Chapter 4: A Last Invention

Qrow the Young Hunter

"Friedrich you should play for me!" Qrow's little sister shouted grabbing her new friend by the shoulders. Her eyes reflected the young Schnee boy's hair perfectly, the child was not that much older than Summer. He seemed a bit withdrawn, his blue eyes not as bright as his brother's smiling sapphires. The older Wilhelm was amused by energetic Summer's audacity to demand much of anything from them, taking it much more affably than Qrow, whom found such familiarity with the high stations dangerous.

In such a short time Qrow had become somewhat comfortable with Wilhelm, a talent that was treacherous for a man to have. Anyone that good at making friends was not to be trusted. "Come on little brother, you should play her a song when we get back home. You were showing everyone the other day." Wilhelm said not coming to his brother's rescue, much to Friedrich's displeasure.

Qrow wanted to call the atmosphere tense, but that young Schnee found a way to make it just not. The familiarity in his tone, the way he treated everyone as a dearest friend. It had only taken a few minutes to convince Qrow of this mission. A trek out to a distant Faunus settlement, one within Schnee holdings. It was home to one of the family's many dust mines built right into the local mountains. The highest of them ended in a perch perfect for nevermores, and just as one would suppose two of the winged monstrosities had built a nest there. Wilhelm had hired Qrow to remove the newest grimm tenants, work he could very well agree with. Finding out the trip would be between the four of them, Summer, Wilhelm, and the ever sullen Friedrich was a little unnerving.

"There is no point in the piano. If I can't play better than a machine I'm wasting time." Friedrich said with a cool sort of lonely gaze. He was thin and tall for his age, skin with that unnatural Schnee pale. He dressed in purest white, with little in the way of accents on his clothing. The sullen boy was allowed along, with his military style white coat, a white sort of cape thick to keep him warm. He was a severe sort of child, and one Summer had decided would be her friend or she would die trying. With these sorts of people that was far too likely an end of the lower classes like the Roses.

"For me!" Summer voiced kicking around in her fine leather setting. Qrow winced at the comment afraid Summer's simple answer might offend their new employers. However Friedrich just frowned and shook his head where Wilhelm smiled and patted the little brother on his head. The strange car cabin they were riding in was set like a carriage with the passengers looking at one another. The inside was finely decorated in a mixture of wood, metal and leather. This was not the fine silks that Qrow would have expected from this kind of wealth, but the Schnee seemed surprisingly naturalistic in their decorations, preferring fine over extravagant. This sense of moderation was likely what propelled them to infinite wealth, among other things of course.

"You should not worry so much about what father says. You enjoy piano, you do not need to be perfect." Wilhelm said lightly to his brother, the gentler man ruffling Friedrich's hair. He pouted for sure, but the young Schnee did nothing to complain, letting his short silver hair be mussed up a little. It put Qrow at ease to watch them despite himself. The two reminded him of his own family, though the difference between Summer and Friedrich was apparent to anyone at first glance.

"Yes I do." The boy replied to his brother a little bitterly, but it did not seem to faze Wilhelm in the slightest. Instead he shrugged defeated though with smile. Qrow tried to turn away from the two, looking outside the passenger's cabin. The ride so far had been unusually stable, lacking the jerky motions he had grown to associate with cars. Outside, looking through a thin glass frame, was field's endless. Winterstown was distant from here, but the valley was very similar to the area around it though still dark, being earlier than sunrise. The elevation was increasing and with it, so did the trees. They were slowly approaching the mountains and so the early season snow seemed to start appearing in melting patches.

"Friedrich teach me how to play when we get back promise!" Summer asked, still bouncing in her seat. The little one had no fear for the two lordly people they rode with, easily tricked by Wilhelm's comforting atmosphere and Friedrich's relatable age. Qrow hadn't been lulled into forgetting his station. He was well aware that asking such things was beyond unacceptable.

"Summer I don't thi-" Qrow began, but a hand stopped him. Wilhelm had reached over grasping the red hunter's knee, giving him a wink as if to say 'leave it be'. Summer kept on the poor boy and at some point he seemed to mouth 'fine' without saying anything. His brother smiled at this, leaving the two children to play. Instead those cheerful blue eyes turned back to Qrow, making him feel uncomfortable. He disliked the attention.

"Mr. Rose I for the life of me can't remember what we were talking about. Could you do me the kindness of reminding me?" Humble for what should have been a spoiled rich kid. Years of working in the family business must have groomed him for this sort of personality.

"Just over Feudalism. You say you are not a fan of the new republic movement, yet are a critic of this war. Aren't the Lords pushing this?" Qrow answered turning back outside. Talking about politics to the social elite was dangerous. Some considered Hunters an uplifted social class, but the Feudal lords were something else. He had always heard stories of plots and conspiracy, how they dragged the little people into their schemes. Qrow wanted their money, not their politics.

"The southern lords maybe." Wilhelm Schnee hissed clicking his tongue as he spoke. Wilhelm was not one to look uncomfortable ever. It was almost funny to look suave and disgusted all at the same moment, arching into his chair and delicately placing his hand to his forehead. The lightness in his touch as he only let the tips of his fingers actually made the contact the funniest part. Born for the stage. "To speak justly I am a fan of neither the lords nor the republican opposition. The age of dust has offered us new opportunities, but both have forgotten it was the old ways that kept us safe. The common people forget the stability this system insures and the royal family forgets their purpose. This has brought war and now everyone suffers." So it was the suffering of the people that motivated Schnee opposition to the war, so be it, Qrow was a fan of fables anyway.

"I don't mean to go beyond my bounds." Qrow began only barely catching himself from saying more. Qrow tried as best he could to ignore it, but he had to admit the Republic of Vale was a much sweeter verse then the Kingdom of Vale, especially when it was that kingdom that had cost him a mother and much of his freedom.

"We're friends now Qrow, speak true."

"Shouldn't the dust allow us to move beyond the old system? I don't consider myself radical, but the grimm do not require armies to maintain." And thus the old provincial military system would die with the grimm threat.

"Exactly. Maintain. I am not content with that. We have carved a small piece of safety out for us, a bonfire we just barely started to nurse, and yet everyone forgets the darkness is still out there. Dust could allow us to break free; as the enemy sits outside the flame we can spread it, build and expand. Push back the darkness." Wilhelm spoke with a passion, hands in motion providing emphasis. This was a practiced speech, one the Schnee politician had used before to insight the gentle and common. "To do this we need structure. We need people raised at birth to wield a sword like yourselves and our knights. Others wield the pen to administer and lead like myself. Lastly, those to wield the plow and pickaxe to feed and fuel. Feudalism lets us train from the day we breathe for one purpose. That is powerful." There was still something. Something that made Qrow look out to his little sister, still playing with her new friend. What of her, didn't she deserve a better life?

"But what of the…" Qrow clicked his tongue trying to think of exactly how to phrase it. The lordly had not the cleanest reputation, but were a spiteful lot when questioned about it. "Reports of abuse?" Of his family, and the uprooted Faunus, of the poor, the unwanted, the stationlesss and those who wished to escape. Qrow did not want to see Summer becoming another huntress.

"Abuse." Wilhelm stopped to whisper, seeming to try and absorb the word, taste it and feel it. Qrow was just pleasantly surprised his employer did not fire him on the spot. "It comes from fools who were not taught that every man, woman and child of those three groups is so very necessary and equal. Fear united us, with the bonfires of dust pushing back the darkness we need to spread the light. New lands, new opportunity for everyone. Perhaps it is not the system that has failed us, but the ignorance of our chosen king and his supporters." That was radical.

"Dangerous talk." Qrow said eyeing Wilhelm, who smiled noticing. It had only occurred to him now that the Schnee businessman had been testing Qrow the entire time, feeling out his allegiances and reactions. Whatever it was seemed to please the silver haired gent. He combed his hair with his fingers and just returned a sweet smile.

"Oh my you are right. I can be passionate about this; my fiancé is currently stuck in her Castle. Faunus are causing her quite a bit of trouble so I want to see peace come soon. Hopefully we can pressure the King into a repeal." A fiancée trapped in another castle? "I mean to insight no unnecessary action against our good King Geordie." Wilhelm finished with a small friendly chuckle. Unnecessary, such a vague sort of standard.

"My my, seems we have arrived." Wilhelm whispered to himself as the whole car began to jerk to a slow stop. Qrow let out a breath he hadn't even noticed he was holding. In all the tenseness, the thought to check outside again had never crossed his mind. The daylight was bright outside, fresh on the morning. The sun had only risen in the last few minutes.

The car doors opened from outside, guardsmen of some sort, dressed in the common white uniforms, repeater rifles on their backs, the perks of Schnee wealth. Summer rushed out before Qrow had a chance, stepping on everyone's feet along the way, troublemaker she was. Qrow had half the mind to shout at her, but Wilhelm let out a laugh, finding the whole affair amusing. Watching Summer, Qrow understood why. The girl dived into the first major patch of mountain snow, the first bit of it they had seen since leaving home. Here she was making a snow angel, soaking her own clothes in icy melt.

"Miss Rose, if you could be my escort?" The older Schnee gentleman asked forming a proper loop in his arms for little Summer to cling to. Qrow's little sister kicked herself up and jumped at the chance, wrapping both her tiny arms around the elder of the Schnee brothers. Her snow covered form dampened Wilhelm's jacket, but he did not seem to notice. It wasn't formal or proper, but rather a sweet gesture to the little girl. Something not just Qrow noticed. Around them the village people, Faunus mostly, took note and looked approvingly at their lord's son. One willing to be humble, even equal with a little girl, one to come all the way to a small place like this, they couldn't help, but approve. Mr. Wilhelm Schnee loved his stage and Qrow couldn't help but wonder how much of this was another act.

Little Friedrich seemed to notice too, giving an irritable sigh as he chased after his brother. Qrow felt a mixture of positive nostalgia and discomfort in this place. Around him was a village like his own. The trees were more sparse, and mountains more plentiful, but the spirit the same and that frosty air. The kind that turned one's lungs into a tundra if they didn't let it out. That soul sapping cold, it was a true Mountain village.

The layout was much the same. Taking steady steps towards Wilhelm and the far mansion that seemed an odd, almost concentrated nucleus to the village. All around hovels made from brick and straw seemed backed together, fused likely for warmth, almost none more than one floor in height. Qrow was surprised to see most had some sort of heater attached to them despite the dilapidated outer structure, though they all seemed unique with different parts and pieces.

The street, or lack thereof, was just an icy traveled trail down the center of town, again a reminder of home, both shared a near frozen river way drifting down the incline, scenting the hair with a frosty wetness. A smith, an inn, a storage house, even a would-be farm were erected by this thin river way not three feet in width that lead up to the mansion.

His home village was off by only two major inconsistencies. His was a hunting and fur producer, but this was a tightly compacted mining town and where his was filled with old hunter families like his, this place was predominantly Faunus, with only the uniformed soldiers breaking the sea of Furry ears and gaunt faces. None of them seemed to mind the Schnee much, or bother them as Wilhelm walked up to the village mansion. Perhaps they knew it was best not to question, or were so use to them. This was not the hot bed of revolution by any standards, though the division between Humans and Faunus was apparent. They never spoke to Qrow, looking down when he bothered to check. The higher status did not give him any euphoria, only discomfort at the estranged looks.

The mansion itself was old woodwork, unpainted, but finely constructed. It was hexagonal in shape, with large porches and a center tower, maybe three levels high. This was a rather nice summer home, maybe quaint by wealthy standards, but wonderful to him. If he could raise Summer in a home like this.

"Come in, he's expecting you Master Wilhelm." A rather tall woman spoke, from behind the door, opening the front for entry. She was rather tall, almost peculiarly so, though thin, dressed in a high class ladies dress. Though scuffed up some with what looked like dust residue. Most definitely a Faunus, the fox-like orange pointed ears up ending in white tips, a similar tail plum behind her. The most interesting thing was the level of comfort at which she spoke.

"Miss Nimh!" Wilhelm said with a bow, Summer nervously stepping behind him. "I've missed your company."

"Hi, I'm Summer." The younger Rose whispered not wanting to illicit ire. Qrow could see the way she stared at this Miss Nimh, with wonder captured in her twinkling eyes. "Your tail looks fluffy."

"It is Miss Summer, I can promise that." The Fox replied with a happy grin, looking now to their most brooding member of this quartet. "Master Friedrich, I've missed you. You've grown."

"Thank you Nimh." He responded politely, the child seeming relatively unmoved.

"Oh my manners, Miss Nimh this gentlemen with us is Mr. Qrow Rose." Wilhelm said with a certain flare. "Mr. Rose has come to solve the nevermore problem."

"Right this way, Master Rose. Master Wernher is working inside." Stepping inside the house was shocking. The inside had little in the way of traditional furniture or living space. Instead tables were covered in gears and canisters, models of some sort of balloon-less airship were strung about. Other half finished weapon designs from rifles to swords strung about the room. Most of the walls had been knocked down, and from any room in the building, save the upper tower or a small annex, likely a guest room, one could look into any of the other work rooms.

Summer had always had a fascination with mechanics, she had snuck off from her school teachers and such to visit their village smith and machinist and learn what she could. At first it bothered the old village smith, but soon he was begging for her apprenticeship. Here Summer let loose, running from model to model, shouting some sort of technical nonsense. Made Wilhelm laugh, but Nimh found it not as amusing, instead she clicked her tongue in annoyance. Probably the home's groundskeeper.

"Just don't knock anything over." An old man spoke from his workbench. Qrow had barely noticed him shadowed in low lighting, hunched over some sort of mechanical mess. He was a fairly fat man, no question about that, but well built. Had he stood, Qrow imagined the man much taller than the hunter.

"Uncle, it's a pleasure to see you, I've come with Mr. Rose. to-" Wilhelm started, but the older man, Wernher, Qrow supposed, raised his hand in protest, his other stroking the old man's only visible hair, a silver beard.

"I must figure this out first. I am so close. With this design I could combine a fire shot, two separate blades and even a small pick or scythe into one single design. The automatic fire cannon must be small, smaller than most anything, effective and finished, but it is much too volatile for the market." Wernher did not bother to turn around or check anything. He instead just saved his focus to the weapon on his desk, looking over design maps and other gibberish Qrow couldn't understand.

While everyone waited in silence, Summer approached and Friedrich followed. The old man seemed not to notice and Wilhelm seemed content to let them. Soon Summer was at eye level with the desk, standing on her very tippy-toes to see the work being done. The way she looked so sparkle-eyed at it, Qrow felt very happy for his sister.

"Mister...it explodes right...the fire gets into the rest of the dust sometimes." Summer finally said, stopping the old machinist in his tracks, his blue eyes finally stopping to look at her.

"That is right. I can't find a way to contain the flame." The old Schnee replied, smiling at the little Rose, her eyes reflecting his beard. The inventor seemed not the least bit intimidating to Summer, who sat thinking with furrowed brow.

"Why not use force dust?" Friedrich was the next to speak, looking over the canisters of the mystical material. He seemed to follow Summer's lead, taking the inquiry another step forward. Qrow understood little of what device they meant, but having two children of different stations work to solve a puzzle with modern Vale's most famous inventor was a sight that would make most scoff at the very idea.

"Then how would I spark it." The uncle said with a laugh challenging the children even further.

"Put a pin on the back of the slidy thingy." Summer said with a smile, pointing to something on the paper.

"And how would I...That…" The inventor stopped in his tracks, looking down at his work and the solution of a child. Qrow had no idea what it all meant, but it was clear enough Summer had inadvertently solved the problem. The old man's hardy laugh cemented that truth. "Little miss I think you may have just done something of great importance. We have much to test." He continued spinning himself out of the chair and to the guests.

"Young man, are you this girl's….father?" Qrow's theory was right. Wernher was most certainly taller than him. The tallest of the Schnee family aside from the knight Weiss. His size in width also easily outmatched the rest of his family.

"Brother." Qrow replied in turn correcting a common mistake.

"Interesting. You are a hunter correct? After the two little bird friends of ours are we finally?" The old inventor asked stroking his silver beard.

"Yes Uncle." Wilhelm replied for Qrow, finally finding a place in the conversation. He was right about to start reaffirming terms, sliding out the previous contract, but Wernher completely ignored that, turning around back to his prototype. The nephew tried to hide it, but being ignored vexed him, clearly someone disliked not being the center of attention.

"Well you're free to use whatever I have around. They are a climb from here, ask around and I'm sure you will find a way. I'll have food for you when you're done. Right Miss Nimh?" The inventor stated waving his hands to the many models and prototypes around the room. He did not wait for Nimh to reply before continuing. "In the meantime the little one can be my assistant, good mind she had. If you don't mind miss?" Summer nodded at this, only half paying attention as she explained something instead to Friedrich, the two of them still trying to figure out the puzzle.

"Understood, what proof do you want for the kill?" Qrow replied looking forward to the hunt for the day. A long climb meant his morning was far from over.

"The bone mask please." The famed inventor replied sitting down at this desk. "A lovely addition to my collection."

Wind is perhaps the most evil sort of cold. Ice was not something Qrow was afraid of; he was born in the north, land of wolves and snow, but that wind. The thick leather vest, the woolen cloak, even fur lined boots seemed ineffectual at defending him. Each meter up the cliffside felt like another layer of ice, and it wasn't even that cold. Just the damnable wind.

Climbing along the rocky mountain path, if ever one could call it a path, Qrow reached up, his black leather shielded hand touching the exposed stone of the cliff face, jutting out of the earth, a support beam to any traveler. It was no comfort however, the wind was so chilled the stone nearly burned at the touch. Wincing, Qrow pulled himself up on it allowing his boot to push into a small opening between the moss and snow covered rock, a vertical ladder of stone.

The climb had been a long one, started with a normal crossing stair like path up the mountain, soon devolved into an angular climb. Finally all semblance of a path had been erased, the angle beginning to invert on him. Sure it had been his idea to climb up the cliffside of the mountain instead of the wedge, but that old goat herder told him it was a path, not a set of holes. The slow progression up the broken stone, moss, and tree remnants had provided Qrow with ample opportunity to review his life choices.

Still, the climb was beginning to get easy. Though the ice portion of this mountains facade was increasing, the peak of its wedge like form was coming into view. Qrow's muscles ached, burned even. The fight hadn't even started and he had destroyed his arms and legs. Despite that, seeing the edge put a reservoir of energy into his movements, and though the cold ruined his lungs, Qrow felt ablaze. The hunt was about to start. All this would pay off when he caught that nevermore nest completely off guard. Those two oversized vultures were going to pay for a thousand fires after this, and the largest meal that fat Schnee bank account could afford. Then off to Vale city, never to climb an ice covered mountain in autumn again.

Jumping, Qrow caught the ledge, muscles torn from the climb, but sturdy enough to lift his body up. Above, the wind carried with it bits of snow. The sky was grey, though the sun was fairly low on the horizon. The trail that could have been his was thick with trees, a much more pleasant angle he could not wait to go back down. Could be a leisurely woodland stroll, but that was to his left.

To his right was the nest. He popped in right next to it, the mass of branches and trees crushed into a bowl of flammable material likely hiding a fine batch of eggs. It was all ready to be cooked. First though was a slumbering threat crusted in bits of Autumn snow. The nevermore almost looked like a statue sleeping there, ignoring the bits of light that came from the low sunset. Its partner was nowhere to be found, perfect for his plan. Fighting a nevermore was not exactly what Qrow had hoped for in terms of contracts, but two at a time would warrant a much higher hazard pay than he was getting.

His plan to get the drop on it had worked. Crouching on one knee, the nevermore was still asleep, unaware of Qrow's presence. It gave him a moment to prepare, his black and red leather vest was tight, a bandolier of dust vials running across the hardened chest piece. Two weapons hung off his hips, one a double barreled hand cannon, filled with packets of fire dust, on his left a fire dust-syringe loaded crossbow meant to cook a grimm from the inside. One way or another he would roast this bird.

Spreading a little piercing dust on his main weapon, the family scythe, the blade gave off a dim grey glow, a light heat radiated a bit of balm against the high winds. Qrow was no engineer, but dust, that was something he knew. Turned a tool used mostly for farming into an unparalleled hunter's weapon. Keeping low to the ground as to make no sound, Qrow readied the scythe, hoping to lodge it into the space between the bone mask and its head, a weak fleshy spot.

Sometimes it all came down to luck, and Qrow was never the best gambler. Whether a deer or some sort of small rabbit, it did not matter. A crunch in the slopped forest snapped the nevermore to life, its eyes popping open, two of the large red ones opening right in front of Qrow.

"Shit."

Qrow rolled backwards, catching the heavy wind of the beast's roar, flapping its wings in a challenge. Flipping back onto his feet Qrow activated his semblance. The world reduced its speed, letting him think his actions out, give him the mental edge in the fight.

The nevermore bent its massive wings to fire a volley of quills at Qrow, but that extra time let the hunter turn that attack into an opening. Firing the cannon, a bolt of flame struck the wings of the beast, the burning smell a lovely one to Qrow, but that was not enough.

Tossing the cannon aside, Qrow pulled the crossbow out. The bird panicked, its wings aflame, unable to fly away it flapped to cool the fires, displaying the black breast out for him, a nice target for a bit of fire dust. Normally a projectile was meaningless against the chest of a nevermore, it would shrug off the damage, but this bolt was loaded with a syringe full of fire dust. The old Schnee said it should penetrate, here was to hoping it would.

The bolt went in, red lines of light spreading from the wound. Perhaps this would have killed it in time, but Qrow was not stupid enough to watch and find out. Spinning around, the snow kicking up as he did it, he ran, letting the icy air flood his lungs and rejuvenate him. He didn't have to see it to know the nevermore was chasing him on foot, wings burned and grounding the bastard for a time.

Qrow would never be as fast as a grim, but crows were always smarter than vultures. Pulling two vials, one of ice dust the other of fire, he smashed them together. The leather gloves protected him from the glass, but the force of the explosion almost broke his arms, or at least it felt that way. However the old trick worked. A flood of mist exploded with the dust, water based smokescreen. A giant death bird was impossible to dodge, but easy to trick.

The nevermore shot its quills into the cloud, just as expected, but Qrow had already made a sharp turn into the tree lining. For whatever reason, the monster quickly ran out of feathers to fire, perhaps a would-be slayer already tried the beast. Did it give up, absolutely not. Grimm had a blood lust to them when attacked, and so it charged into the mountain forest, shattering trees in the mist, snapping trunks from the earth.

Blind, grounded, blood boiling and entangled by shattered trees, the nevermore had lost all trail of Qrow. At least until the moment a new flame appeared, a crescent of red in a thick mist. The bird could not see Qrow, instead saw his claw, enriched with fire, its movements a rapid storm of slashes cutting up the nevermore's face. It tried destroying the flame crescent, but the blade was too fast, and the monster was blind to its origin.

Finally it was the kill, the last moment, blade still red with the fire dust flame, Qrow charged in. The nevermore's last vision was likely Qrow's form emerge from the mist just in time to swing it's blade down into its fleshy head.

One dispatched, another to go, Qrow wiped the red blood of his enemy from the woolen cloak he wore. It was a thick sticky mess removing the bone mask from a grimm of that size. The smell of it would haunt him all the way to town; hopefully they had a warm bath waiting for him. Still there was the matter of the nest.

He had enough fire dust to spare, spreading it along the giant wooden mess. Eggs were there, and so he smashed them, lest the monsters grow to be a threat once again to the town. Next he started the flame. The nest burning would keep others from moving in, and the smokey ash smell would wash away some of the stick from the nevermore as well as warm an exhausted hunter. Worn, tired and still a long way from the village, Qrow had another kill left. He would return tomorrow, restocked and ready. In a moment of madness, he decided to look out at the world's end, the wedge peak looking out into the mountain range of Vale.

Standing at that peak, Qrow tempted fate, and below he could hear it. He only had a moment to activate the semblance. Time slowed, just at the right moment, for at the peak of the world, right where the cliffs end, the slain nevermore's partner flew up black wings unfurled. 'So much for waiting'

****Hey sorry for the wait! I got caught up in a lot of nonsense and family travel! This is the first bit of heavy action I've done so far, I tried to make it feel a bit more like Qrow is a tactical hunter setting traps and planning, kind of like the witcher stories. Hope it came out well.

Also last Schnee to be shown, I promise. The number of Schnee only gets smaller from here! :D Hope everyone didn't mind some of the politicking in the beginning, thought it might be interesting to bring up the kind of Republic vs Monarchy stage of imperial Europe, but in Vale terms. All that lovely industrial world stuff. Also congrats if you figure out what basically Summer just helped invent! :P

Last bit of news I might be unable to post next week. I will be on a family vacation and I'm not sure if I even will have internet, I will try, but I literally might be unable to get on to post.

Thanks everyone and please leave a review, it helps so much!