before jumping out the window as well, rolling as she hit the street. She followed the path the two men were leaving in their wake and headed East out of town. But the further she got the less of a trail there was, until she couldn't even tell if the two men were near her anymore. Dusk was about to fall and the weight of the supply bag wasn't helping as it dug into her back. She finally gave up and climbed a tree, settling in the branches. She figured with that White Fang member on the loose it was best to lay low while it was night time. She could head back to the village tomorrow and catch back up with Qrow. As she laid in the darkness, her eyes desperately trying to adjust, it seemed she heard every groan within a mile. She heard the forest animals settling down for the night and the birds singing their last songs. Instead of peaceful the sounds grated against her ears. She couldn't get the mask she's seen out of her head. His look of hatred at the sight of her left no doubt in her mind he knew who she was.

She heard a branch crack on the tree she was in and as she turned to look at it, a hand clamped on her mouth from behind. She moved to slam her elbow into the person's face but the stench of alcohol preceded even his gruff words.

"Just me, Princess."

"Yeah well, don't sneak up on people in the dark. I could have killed you."

He laughed softly like she'd told a joke. "Yeah. I lost him about a mile out. We won't be able to catch him in the dark like this."

"Is it safe for us to be out here?"

"He was looking for a clean kill, not a fight. I don't think he'll be back for a while."

"How did he find us?"

"We didn't exactly leave without a trace last time. We weren't hard to find. But enough chat. Settle down and get some sleep."

She did as she was told, swinging one leg over the branch to straddle it and lean against the trunk. The sounds didn't seem so scary now and she let the soft breeze drift her to sleep.

She woke a few hours later and Qrow was still dutifully scanning the area. She motioned she would take watch and he chuckled. "Cute, but you don't know how to keep watch."

"We went on missions, you know. I'm not a complete novice."

"Yes, you are. You haven't even finished your first year of training." he gestured into the darkness. "You cast your eyes around slowly. Avoid staring at one place for too long. Don't just look with your eyes, your other senses will tell you if there's someone nearby as well."

"Professor Oobleck told us the person on watch shouldn't stay with the group. They should find a vantage point a little distance away. So they can keep an eye on their comrades and a good view around the area."

"True, but since they're only two of us it wouldn't do a lot of good. Besides, we're already in a tree."

She conceded it was a good point and he finally settled down to take a nap. She kept watch like he'd said, slowly casting her gaze about to prevent from staring at the same spot and losing her head to daydreaming. It wasn't fun but she knew he must be tired.

Since she'd brought the supplies he said they'd just leave a little early and start on their next mission. After they ate a quick breakfast the next morning from the stores she'd bought they began heading East. Qrow said they had a long way to go so their pace was a little faster than it had been before.

He showed her a few things along the way when he got bored enough. How to walk without leaving footprints, and how to track someone without needing footprints. He would leave her and see if she could track him. She never could but she tried her hardest. About an hour later he came back and told her they needed to get a move on.

At night he showed her how to check the area for any Grimm markings, and how to make a fire with minimal smoke to cook a quick dinner. In the mornings he showed her how to erase all trace of their presence. He tested her knowledge on edible berries and water safety. She told him the canteens she had gotten purified water, but he countered that she wouldn't always have that.

After nearly a week and a half of only walking he finally said they were close. They's trekked through forests, rivers, plains, a small mountain, and half a swamp. They were now in the middle of that swamp and the humidity coated her skin like a blanket. She pushed her drooping bangs out of her face.

"So what's the mission?"

"Intelligence. See what they know."

"Is that the only missions you do?"

"I do whatever is needed of me." he sighed.

"With Professor Ozpin gone, who is giving you your orders? And how? The CCT towers are down. Scrolls are next to useless."

"That's still one of the best pieces of technology ever made, and you can hold it in the palm of your hand. Just because you can't call up your friends doesn't mean it's useless." he rolled his eyes. "Oz didn't leave me in the dark. I know our end goal. It's just a matter of filling in the blanks until he gets here."

"Are there others out here, doing what you're doing?"

"Probably not many. Few people have my...unique talents for this line of works. Speaking of which." he stood up and stretched. "This mission is solo. And not like the last one. I'm not engaging at all, just eavesdropping. I need you to stay here for a few days."

"Why can't I come with you? I didn't come along just to camp."

"Well unless you can operate in the middle of enemy territory and go completely undetected, you'll stay here."

She huffed but knew it was useless. She finished the last bite of her granola bar and put the trash in her backpack. Another key rule of going unnoticed: no trash. She currently had every single piece of trash she'd made on this trip stashed in the front pocket of her small backpack.

So the next morning Qrow dumped his duffel bag next to her and took off. She heaved his bag onto her back, then scaled higher in the tree to settle down for the day. One thing she had noticed about these grand, clandestine missions was they were inherently boring ninety percent of the time. She couldn't even practice with her Dust because it could give away her position. After the first hour of sitting around she couldn't do it anymore. She stashed their bags in a little hollow in a tree and set off to practice a few skills Qrow had been teaching her. How to move in a tree without moving any leaves or branches, and how to move between two different trees with minimal noise. She stalked a couple squirrels and was able to startle a deer but that was about it. She made sure she was constantly downwind of the White Fang encampment so they wouldn't catch her scent.

That night she pulled out a pack of food and leaned against her home base tree. A bird flitted onto the branch by her foot and gave her a curious glance. She placed a piece of meat out of her beef stew on the branch and it quickly gobbled it up. She watched it while she ate and figured it was a crow or some other large, black bird. It's feathers were black as night but when the fading rays of sunlight hit them there was a beautiful sheen of purple and blue. After it finished it's meal it fluttered it's feathers a little and scooted closer. She giggled and held out her hand. The bird nuzzled up to her finger slighty and pecked at the bag of food. She held it to the bird and watched it pick at the few dregs at the bottom. It was almost gone anyway and it was the first interesting thing to happen to her all day. After it was done it ruffled it feathers again and flew off. She stashed the trash in her bag and settled down, pulling the cloak out of Qrow's bag to stave off the coldness that was settling into the trees.

The next two days were much the same. She killed time during the day and sat in trees by night. The bird came back every night and she gave it food. She figured it couldn't hurt anything and it was a nice companion. As the sun dipped behind the trees she thought about what Ruby and the others must be doing. Winter was probably on some fancy military mission in Vale, or shoring up the defenses in Atlas. If she knew anything about Ironwood he would make sure his house was in order before he started spreading out. She just hoped Winter would be safe, and that Ruby wouldn't do anything rash while she was gone. As she drifted off to sleep wedged between two branches she felt the branch she was on shudder a little from added weight. She opened her eyes without moving and her breath caught in her throat.

A White Fang member stood crouched on the very branch she was sleeping on. One white boot was sticking out of the black cloak she was wrapped in but she dared not move it now. The Fanus' ears twitched around looking for sounds as his eyes scanned his surroundings. She didn't think she could have moved if she wanted to. Finally he seemed to be sated and leapt on to the next tree, moving through the forest.

She held her breathe until she almost passed out, then slowly started filling her lungs. She knew gasps would be one of the first things to give her away. Then, a loud crashing noise nearby made her jump out of her skin. A huge Ursa came barreling through the murky water a little way east of her and let out a loud bellow. The two White Fang members that had been on patrol were immediately on the case and pulled out their weapons to face the Grimm. She watched them carve it to shreds in no time between the blades of their swords. She made sure all of her was hidden in the black cloak while they were distracted and evened out her breathing again from the shock of the Grimm.

After it was dealt with the two Faunus carried on their routine and the forest settled back down. She had her eyes peeled for more scouts and her heart shuddered as she felt the branch tremble again. But it was just Qrow. He was looking around wildly and she moved to a crouching position. The flash of her white outfit past the black cloak made Qrow look at her, and some of the urgency in his posture melted.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing, it was an Ursa." she whispered back.

"Well, get the bags. We're done here anyways."

She did as she was told, moving to take the cloak off her shoulders and hand it back to him. He took his duffel bag but shoved her outstretched hand back at her. "Keep it, it's cold. Come on we need to move while they have their guard down."

They traveled through the trees and headed back the way they had came a few days ago. She made sure to not make any more noise than he was, and kept her eyes scanning everywhere in case a White Fang member melted out of the shadows like she'd seen Blake do so many times.

As the sun rose Qrow said they could take a short rest. She was starving and pulled out a granola bar, handing Qrow one as a second thought. They quickly ate and she dangled her legs off of the tree branch, watching the swamp water underneath her ripple in the wind. Qrow motioned it was time to go and she followed him once more. They finally left the swamp and entered a forest. Her feet practically sang out at the feeling of solid ground again. She was so glad to finally be able to build a small fire and eat some warm food for a change. But the second their soup was heated up she was forced to put it out and get rid of the evidence. Qrow climbed the tallest tree in the area and disappeared for a few minutes, before coming down and saying no one was following them.

"Did you find everything you were looking for?" she asked Qrow as they continued on their hike.

"Well, the enemy hardly gives you everything you're looking for, but I got enough. The White Fang is still a little disoriented after the Vale attack but they're getting back in order, and fast. There's a new leader on the block and he has an agenda."

"An agenda for what?" she asked, even though she was pretty sure she didn't want an answer.

"No good. We need to head to one of their larger bases North of here. They have someone who knows something."

"We need to bring them in and question them?"

"No, he isn't exactly willing. They captured him. We need to go get him."

"How long until we get there?"

"We need to hit somewhere for more supplies. If I remember right, a week this way and we run into a pretty sizeable town. We'll go from there."

She nodded and charged ahead. There wasn't much to show her this time, but she still couldn't track him very far. She would do really well and then he would just seem to vanish. At night sometimes, when he was on watch, that bird would visit her again. She figured it was following her for the food and she always managed to give it something. It was nice to have a friend to talk to. On their fourth day of leaving the swamp the bird lighted on the branch right as she had her Scroll open and staring at the clock. She set down a crust of bread she'd saved from dinner for it and it hungirly dug in. Right as the clock changed to midnight she put her Scroll away and petted it's soft head, something it had started letting her do. She guess it must have been someone pet before or maybe knew a lot of people. It pecked the last crumbs up, not paying her any attention.

"When my sister turned eighteen, she announced she was joining the military. And here I am out in the middle of nowhere with a drunk and a bird. Oh well, happy birthday to me." she sighed before wrapping herself up in the cloak and settling down to sleep. The bird lighted on her knee and cocked it's head at her, which she stroked softly. It ruffled its feathers and lightly nibbled her fingers.

"No more, sorry."

He seemed a little disgruntled at the news and let out a soft caw, one of the few reasons she knew it was a crow and not some other random bird species. She glanced around to make sure Qrow hadn't heard, but he was out of sight. She was sure he wouldn't approve of her feeding the wildlife.

"Don't give me that. You can go hunt for your food like every other bird. I won't always be here to feed you, you know."

It cawed again and shook it's feathers a little before taking off, disappearing into the darkness that blanketed it so quickly. She stared up at the stars and hummed happy birthday to herself.