The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
Chapter 5: Beautiful Lies
…
It was close to noon when Tara climbed down, with her only bag of belongings carried on her back. Around her waist, hung loosely, were her weapons.
Amun and Ra.
Ra is a katana, its blade, meteoric iron. Its sheath, midnight black, only held by a single golden yellow cloth which intertwined with its twin. Ra is one of the rare traditional weapons as most Huntsmen and Huntresses opt for transforming weapons, dubbed as multi-type weapons.
Or it would be if Tara Twilight had not kept the fusion of weapons in her mind when she first designed them.
Amun is the main frame between the two – the one that keeps them together – and her Aura blade she normally crafted. Unlike Ra, Amun's blade was spear-point, with an intent to pierce through the thicker armour of Grimm given the right timing.
If one looked carefully at the purple-black sheath which held Amun, they would not have realized it has a single, thin blade instead of the broadsword they concluded. It has no cross guard to prevent Tara's hand from slipping to its blade by mistake. The gears in its frame were in stasis, but ready to gear when its owner chose to.
For now, there is an empty, extra sized, metal collar for Amun. The lone blade permanently fixed in the middle, while the extra space was made for an Aura blade.
Back in the present, Tara's coyote ears rang with the chattering of people and the clinking of silverware. It twisted and turned in their places, hidden under the hood. Her Faunus ears showed more emotion, and real emotions than the stoic face she wore since young.
She discreetly sent a glare to the customers and a nod to the barkeeper as she slid the room key across the table. The older man did not notice her presence as he attended to other customers that demand his attention.
XXX
"For now, I would recommend staying with Tai,"
Tara nearly spit her drink at Qrow's face with his casual starter conversation.
They were in a Bullhead heading to Patch's small airport. The estimated time of arrival is 3:03 p.m. Silence is one thing Tara took solace, except for the frustrating fact, the silence made doubt grew and festered.
"That is – if you don't mind kids," Qrow added as an afterthought, tapping his chin as leaned forward towards the Huntress opposite him. The Huntress stared back and crossed her arms.
Silence reigned once again. Qrow with his patience, only waited for her response.
Tara chuckled softly to herself. Qrow is sure an interesting uncle.
The Huntsman smirked knowingly at her.
Tara inwardly sighed before gazing anywhere but his eyes. He was too sharp. It was unnerving in a way, as if she was dancing on his palm, like a puppet.
Everything was a blur once the Bullhead touch-down their destination. The hatch opened slowly, not a single squeak reached her sharp ears. And near the gates, was a small group waiting.
As per usual, security checks – not that Tara cared – they passed the checks easily. Her attention was on the designs of the building. It was in modern style, but the difference was the intrinsic patterns on them – which puzzled the artistic side of Tara. How many years did it take? What organisms that lived in its foundation?
Qrow gently nudged her with a tug of her sleeve, bringing Tara out of her musing, before walking out and waved at the small group with a bright grin.
The damn Huntsman promptly left his luggage with her. Tara glared at the offending bag, but sucked her annoyance up. She had survived worse than this.
She thought back to her old team and smiled sadly before shaking her head and picked up the two luggages – one for herself, another for Qrow. Once she finished strapping the two weapons around her waist, she walked down, careful to keep the upper half of her face covered.
She stood back, leaving the little reunion in peace – partly out of not scaring the two children she has seen since the opening of the Bullhead hatch. It was obvious the blonde is related to the older blonde, but what about the strange girl with red highlights?
Tara's eyes were narrowed as she darted between Qrow and the strange girl, who was now swinging from his arm energetically while the Huntsman laughed. The group practically radiated happiness.
The raven-haired woman sighed. She had long tuned out their conversations for the sake of privacy. That was until someone mentioned her in a conversation.
"Who's that? Uncle Qrow, she has your bag!" yelped the girl with red cape, only for her hair to be ruffled once more.
"Your new partner," Replied Qrow seriously and it caused his niece to be horrified at the prospect. Tara raised a brow.
That isn't in the contract…
She glanced at the redhead and nodded to her.
"Ruby Rose, Tara Twilight," Qrow introduced them, despite the fact the two females were far from a hug – much less, a handshake. Ruby timidly waved 'hi' and ducked behind her uncle, mumbling something lost to the wind.
Rose?
But Tara dismissed it as a coincidence though her heart betrayed her dismissal.
Tara chose that moment to walk towards the small group, now having their attention as she approached them. The two blondes, the older with a smile, the younger with a frightened look when she saw the strange eyes of Tara.
For a brief moment, Qrow swore a flash of pain – one similar to their first meeting in the tavern – crossed her eyes, before they became cold, void of emotions.
"Yang, be polite," said Taiyang who too, noticed both the brief pain in Tara's eyes and his daughter's hesitance to greet. The blonde girl, now identified Yang, blinked her lilac eyes before forcing a smile.
"…hello," muttered Yang. "Um…" She walked up to Tara and offered her hand. Tara immediately shook it, squeezing a little before releasing the offered hand with a relieve sigh. Upon closer look, Tara noticed both girls were wearing their casual clothes – for Yang, it was yellow blouse and brown shorts-slash-skirt – and for Ruby, black blouse and pleated skirt, some strange reason wore a caped hood on her form.
"Oh, before I forget Tai. I need to discuss Tara's housing for a moment, in private," added Qrow when Ruby and Yang looked eager to follow them. Taiyang shrugged and gave the two girls a 'behave' look and followed Qrow to a distance, at least until Qrow was sure only Tara could eavesdrop.
The trio were silent, and it was awkward. Yang and Ruby stood together, holding hands – for obvious reason – and observed Tara, an enigma to them, with curiosity burning.
"Are you a Huntress?" blurted out Ruby excitedly, now positively bouncing on the balls of her feet. Her excitement is contagious as the blonde girl, grinned at Tara – and it unnerved the Huntress.
A nod.
"COOL! DO YOU GET TO SAVE PEOPLE?" Ruby now shouted the question, and half-squealing when Yang glomped the redhead.
Not really.
"Yes," Tara suddenly found her black boots interesting all of the sudden. They don't need to know the harder parts of being a Huntress.
And being a Faunus. Added the voice in her head.
"I wish my mom can meet you…" Ruby's tone was melancholic, all her excited demeanour she had moments prior, gone. It was a swift change, from one current to another.
Tara's hand hovered above Ruby's head hesitantly, a quick nod from Yang was a sign she needs.
Tara patted Ruby, trying to comfort the redhead's sorrow as best as she could. The Huntress wanted to sooth Ruby with words, but knew it was better to be silent.
If she did say anything, it would be a beautiful lie to both the girls.
Maybe just this once, a beautiful lie will help them.
Tara went on one knee and looked at Ruby, still patting the latter's head. "I will be honest. She sounds like a wonderful woman. And even if she isn't here with us physically," Tara pointed at Ruby's chest as she retracted her patting hand. "She's still in you, in your heart – watching over…your family from the sky. She will be very happy to know you girls have done well…and watch your growth from above."
The girls glanced at each other and shared a small smile. Nonetheless, it was a smile.
…
…
"Qrow," A snap of Taiyang's fingers brought Qrow back to their discussion.
Qrow scratched the back of his neck before he glanced at his two nieces.
And a potential long-lost family member.
He can't be sure yet, but the way Tara Twilight carried herself was almost as similar with his runaway-cousin in a distant past.
Slightly slouched shoulders, straight back, and the tendency to wear hoods to hide the upper half of the face. Smells like it – thought Qrow.
And if she does smirk, Qrow is confident it will look exactly like his.
A sigh escaped from Taiyang's lips as he placed a hand to his forehead. "Qrow, are you sure you want Tara with the kids? With the kids? My kids, the students." Clarified Taiyang though he had a hunch it was a baseless fear.
Well, Tara came off quite intimidating and mysterious with that strange…mood around her, it was partially saddening, and something in her posture – was uncanny to one burden with duties – or mourning.
Qrow sympathised with the father of two daughters. Taiyang must have saw himself in her.
So does Qrow.
"It will be for a few months, Tai. Besides, the girls hit up a good start," Taiyang's head snapped towards the trio of girls, following Qrow's index finger until their eyes settled at the girls who were playing a game.
"Toothpick! Your turn Rubes." Called out Yang, half-giggling.
Ruby glared at her half-sister. "King!"
"Great!" Tara quoted it in the air with her finger. It was rather impressive she manage to sound neutral.
The two men exchanged a look.
"As long as you're dealing with Tara's training, I will allow her to stay." Taiyang said with a tone of finality, arms crossed.
"We will remedy some of the conditions in later date," Qrow let out a yawn. "Is that all right, Tai?"
The reply Taiyang made was all lost to Qrow's thoughts.
Qrow Branwen has all the time in the world to peel the layers of mask Tara Twilight wore, and to find the truth of her bloodline.
And the story of her life before their meeting.
