A large shape buffets into him, and in the next moment Qrow's sister is sitting by his side. The air is thick and humid, so damp you can almost choke on it. He's sweating straight through his clothes and taking a break, sitting atop a grassy knoll in the vain hope that a breeze might hit him. But the winds are still. Summer is giving way to autumn but it's not going down without a fight.
"Give me that," Raven says, stealing his flask from him and taking a sip. She winces, then sighs, and Qrow stares belligerently at her.
"Carry your own!" He snatches it back and drains it so she doesn't get any more. "You little punk."
"It's heavy to carry it in the other shape," she whines, but doesn't press the issue.
Then they're quiet.
It's been five years since they last saw each other, and neither are sure where to start.
"Ozpin's still got you doing his dirty work, I see." Raven opens up with that.
"It's a living." He casts her a sidewise glance. "Not all of us can fuck off to live in the wilds, training under waterfalls or fighting bears or whatever it is you do."
She tightens her lips, trying hard not to smile.
"So what do you need?" Qrow asks. "That's the only reason you ever come see me."
"Money," Raven says simply. Qrow grunts, lifting his hips a bit to reach his wallet. He pulls out every bill and hands it to Raven without another word. "How's the kid?"
Qrow leans towards her. "You mean your kid?"
"The only kid."
"There's two, now."
Raven's eyes widen, her lips parting for a second. Then her face falls flat again, a snarling smile making her expression ugly. "Gross, siblings are the worst. Blondie's got it rough."
"Tell me about it." He's pleasantly buzzed now, but he's dehydrated. He starts patting his chest and then his rucksack, searching for a water skin. "You know, why'd you even carry her if you were just gonna drop her off on Tai's lap?"
"I'd tell you, but you'd get mad at me."
"I'm always mad at you, just answer the question."
Raven toys with the beaded necklaces she wears, the trinkets and feathers and mementos of a life led outside the kingdom walls. She looks half-wild herself, rattling with beads and seashells, grimy and filthy and stinking of old blood. "I thought it would be nice to have an apprentice one day," she says.
Spitting up his water, Qrow starts cackling at the top of his lungs. "...Idiot!"
She punches his shoulder, hard. "Hey, it could still work. Raise her right and maybe one day I'll come back for her."
"If I raise her right, she'll sock you in the jaw before she asks for your help."
"Fair." She stands up, stretching and readying the spell to fly away. "But when she's an adult, she might crave a different power than what you can give her in your safe little walls, Qrow."
He sits back, smiling at her thinly. "That'll be her decision to make. Now piss off."
The wings erupt around them, shrill screaming magic, and two bird fly away in opposite directions.
