Ruby made the trip up to Ozpin's office alongside her teammates.

None of them had been really surprised when they had been called into Ozpin's office in the morning. If anything, they were more surprised that it hadn't happened sooner, like when they'd gotten back from the forest the night before. Ruby could only guess that Oobleck and the other hunters had met the night before.

Even after a night of sleep she was exhausted. She woke up that morning and took a shower and found that she had bruises all over, and apparently she wasn't the only one. Her bones ached and she still had a headache from the night before.

It didn't matter though. Not when Ruby still had things to do.

They reached the elevator that would bring them up to Ozpin's office. Team JNPR was already there, gathered around in a little huddle as they talked and speculated on what was going to happen once they were in the meeting.

"Hey." Ruby greeted the four of them. The first one to react was Pyrrha, who cast a glance at her over her shoulder and smiled before she finally turned to greet them.

"Hello, Ruby." Pyrrha said, smiling.

"Hi." Ruby smiled back at her. "Have they— "

"Not yet." Pyrrha cast a glance at the elevator back over her shoulder, looking worried. "I think they might just be running late. It was a long night for all of us." She shrugged. "It's probably nothing."

"Yeah." Ruby shifted a little bit where she was standing, feeling nervous all of a sudden. "Right."

"It'll be fine." Jaune said over Pyrrha's shoulder in the hopes that they were going to be alright. He took a few steps forward, to get closer to the rest of them.

There was a noise and Ruby heard the quiet ding of an elevator opening behind them. She turned and looked into it. It was completely empty, so Ruby took a deep breath. "I guess it's gonna be cramped." She took the first steps in and watched as everyone else filed in together. She ended up with Pyrrha at her side.

"Only a little bit." Yang grumbled, hitting the button that closed the elevator doors. Within seconds, there was that little lurch that told them that they were on their way up.

"It's probably going to be a normal meeting." Ren said, sounding much calmer than anyone else was. He was leaning in against the wall in the corner, his eyes on the floor and his arms crossed over his chest. "We should be prepared for that."

"Ren is right." Blake sighed, like she hadn't managed to get so much of a moment of sleep the night before despite the fact that Ruby knew she had. "It's probably just a debriefing."

Ruby nodded along and then looked to her sister. "Do you think that dad or Qrow might be there?"

"I dunno." Yang mumbled, her eyes flicking away from Ruby and the hint of a frown tugging at her lips. Before Ruby could say anything else, the door opened and Ozpin's office was revealed to them.

Gathered there was a group of huntsmen. Some that Ruby recognized, some that she didn't. Her father and Qrow were there mumbling back and forth to each other, Ozpin was at their desk. General Ironwood and Winter were there, along with Doctor Oobleck and their other professors.

It was obvious what they were looking at. This was everyone that had been involved in the events of the last few days.

Everyone turned their heads to look at them, and Ruby felt her stomach flip. She bowed her head a little bit and walked towards the middle of the room, the same way that they'd been taught to. It felt almost like any other debriefing that she'd been to, just different because of the magnitude.

Her dad pushed off of the wall and walked over to her and Yang, giving them both some quick hugs.

Once he was done, he stepped off to the side.

From behind their desk, Ozpin got up and stood up tall. "Thank you for coming." They started. "To all of you."

They walked around to the front of their desk, seeming almost far away but ready for a proper meeting. "I figure that you all understand what you're doing here." They took a breath. "The grimm that attacked in the last few days has been disposed of. I figured this was a good opportunity for us to catch up and clear some of the air. I do hope that all of you have managed to get some rest after our night."

They stared at Ruby, too intense. "And I would like to start by thanking our students for providing aid."

Ruby was hit with an almost overwhelming urge to shrink back. Ozpin was clearly interested in something, but Ruby had a feeling that wasn't going to happen. She let her eyes flick down at the floor instead of watching Ozpin.

At her side, Weiss seemed that she was doing her best to pay attention. There was a slight nudge at Ruby's arm, which made Ruby stand up straight again.

"You all did very well." Ozpin said calmly, peeling their attention away from Ruby now. "And I must commend you. I've heard that you made a strong showing in combat against the grimm."

Ruby and the rest of her friends all mumbled their thank yous. Satisfied, Ozpin moved on. "I would also like to thank the rest of you for your assistance. We could not have protected the city of Vale without your help."

They blinked, eyes flickering over to Ironwood and then Qrow and Glynda. Like Ozpin was trying to say something to them silently. Ruby watched, seeing the expression of recognition flicker over her uncle's face.

Ozpin took a breath. "Now that all of that has been said, I would like to hear some status reports. Starting with Vale."

They stared Glynda down, and Ruby watched Winter take a step forward to place herself at the front. "We did what we could to evacuate the people of Vale to established safe zones." Glynda began to explain. "The established plans for evacuation played out without a hitch and nobody was harmed. It's a miracle."

"Excellent." Ozpin said calmly. "Would you say that there was anything in the protocols that need to be changed?"

"I wouldn't say as much as they were successful." Glynda adjusted her glasses, standing up tall. "There is nothing else that I have to report."

"Excellent." Ozpin said before looking to Qrow and Taiyang. "And with regard to the fight outside of the city— "

"We did what we could to distract it." Ruby watched as her father stepped to the front now, deciding to take the lead in a way that she wasn't used to seeing from him. "Getting it far away from Vale wasn't easy since the panic seemed to have it distracted."

"And the battle itself?"

"We did what we could." Qrow added, staring down at his hands. It was like he wanted to reach into his jacket and get his flask. Ruby remembered how weird things had been out in the forest, and how there had been things that didn't make any sense. Qrow's drinking was no secret to her and Yang. It hadn't been, not since they were young.

She just wasn't used to seeing him looking like he needed to drink in a meeting before.

Qrow shook his head, opting to slide his hands down into his pockets instead. "Between us, the students, and Bart, we were able to keep it from becoming too much of a problem." He held his head up high, locking eyes with Ozpin for the first time since the whole meeting had began. "Could have gone a lot more smoothly, but nobody was seriously hurt."

"That is something we will have to remember is a miracle." Ozpin said calmly. "Is there anything else that you would like to report?"

Qrow kept staring down at the floor, his expression far away. Taiyang set a hand on his shoulder and squeezed before casting a glance in Ruby and Yang's direction.

"No." Qrow mumbled. "That's it."

Ozpin turned their attention to Doctor Oobleck. "Is there anything that you would like to add to this account?"

"I cannot think of anything." Oobleck started. "I went to the dormitories to retrieve teams RWBY and JNPR as instructed. When I arrived the students were already prepared and appeared to be having a meeting of their own. I led them to the forest and checked on the spawning location in person. When the grimm arrived, each of the students were quick to take action."

"Would you consider their performance satisfactory?" Ozpin reached back to the desk behind them, picking up a sheet of paper and holding it up in front of their face.

They were being graded, Ruby realized as she fidgeted where she was standing.

"Yes." Oobleck said, casting a smile over in their directions instead of towards Ozpin's. "Very much so."

Ozpin put down some sort of note and turned their attention on the two groups of students that were standing in the middle of the room. "Do any of you have anything you would like to say?"

Ruby looked over at Weiss, looking for some sort of idea but only got a shrug in response. Blake seemed to be taking things the same way but Yang-

She had her head tilted down, her attention on the floor and her eyes-

Oh no.

"I have something to say." Yang said, looking up at Ozpin. The way that she walked to the front of the room was visibly angry. She kept her hands down at her sides, balled into fists. It was good that they had come unarmed, Ruby realized.

Ozpin nodded, giving permission. Ruby didn't miss that her uncle and father looked upset all of a sudden.

"Go on."

"We weren't the only ones there." Yang turned for face Taiyang. "Were we?"

Ozpin raised an eyebrow, but instead of looking to Taiyang, they looked to Qrow instead. Qrow nodded along, still frowning and looking far from happy about it. Ozpin pinched the bridge of their nose.

"Miss Xiao Long, you may stay. The rest of you are dismissed. Qrow, Taiyang-"

Ruby swallowed hard, realizing that this was some sort of family matter. There was something that she'd missed, but she didn't know what it was.

"Oz, we should keep Ruby here too." Qrow said, his eyes downturned still.

"Very well."

Weiss gave Ruby a look that she wasn't quite able to read and then turned to go, walking close to Blake on the way out along with team JNPR and the other teachers.

And just like that, it was her family and Ozpin, all in an office alone.

Once the separation was done and they were clearly alone, Ozpin nodded to Taiyang to take the lead.

"Yang, you're right." Taiyang sighed as he pushed his hair out of his face. "We weren't alone out there."

"Then why would you hide it?" Yang snapped back at him. "I know who I saw, and-" She let out a breath and balled her hands into fists more. It looked like she was about ready to punch someone. Or something. "Why are you guys hiding her?"

"Yang." Qrow cut her off, his voice too hard and his gaze not looking over towards the rest of them. "We can't just tell people that there are bandits out in the forest. It's not that simple."

"But why was she there?" Yang snarled at Qrow, stepping in too close to him like she was readying for a fight. Ruby shrank back partially, not wanting to get more involved. She wasn't even entirely sure what she was doing there. "Why was my mother-" She snarled.

"Yang." Taiyang mumbled, clearly trying to deflect the argument. "We didn't think that you would see her in all of the chaos."

"And that's supposed to make it better?"

"Wait!" Ruby cried, taking a few steps into the middle of the room. "What is even going on? I thought that we were talking about a giant monster!"

"Ruby-" Qrow muttered, and Ruby saw Ozpin get up, probably preparing to leave and give them some extra space. Ruby didn't know that she wanted for that to happen, since Ozpin was probably the only one that might have had a chance at keeping the peace. "Look, there was a lot going on out there."

Yang quieted down, just for a moment to give Qrow a chance to explain. "So?"

"So I went to the Branwen Tribe on Ozpin's orders to make sure that when it was time to fight, we would have backup. That meant getting Raven involved to make sure that fewer people might die." Qrow reached into his shirt pocket, removing his flask and moving to uncap it so he could take a drink. "She was there for work purposes, but we can't just give information about where Bandits are to all of Vale."

"But what if they attack?" Ruby asked, still feeling more than unnerved by everything that had just been said. "What about-"

"Bandits don't attack cities, they attack towns and settlements." Qrow replied. "When it comes to Vale itself, the people are better off not knowing and panicking because they're safe."

Yang took a breath. "So she's been out there in the forest, all this time?"

"No." Qrow sighed. "This is just where they're staying right now."

Ruby looked up at her father. He looked sad— much sadder than she remembered ever seeing him. She walked over to him and reached up, hoping to get something to comfort him or for him to do something in response. Instead, her father gave her nothing.

"Yang, this isn't anything personal." Qrow mumbled. "It's best to drop it."

"And what if I want to know more?" Yang snapped.

Ruby looked back over at her sister. Yang's eyes were still burning bright red in anger. She looked like she was seconds away from punching someone or starting a fight.

"Yang— "

"Then you need to learn to drop it before you get hurt!" Taiyang finally responded, snarling back at Yang for the first time in a long time. "All you're going to do if you go after her is get hurt and none of us want that."

"Then you shouldn't have insisted on lying to me." Yang looked over at Ruby, her eyes still blazing. Ruby gave her sister a look in the hopes that she might have been able to get Yang to calm down at least a little bit. It didn't look like that was going to be what was going to happen though. "Now you can't keep this a secret anymore."

"No." Qrow sighed. "We can't. But you need to figure out your priorities."

"Yang-" Ruby spoke up finally, feeling like there was something that she needed to say. She needed to do something for her sister, even if she was kind of confused herself. "Come on, you don't need to get into a fight over this— "

"I know." Yang growled. "But they don't need to keep on lying about my mother either."

"Yeah, but..." Ruby let her eyes flick away. "It doesn't sound like they were doing it to hurt you." She sniffled a little bit, feeling her eyes get hot and beginning to water. "Come on, can't you try to calm down?"

Yang stared at her, expression and gaze equally intense but not letting herself move at all. The frown was too obvious, and the anger was as well. It was something that Ruby was fairly certain she wasn't going to forget. She'd never been on the receiving end of this sort of thing from her older sister.

She'd never wanted to be either.

"You don't get it, Ruby." Yang said, voice suddenly cool in the most infuriated way possible. "I don't like that they're keeping secrets from me." Her eyes narrowed again, her gaze turning on to Qrow. "And I get the feeling there are a lot of secrets being kept. And not just about my mother."

"Not everything is your business." Qrow snapped back. "You need to realize that, kid."

"Don't call me kid."

"That's what you are." Qrow added, "So I'm going to call you what you are. You need to learn what you should and shouldn't be getting involved in. Where my sister is falls under that category."

"I just don't get why you need to hide her." Yang snarled. "Seeing as she's my mother."

"It's to keep you safe!" Taiyang interjected. "That's it. We don't want you getting tied up in her lifestyle. Going after her would only get you hurt."

"Miss Xiao Long." Ozpin spoke up for the first time, and Ruby felt it just the same as everyone else in the room. She felt like she'd been frozen in place, and Yang's reaction seemed to be the same way. Her uncle and father also went quiet, all eyes in the room glued securely to Ozpin and Ozpin alone. "You must understand— "

"I'm pretty sure that I understand what's going on perfectly well." Yang retorted, all too harshly. "Nothing that any of you say is going to change my mind. I don't like that there are secrets being kept. Not about this."

"This is a personal matter I can see." Ozpin sighed. "But you must also understand the risks associated with Bandits. If you wish to pursue this, I will not stop you but please— "

The looks that Qrow and Taiyang were giving Ozpin spoke to pure betrayal. Like neither of them could even begin to believe what was being said. For Ruby, she didn't know what she was supposed to think or feel. She was going to need to talk to Yang about this sometime, but that didn't look like it was going to be possible.

"Please what?"

"Exercise caution." Ozpin finished. "That is all."

Yang nodded and turned, ready to storm out. The door opened for her, and she stormed out, alone. Ruby stayed behind, not sure what to do. She looked back over her shoulder at Ozpin.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Miss Rose?"

"I— " Ruby started to speak up, but whatever it was that she'd wanted to say failed to come to her. She clamped her mouth shut, remembering the battle against the giant grimm. Ozpin had asked if there was anything if they wanted to report.

A headache probably wasn't on the list of things that they wanted to know.

"It's nothing."

"Very well." Ozpin sighed and looked over at Qrow. "I hope that you will do what you can-"

"Yeah." Qrow responded, bitterly. "Got it."

With that, he left the room on his own. Taiyang let out a too-heavy sigh and clapped his hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Come on, Ruby. Let's get dinner. We can talk then."

Ruby nodded and followed after him, scared and sad and worried for her older sister.

Qrow immediately slipped off to somewhere quiet and out of the way where nobody could see him. Yang was going to be a problem, and he needed to do what he could to stop her from being a bigger problem than she would have been otherwise. That meant that he needed to make a trip and offer some thanks to his sister.

And ask her to leave.

Yeah, that wasn't going to be any fun. But he figured that Raven probably wasn't going to fight him about it too much.

Qrow shifted to a bird and launched into the skies, for the first time in a while not counting the number of mile markers that passed underneath him. There were no giant grimm to watch, but there were probably smaller ones down below. Qrow was pretty sure that the local remaining huntsmen were going to be acting with a little bit more prejudice in the near future.

He flew out to the camp, and found that it was already in the process of being broken down. People milled about below, his sister in the middle of the camp with a young woman that was about Yang's age at her side, giving orders.

Qrow didn't know that this meant that it would be safe to go down. Instead of making the motion to go down himself, Qrow stood by and waited.

When night fell and Raven retreated into her tent alone, Qrow flit down and changed to himself behind it, just out of view. He took a breath and then walked forward, pulling the canvas side open.

"Raven." He greeted her. She was sitting at the tiny table in her tent, a bottle of something sitting on it along with a book, a map, and a candle.

"Qrow." She greeted him. "Join me."

The way that she went about it made it feel like she actually wanted him there. It was almost like the fact that Qrow had dropped in unexpectedly didn't matter at all.

Qrow seated himself across from her and took the drink that was offered.

"Hey." He said, looking down into the amber liquid in his cup. "I wanted to thank you for coming and helping us out with that... thing."

"I figured as much." Raven sighed. "I must say that I'm not pleased with the particular group that you'd ended up with though. I know you know stronger hunters. And ones that aren't family."

Qrow sighed. "You know I can't plan around what Oz wants." He shook his head and leaned back, bracing himself against the floor with one outstretched arm. "The kids weren't something I could have planned for."

"Yang was there."

"Yeah." Qrow mumbled. "She was." He sipped from the glass that Raven had given him, shaking his head. "She isn't happy. Kid was able to put two and two together."

"I figured." Raven drank, leaning back in the exact same way that Qrow had. "How's she doing?"

"Probably going to come after you." Qrow barked out a bitter laugh, one which he was barely able to stop. "But it looks like you're packing up anyways."

Raven shrugged. "Figured it was better to move since we prefer not to be a known factor when it comes to Ozpin. Things seem to have dried up around here anyways."

"Where are you heading?"

"Haven't decided much yet." Raven blinked. "Figured we're getting off of Sanas first. Probably not going to Solitas. Nobody wants to deal with the weather."

"Makes sense." Qrow shrugged, trying to play it off like he was actually okay or the conversation didn't matter. It was all a lie, but somehow that wasn't the thing that reached his mind as the important part of the conversation. "Nobody really wants to live up in Solitas. Not even the ones that live there."

"Anima seems nice this time of year."

"Depends where you go." Qrow mumbled, remembering his and Raven's own upbringing on the continent. They'd never gotten to be very close to the cities really, but they'd both seen more than enough. "Either way, I think that it's for the best that you do. Sooner than later, before the kid can get here."

Raven nodded along, but her gaze was far from her. It seemed like she was looking far past him, toward something else that isn't really there. It was a look that Qrow used to be used to seeing from his sister. It didn't really feel like the case anymore, since they'd been separate for so long. The last time that Qrow saw it was just after Summer had died, and right before Raven had decided to run. It was a good thing that things had changed since then. It was still a sore spot regardless.

"I know." She said, drinking again like liquor is the chaser that her soul really needs. Qrow could relate. "I intend to honor the agreement we came to." Raven mumbled into her glass, her expression tight. "When she's truly on her own, she is free to see me. Until then, I stay out of the way." Their eyes locked. "That hasn't changed"

"I know." Qrow relied, drinking what was left in his own cup. This was the sort of conversation that always threw him off too. That was one of the things that he and Raven actually managed to have in common. "Thanks for sticking with it, by the way."

"Shut up."

"I mean it." Qrow sighed. "Tai's probably in Vale answering a lot of hard questions. Cat's out of the bag for Ruby too now, so it's…"

"Ruby." Raven paused, savoring the name. The two of them had never really discussed Ruby before. It had never been necessary. "She looks like her mother."

Qrow already knew where the conversation was going to go and he really didn't like it. It was one of the things that he truly wanted to be able to protect his nieces from. It was better for them if they just thought that Summer Rose had been killed in action like every other hunter in the history of the world. Ruby didn't need to know about it either. The less she knew about the truth, the better.

"Yeah." Qrow sighed, frowning. "She does."

"Can she use them yet?"

"Not to our knowledge." Qrow leaned back, and Raven got up on the other side of the table. She gestured for him to do the same, so Qrow rose and followed her over to the little sleeping mat that she'd set up for herself. She sat down there, where it would be more comfortable to begin with and Qrow doesn't see much of a point to arguing it. He dropped down beside her. "And she hasn't mentioned anything about something... happening. I figure when it happens, we'll know."

The furrow in his sister's brow said enough on its own. "Has Ozpin started looking for ways to use them yet?"

"Not to my knowledge." He turned only slightly and eyed his sister warily. This was a conversation that the two of them have had too many times before, and it never failed to get less and less appealing every time it comes back up. The difference is that now they're talking about an honest to god kid. Summer had been an adult. Ruby didn't have that luxury. "Ruby's invested in being a huntress though. More than I think me or Tai really realize."

"She seems good at it. Talented." Raven frowned. "Like her mother."

"She is." Qrow chuckled a little bit. "Little spitfires, both of them. Ruby has a knack for strategy, don't think she realizes it yet though. Yang's strong as hell. Their two teammates aren't anything to scoff at either." He paused, remembering a conversation that he'd had with one of the aforementioned teammates. It was probably a good of a time to bring it up as any. "You ran into one of them."

"I did, didn't I?" Raven sighed, leaning back so that her back rested against one of the supports for the tent. "The black haired one."

"Blake." Qrow corrected. "The kid's name is Blake Belladonna. I've been doing what I can to help her out, and she mentioned you." He blinked. "What did you say to her?"

"Told her to go to Beacon." Raven replied. "I mean, the second time I did. The first time I don't know she noticed me."

"What do you mean the first time?" Qrow wracked his brain. He couldn't remember talking about Raven more than once where she'd been the one to bring it up. The first night that he'd met her it was possible that she might have run into Raven, but… Qrow doubted that was the case. If only because the way that Blake had come had been so weird and wrong.

Knowing what he did then, the odds of her and Raven crossing paths was too low.

Raven looked down into her cup, frowning. "She was…. Hiding. I provided a distraction. That's all. She never saw me. And if she did, I don't think she would have known it was me."

Qrow nodded, not sure that he wanted to ask more. "Thanks for getting her back to Beacon, either way." He turned his cup in his hands, frowning down at it the entire while. Sometimes he remembered exactly why he and Raven were able to stick together the way that they did. Twins, at the end of the day. That never changed.

Qrow just wished more than anything else that his sister was actually there for him, and that he was actually allowed to be there for her the same way. She deserved better than distancing herself, she deserved better than needing to pack her things up and leave as soon as possible. If Qrow had a choice she wouldn't have had to.

But this was the arrangement that had been decided on. Raven kept her distance for Yang's sake as long as she's still involved in Bandit life. That's it.

"I hope she does well. All things considered." Raven sighed. She looked up at Qrow and their eyes met. She looked so sad. So so sad. "I think it's for the best that you go."

Qrow frowned, but got up anyways. It was for the best, Qrow knew that perfectly well. The last thing that he intended to do was to hurt his sister. He needed to go home. "Sure thing." He mumbled before going over to the flap of the tent and pulling it open just a little bit. "I'll see you soon, I hope."

"Don't count on it."

Qrow took to the skies.

"Sir!" Winter called to him from outside of his office, clearly wanting to get something out into the open. James sighed and picked his head up to give her one look before shrugging so that she could come in herself.

Winter stepped in and closed the door behind her, checking to lock it.

"What is it, Schnee?" James mumbled, setting down his scroll and the paperwork that he'd had sitting in his lap. He'd been in the middle of a logistical decision, but that was something that he could put on hold for the time being. It had been merely a matter of making sure that he and Winter would be able to depart for Atlas soon and without much issue.

Winter stood up tall. "I wanted to request one last training session with my sister." She started, looking sad. "Seeing as we're preparing to leave."

James paused, giving her a searching look. "At ease." He mumbled before standing up straight. "Have you spoken to Weiss about this?"

"Not yet." Winter said sadly. "I figured that she might have wanted some space for a bit after the fight." Her blue eyes focused on a corner of his desk, and James didn't need to think hard about it to know that there was a certain level of avoidance at play in the moment. Not that he hadn't expected it. "But if it is possible, I want to see how's she's doing."

"She was involved with the fight, wasn't she?"

"She was." Winter replied. "From what Doctor Oobleck said-"

James raised an eyebrow, since he hadn't even known that Winter had decided to go talking to Oobleck in the first place. She'd probably considered him a safer choice than going to Qrow Branwen or Taiyang Xiao Long. Oobleck held himself as an academic, it only made sense. He was eccentric, but in many ways more clean cut than the rest of them were.

Winter noticed that she was being scrutinized and stood back up ramrod straight. "He said that she put in an excellent performance in the field, but that she also chose to stay close to the ground while her teammates were moving around and getting up close." Winter blinked. "I wanted to see whether or not that was something we could help her with."

"I see." James sighed. "I wouldn't be opposed, Winter. Though I can't say I'm certain what you want me to do."

"It's just a training session, sir." Winter blinked and stared down at the corner of his desk. Whatever she was looking for, he didn't know that she was going to be able to find it. "To see whether she is really… growing."

"I have faith in your sister, Winter— " James swallowed hard, not wanting to let himself think too hard about what was going on. He cared for Winter, much more than he ever should have. That didn't change anything. "I'll see what I can do on my schedule."

"That's all I was hoping for." Winter smiled softly, walking back to the door. She hesitated for a moment. "Stay in touch?"

"Of course."

With that she left, and James couldn't bring himself to look back over his shoulder and see what she was doing.