When you are dealing with stress, the problem may not be the stressful situation, as much as the effort to avoid that situation and the feelings it arouses. - Ted A. Grossbart
Another typical day in the dorm, and another moment of peace crushed to bits thanks to Nora. A large mass of paperwork hit the trashcan with a loud thump as she uncaringly deposited everything she didn't need. Ren shook his head with a soft smile, used to her antics. He made no attempt to retrieve the packet, adding his own to the pile in a gentler fashion.
Pyrrha watched the whole event unfold from the safety of her own paperwork that was handed down to them by the school faculty, unsurprised by the differences in the selfsame action.
"There we go. That takes care of that." Nora said happily, dusting her hands off. "We really should have just dumped everything sooner."
Ren allowed himself to measure his thoughts on the subject, fingers running through his dark locks. They had given away many of their possessions to charity, and had thrown away a great deal as well. "I'm glad we waited, just to be sure."
"Aren't you worried about having nowhere to go?" Jaune asked, capturing Pyrrha's attention as he gawked at his fellow teammates. "We're only cleared to stay in the dorms for another two weeks, then ready or not, we're booted out."
"Are you kidding?" Nora laughed. "We have everywhere to go. Sky's the limit! Ren and I don't need all that paper, it's all spelled out for us."
"Is that so?" Pyrrha asked, willingly getting swept away by Nora's exuberance.
"Yeah," she chirped with a grin. "We'd have to be blind not to see it. We'll wander from place to place, clearing the paths until we find a village to settle. Then, once we do, we'll keep clearing the area and help the other villages nearby. Well, if there are any other village nearby."
"Living someplace remote might not be a bad idea," Ren pondered aloud.
Pyrrha was intrigued by that. "It seems as though you've both put a lot of thought into this." The distraction was better than glaring daggers upon her own stack of papers. Setting them off to the side, she perched at the edge of her bed. "If I may ask, don't you think it's just a little risky to travel around aimlessly? Money is a finite resource, and travel isn't cheap."
"We're used to it. Before coming Beacon, we never stayed in one place too long," Nora said, brushing away the concern as usual. "We'll be fine just like always. Right, Ren?"
Ren nodded, already resting in a meditative stance, eyes closed and his shoulders relaxed. "There are many small villages who don't have the luxury of hiring a huntsmen. Without the protection of the city walls, and no way to train huntsmen formally, they need to depend on help from the larger villages."
Jaune had been to a few villages before, so hearing such a statement concerned him. "Isn't that a little risky without a full team?"
"For those unprepared, without a doubt." Ren said smoothly. "Nora and I are definitely prepared. We decided it would be best to protect those who cannot protect themselves."
Pyrrha could only guess about their past. Ren was never willing to speak at length, and Nora wasn't quite the blabber mouth everyone assumed her to be. Green eyes could only gaze at the young man sympathetically. Details left by the wayside, there was one sad truth among his words. Ren and Nora had no family to return to.
Thinking about that now wouldn't do her any good, but it pained her anyway, a strange sort of emptiness giving voice to her choked words. "I… I am so very sorry."
Nora cocked her head to the side. "Why?"
"I'm far more fortunate than I allow myself to realize sometimes. I've been incredibly self-absorbed in my own problems recently," Pyrrha told them. Her heart felt heavy, her words more so. "I should be ashamed of myself."
"Don't," Ren said quietly, his voice firm. "Faith and guidance come from higher powers. It's not something we have the agency to decide. What happened was meant to happen, and we have our path laid before us now. There's no reason to feel sorry for that."
"Ren and I came from a weak village." Nora told them, knowing Ren tried to distance himself from his past the best that he could. She decided to speak candidly, even if only slightly. "If there had been a team of trained huntsmen in our village, maybe things would be different. So, that's the difference we want to make. It's the whole reason we came to Beacon." She launched herself on her bed, bouncing on it before flopping down. "What about you guys, what are you going to do?"
"I'll probably join up with my family." Jaune offered happily. "I have several cousins who patrol the border for a living. The way I see it, once I graduate Beacon, they'll want to take me along. I can keep close to my sisters and do what I want for a living. Best of both worlds."
"That does seem as if it would be fun." Pyrrha said with a smile, inwardly cringing when all eyes, Ren's included, landed on her. "Um, yes?"
It was Jaune who spoke. "You haven't told us anything yet. What are your plans?"
From his mouth the question was painful to hear. Pyrrha hated the sound of it. Hopeful, conversational, and so completely naïve. It was as if he expected her to have everything in perfect working order. Once again, her status somehow promised what her ego could not.
She didn't want to disappoint him, but she hadn't a clue about what to do yet. "I wish I had some sort of plan to tell you about."
"You could always come with me. My parents think you're awesome, and you get along well with my sisters," Jaune said. "My cousins think you're pretty badass too, so I know they'd want you in on a team. We could just keep partnering up together like always."
It was a small smile that she offered. Genuine, but weak. "That's very nice of you to offer, but I'm afraid I'd just be an imposition."
"No way, they wouldn't even think twice about it. They love having you guys around. All of you."
Jaune didn't realize that his very statement was the entire problem. Clearing her throat, she tried her best to explain as gently as she could.
"Jaune, your family has been very hospitable to all of us. They send letters and packages all the time. Your sisters invite us for outings. Your parents invite the whole team over during the holidays. Honestly, I've never felt so comfortable among another household in my life. However, I do not want to take advantage of that kindness. Besides, I have my own family to return to."
"You know, partner, sounds kind of like you're hesitating about that."
"I am."
Nora flipped over, eyeing Pyrrha upside down. "Why?"
"It pains me to say this, but, on the one hand, I have my own home to return to. On the other hand, if I don't accept the headmaster's offer, I'm throwing away the opportunity of a lifetime." She pushed her long red hair that flowed freely from its signature ponytail behind her ear, an action born from nervousness. "I'm still unsure of what would be best."
Nora seemed thoughtful. Kicking her feet, she rolled the idea around in her mind. "Opportunity of a lifetime or not, if you don't want to do it, it's pointless. You need to find the one thing you want, and you've got to go for it. If it takes a little bit of time to figure that out, so what? As long as it makes you happy."
"Ya know, she's not wrong." Jaune said, reclining back on his bed.
"Yes, I know, but I'm still conflicted. I think I'll go to the gym and run for a bit. I think I could really use the time to clear my head." She excused herself from the room as quickly as decorum would allow, promising them that she would meet up with the team for dinner, just like always.
Gym bag in hand, she made her way to the lower floors and into the women's lockers. The clinking of metal doors and sounds of hot running water filled her ears while she changed. It was just as loud in the gym. Televisions and radios turning into muffled racket as she passed by.
Ruby Rose was jogging at one of the machines. A box of cookies balanced on the small ledge that was normally afforded for water bottles and music players. The girl could go like that for miles, even while munching on cookies all the while.
Pyrrha didn't bother to mention that food wasn't allowed in the gym. Instead, she started up the treadmill. Draping a towel across her neck as she got to work, they ran in companionable silence. It wasn't long before others entered as well in groups of two and four. They were underclassmen, she could tell due to their routines. Probably first year students. They were playful still, lacking the slowly hardening edge of seriousness that everyone at Beacon seemed to undergo.
She remembered a time when weight training was filled with snarky remarks and giggles. Yang and Nora came up with new challenges of endurance. Back then, Jaune's only equal in weight lifting was Ruby. They struggled to keep up. Getting Ruby to train without her scythe was a herculean effort in and of itself.
Activities were innocent thing back then. Calorie burns dashed to bits with the promise of greasy pizza and guzzling soda in the aftermath. Though Pyrrha never partook of the silliness firsthand, she had always spectated with a smile on her face.
Such moments were taken for granted, she missed them now more than ever.
Flowers were a spectacle for anyone born and raised in Atlas. Seeing the carefully planned color schemes never failed to interest a women like Winter Schnee. Part of the problem was that the northern climate didn't offer much in the way of greenery. The other problem was that the military was a particularly sterile environment.
When she traveled, she was taken aback by the changes forced by the seasons.
Beacon was her favorite place to visit. The gardens were magnificently tended, and Weiss was always willing to take a long stroll. Winter tended to travel to Beacon often, but this would be her last visit that was purely for recreational purposes.
Her dear little sister wasn't quite so little anymore. She was no longer the gangly and slender twig of a girl. Weiss didn't seem quite as delicate now, either. It was as though Beacon had forged a true warrior out of her. She would never be as disciplined as a graduate from Atlas Academy would be, but Winter considered that a small blessing.
There was one tiny issue though, and it was something that had been niggling at Winter for years now. Addressing the matter, however, was no small task.
"I just don't think you're fit to run the company. That is by no means a slight upon your intellect or your skill. It's merely the way I feel you are as a person." Winter told Weiss honestly.
"If it's not a slight, what is it then?"
"Circumstance, dear sister, little more."
Weiss only gave a small laugh. "Some might call that a cop-out."
"As if I'm such a coward." Winter shot back, a playful slap upon her sister's forearm punctuating the reply. "Some people are more suited to a task than others. While I'm sure you could conform to the needs of the company, I doubt the company could conform to you…"
"You've been digging around again, haven't you?"
"Do you blame me?"
Weiss glared at her sister for a moment before sighing. "No, I don't. Actually quite the opposite. I know you could be right."
"There are plenty of avenues to consider, and redeeming the Schnee family name comes in many forms. The Schnee Dust Company isn't the only way to go about that."
"It may not be the only way, but, it's right way to do things."
"It may be impossible." Winter said, her voice tinged with sternness, though her eyes laced with care. A contradiction afforded only to those Winter truly cared for. "I'd advise you again to consider joining in the military. Ironwood and I have uses for hunters such as yourself."
"This again, Winter? You know how I feel about the military."
"With our bloodline and a little bit of effort, you'd quickly rise the ranks. Your achievements in few years might suit your goals more quickly."
"Not efficiently though, and that's the problem." Weiss said. "Besides, the military was your passion project and workhorse, not mine."
"Politics was my ultimate goal, but, things change." Winter began, stopping only to offer Weiss a sideways glance. "I could have removed Ironwood from his role if I wanted to, but, I chose to follow his lead instead. He deals well with Father's unpleasantness, not to mention the political powers that be. At his side, I become fluent in the backhanded way our government runs. Communism at its most corrupt, Weiss, and not in the ways one might expect."
"The only thing wrong with Communism is that it's incredibly unstable in the wrong hands. In the right ones, it's proven to be a functional and effective way to run a government. It's the ideals of those in charge that I question, not the system itself."
"The greater council that overlooks Remnant agrees with that same sentiment, Weiss. They firmly believe in it. The problem is, the people like our father are the ones to hold that power. No changes will be made, and no good can come from such bigoted ways of thinking."
"Obviously…"
"To you, perhaps, but not to the public." Winter pointed out. "Government, in any capacity, should be a tool to ensure safety and prosperity for everyone. It should never be engineered towards thoughts of personal supremacy."
"Which is why I intend to overtake the company." Weiss replied. "If it's in my hands, I can begin to make proper changes."
"No one will follow you." Winter murmured.
Weiss laughed at that. "I know, but that's not my concern."
"It should be, though, should it not?"
Weiss shrugged, speaking candidly of her personal selfishness. "I never intended to take the world on my shoulders. The only thing I care about is changing our company. From there, I can only hope that others do the same. I never assumed it would be easy. Like you said, it may even be impossible. If I don't try, I will never be satisfied."
"Father will choose Whitley," Winter said softly. "He's a male, and follows the man around like a duckling. He's the baby of the family also, and he's been coddled as a result. Father has always favored him."
"Father favored you," Weiss reminded her. "You were poised for the company, Winter. Why did you reject your inheritance?"
"I'm a woman, simple as that. The heir in blood and name only." Winter chuckled then. "You must remember, Weiss, our parents were exceptionally young when they had me. They were still teenagers, married by force. Our mother's only role as a woman was to bear offspring. I stood as a viable heir for so long because I'm far older than you. Once Whitley was born, I knew even if I did agree to take my place at the helm of the company, it would only be a matter of time. Unless I bowed to conformity and began to produce children myself, you or Whitley would easily be chosen over me in the long run."
"So you chose the military instead."
"Independence away from the household. Joining the military was the only way at the time," Winter corrected. "How was I to know you'd grow to be such a bullheaded and equally independent woman?"
"I refuse to be some sort of mindless baby maker, I'll give you that." Weiss frowned, the gears in her head turning visibly. "If that somehow keeps me from taking over the company, so be it. More importantly, I'm worried about Whitley. He doesn't have a clue what he's getting himself into, does he?"
"He's a charming young man with money, and he's not an eyesore. I don't want to just blame everything on male privilege, but, he is abusing a great deal of his power unknowingly, and he's too young to understand the full weight of those ramifications yet."
"What do you mean?"
"Father's hoping for an accident. Boys will be boys in Atlas. Meanwhile, if a well-to-do young woman spreads her legs, she's the one in the wrong."
Weiss rolled her eyes as she stomped a few paces ahead, and then turned on her heel to face her elder sister. "Whitley should know that."
"I'm sure he does." Winter agreed. "If an accident does occur, and sooner or later it will, the scrutiny will fall to the unfortunate woman who will ultimately bear the child. If her family refuses an arranged marriage at that point, well, the ensuing custody battle would easily be won by brute force alone."
Weiss felt her skin crawl. It was an absolutely disgusting thought. "Either way, knowing our lawyers, the outcome would be clear…"
"Whitley would win. Of course, Father will have his hand in raising the child, since Whitley is still so young himself…and you do see where I'm going with this, correct?"
"I do, and I'm appalled." Weiss said with a shake of her head. "Whitley can be short sighted sometimes. He's not a chauvinistic pig. Competitive, surely, and obviously thinking with his lower extremities, but I have never known him to treat women as sexual objects for personal gain."
"What do you intend to do, Weiss?"
"I…" Weiss rubbed at her eyes. "Frankly, I don't know yet. Before all of this, I truly thought he might be gay."
"Not everyone shares your attraction to the same gender," Winter pointed out gently.
"I didn't want to rule out the possibility." Weiss said almost aimlessly, unsure of how to phrase her thoughts on the topic. "Given his usual disposition, I could never be sure. He is a very effeminate sort of person."
Winter nodded but stayed silent, digesting the small truth for what it was.
They continued down the path to a nearby pavilion where they both took a seat. Waiting for them was hot tea and lunch provided for them by the faculty of the school. A handwritten letter signed by Ozpin himself completed the setting.
Winter set the apology note aside, and instead took a sip of her tea, trying ever so carefully to measure her words. "I'm glad he isn't gay."
Weiss looked up from the table. Pain buried beneath a cool exterior.
"I didn't mean that as an admonishment. I worry about you" Winter said, folding her hands atop the table. "Homosexuality in any respect isn't very well received in Atlas, and while I'm happy you've found yourself, you need to be careful. Being vocal at all about your inclination just isn't safe."
Weiss didn't need the warning. She already knew that, but she accepted that Winter worried about her. At least her sister cared about her. That's what mattered. "My goals are strictly business related. I don't have the time or sanity required to focus on anything else outside of that. Whitley needs our protection now more than ever, gay or not."
"I'm surprised you haven't decided to let him learn things the hard way," Winter observed with a tiny smile.
"That's your methodology, and I'm thankful that you are such a person," Weiss said after a few moments of just watching the soft wind go by, jostling the flowers as it went. "I know you don't think much of Yang. I certainly understand why your mindsets clash so vehemently. That being said, she's taught me many things about being an older sibling."
Winter lifted an eyebrow. "Such as?"
"Sometimes they need you to be the pushy older sister. In order to do the right thing, sometimes you don't have a choice. Whitley is our baby brother, not our best friend. Even if it makes him unbelievably angry, I have to do what I can to help him."
Winter nodded. "I agree, and I'll do everything in my power to help him as well. Just remember, he's his own person too. If he chooses not to listen, there won't be a whole lot you can do."
Weiss could only sigh as Winter began to dish out their lunches onto paper plates. What if Whitley didn't want help? What if he didn't listen? That was exactly what she was worried about, and she had no idea how to fix any of it.
Ruby had been told that she could simply graduate and go back home. She considered doing just that, idling for just a little while.
Yang planned to do it, and she had no qualms about it. The blonde was already pulling out the dusty maps that highlighted the misadventures of STRQ. It was curiosity brought on by the absence of Raven, and Yang's desire to know more about her. It was also Yang's thirst for adventure, clawing at her to be set free without restrictions holding her back.
Ruby appreciated and idolized her big sister, but, as a younger sibling she agonized too.
For the first time in her life she would be choosing, with great trepidation, not to follow Yang's shadow. She felt like lost duckling, quivering when left alone too long. Out of worry, she thought about Patch and the comforts of being home.
Her dad came to mind. He was an easygoing sort of guy. He wasn't always there when she needed him, but he was full of words to live by. She was thankful for a lot of them, and they played in her mind almost daily. The little statements grounded her, and helped chase away the anxiety.
Ruby mumbled them to herself. "Don't get worked up, but work up a sweat. Let go of anger. Don't dwell on regret."
She repeated it over, and over, and over again. Pacing back and forth as she tried to come to terms with what she had just done. It felt so final. In fact, considering that she had signed a contract, her name slathered across the page in bold black ink, it was final.
Ruby had done it. She had just promised Ozpin she would undertake one of the open positions offered to her at Beacon, and it terrified her.
Before she could collect herself any further, Yang barged into the dorm room holding a piece of Ember Celica on her hands. "Hey sis can you help me out? Celica jammed on itself, and I can't seem to get it extend into combat form."
"Again?" Ruby asked, already reaching for her tool kit. "You really need to stop using so much dust with your gunpowder."
"You say that, but the blast is frickin' glorious," Yang replied, though she knew her sister was right.
"Yeah, until it blows you sky high," Ruby said, wedging the crumpled shell casing out from the gauntlet with a pair of needle nose pliers. "You know, you're going to have to start using a little restraint."
Yang uplifted a single blonde eyebrow, her smile falling into a thin line. Concern skittering across her expression before she was able to school it properly. "What do you mean, Ruby?"
"You're too rough on your weapon, Yang." Ruby said with a shake of her head. "You punch too hard, fire off bullets at point blank range, and press back against the recoil. She might be a glorified boxing glove, but she's still a gun too. You're a lot stronger than you were before, and that doesn't help either. It might be time to think about upgrades."
"Yeah…" Yang conceded, she had been thinking about it for a while. "I might do that once we get home. Get some parts from that guy up on the hill and modify her."
"Um, about that, I don't think I'll be going home for good," Ruby began. "Just a visit."
The blonde hopped up and took a seat on Ruby's bed. "Did you finally go talk to the headmaster?"
Ruby nodded. "He told me to just call him Ozpin. I need to get used to that. We got to talking, and he says that missions are usually long and dangerous. I'll be benched for a little while so I can settle back in at home. I need to buy some gear that he says I'll need. After that, it'll be a lot of moving around."
"The long and dangerous thing isn't exactly a shock, we should already know that," Yang said nonchalantly. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't just a little worried about it, but I think that's normal for everyone right now. You're awesome at this, Ruby, and you're going to make a good huntress."
"I'm going to be alone though, I think. I've trained in a team environment for so long, it's going to be weird getting used to being on my own again."
"It's freaking you out a little, isn't it?"
"Kind of?" Ruby returned in question, twisting part of her cape in her fingers, Celica forgotten on her lap. "Uncle Qrow trained me to be a solitary fighter because scythe users normally fight that way. We can hurt people around us if we aren't careful. I know I can handle myself, but, when you have a routine as a team like we do…"
"Yeah, Ruby, I know," Yang said with a soft laugh, ruffling the short strands of brown and red hair atop Ruby's head. "Being on your own is going to suck, but that's what scrolls are for, right? You'll probably get one with way better reception than the ones we have."
"You think?" Ruby asked hopefully.
"Eh, if you don't, I'll buy you one before you go," Yang promised with a smile, slinging her arm around her sister in sideways hug. "You'll just have to call whenever you set up camp. Remind yourself that we're waiting for you back at home."
Ruby nodded, looking down at the floor for a little while, tracing lines in the carpet with her eyes. "You aren't sure about what you're doing yet, are you?"
"Nope," Yang said, popping the end of the word between her lips. "I might take a few missions along the border, ask around about my mom again. Nothing too deep or anything. Just put my ear to the ground and see what I find. My original plan was to take each day as it comes, and I still think that's how I'll handle things at first."
"Why am I not surprised?" Ruby rhetorically murmured, going back to maintaining Yang's precious weapon.
They sat like that in companionable silence, working on the small mechanical parts that made Ember Celica function as a proper weapon. Ruby was going to miss working on it with her sister, her love of machines and weaponry had given them this shared hobby. She knew many people wouldn't understand why they did it together. Yang could easily do the work herself.
...But then again, other people didn't need to understand. That's what made the shared task so wonderful. Ruby knew moments like these were the ones she would miss the most.
An abrupt knock on the door pulled the sisters from their thoughts. "I'll get it," Ruby said, putting the idle thought away for now. The sight on the other side of the door was far more concerning.
"I believe that this is yours," Glynda Goodwitch stated as she floated a very inebriated Qrow Branwen into the room and entering as well before closing the door behind her.
"Uncle Qrow…" Ruby chastised with clenched teeth, a palm coming up to her face to hide her embarrassment. "He didn't break anything, did he?"
"Bet he did." Yang grinned, smacking her uncle's cheek a few times none too gently to wake him from his stupor. He groaned in reply, bending himself over the bucket incase he puked. "What's the carnage this time?"
"I don't have time to detail his antics to great length," Glynda said, though she eyed the dark haired man with equal amounts fondness and disgust. "Whenever Winter Schnee arrives on campus, I make it a point to keep Qrow as far away as humanly possible. However, I didn't plan on the surprise visit this afternoon, and your uncle was left to his own devices. I'll let you conjure up your own conclusion as to how much damage he caused."
While Yang was too busy laughing, Ruby tried her best not to get upset. "Sorry professor, we'll try to keep an eye on him."
"I'd suggest that you do." Glynda nodded. "Furthermore, I assume he has a concussion. I'm not quite sure how he managed it, but he smacked himself in the head with his weapon."
"Believe it or not, that's easier to do than you'd think," Ruby said, as Yang checked his pupils to see if they would respond correctly to light. "Thanks for bringing him to us, we'll take it from here."
"See that you do, I'd hate to have to pry any more rubble off of him," Glynda said. "Please be sure to remind him that Ozpin is still waiting for his report…and that I would implore him to be sober while he delivers it. Oh, and Ruby?"
"Yes?"
"Although you haven't graduated just yet, you've already filed the paperwork to be stationed under Ozpin's command. Officially, we're equals now. You can simply call me Glynda."
Ruby smiled shyly, scratching the back of her head. "Sorry, it takes some getting used to…"
Glynda simply nodded, her eyes flicking over to Qrow. She disregarded him a moment later, looking back towards Ruby. "You will get used to it, though, we all do. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some unexpected repairs to do around the school."
Yang turned to Ruby after Glynda had departed the room. "I'm going to grab him something from the cafeteria. Do you want anything?"
"No, I'm not very hungry," Ruby murmured with a frown. "Take your time though."
Once Ruby was alone with the man in the corner, she studied him carefully. The sisters were used to his drunken antics by now. In fact, Ruby expected it regularly. Yang took the matter in stride. Ruby did the same when she was younger, but the older she got, the harder it was to laugh along with her sister.
She scrutinized the lump on his head, and the way he struggled to heal it. With a sigh, she forced his hands away so that she could start healing it herself.
"This is getting to be ridiculous," she said to him, more confused and disappointed than ever. How could such a great man of legend be reduced to a crumpled heap on the floor? "You have got to get a better handle on your drinking. It's getting out of control."
"Preachin' to the choir, kid," Qrow half growled, half slurred. "I know when I bite off more than I can chew."
"Then why do you keep doing it?"
"Dunno how to stop," he groused, lifting his gaze to meet hers. "Uh-oh, what'd I do now?"
Ruby shook her head. "If you can't figure that out, that's your own fault. I'm not going to explain it to you every single time."
"Speakin' of explaining things, just what in the hell were you thinking, signin' your life away to Ozpin?" Qrow asked then. "And when were you going to tell me about it?"
"I filled out the paperwork just a little while ago. I didn't have a chance to tell you. I thought about it a long time, but being a huntress is what I want, and there's no greater honor than working under the headmaster directly."
"That asshole tell you that himself? Figures he'd try and play you like a puppet…bastard has no morals sometimes. You're smarter than this kiddo, go up there and tell him you want out. If he won't cancel the contract, I'll go up there and deal with it myself."
"You don't have to get so angry about it." Ruby wet a washcloth with cold water from the bathroom, plopping it atop the man's head for his aching skull. In her outrage, she wasn't gentle in doing so. "I'm electing to work for Ozpin by choice. I want to do it. He didn't force me."
"That stubborn asshole knows what he's doing wrong. He just doesn't care."
"Pot meet kettle," Ruby shot back. "Don't insult people so much. You don't have any room to do that when you're sitting on my floor hunched over from drinking too much."
"I beg to differ."
Ruby gave him a deadpanned stare. "Drunkle Qrow the man ho...enough said."
Qrow rolled his eyes. "You can't hold that over my head forever."
Ruby began to pace, stopping once her thoughts could no longer keep up with her feet. "I don't need to. You do it to yourself. Do you realize all of the crazy things I've heard? The snickering that goes on whenever you visit? Professor Port can't even keep a straight face in front of you, and you make it worse because of all of the trouble you cause Winter. There's always a new story about you somewhere, and the worst part is, normally it's true."
"That fight out there," Qrow began with a wag of his finger, "was not a dispute I started. Go get pissy at Winter, not me."
"Well, even if you didn't start it, you certainly ended it. I hope the concussion was worth it, because now other people are cleaning up the mess. By tomorrow everyone is going to be blaming you."
"Yeah, me, Ruby. It's not on you."
"People talk, and then I have to answer awkward questions for the next week. If it's that bad now, what's going to happen when I graduate? Am I going to walk into Ozpin's office once day to find you bent over his trash can like this? Is that a thing I'm going to have to worry about?"
Qrow shrugged. "Maybe, not going to lie. It's happened before."
"What do you expect me to do, laugh it off like I did when I was three?" Ruby asked him heatedly, an edge of anger in her voice. "It's not funny anymore. Watching you rip up the campus and drink yourself blind scares me. If this keeps up, one day it'll go too far…if it already isn't too far. Sometimes I can't tell."
"Damn it, you back-talk me worse than your mother ever did." Qrow yanked the white cloth away, squinting in the light of the room. "It's an addiction kiddo, I don't make excuses, I just do it."
"Well maybe she should have yelled at you more," Ruby told him. "You're supposed to be a skilled hunter that everyone takes pride in, but no. You're not. You get so drunk you smash yourself in the head with your own weapon. Enough is enough."
"You take that job, you'll know exactly why I drink."
"No, I won't, because I don't even like drinking."
Qrow shook his head at that. "It'll be something else then. Why can't you be more like your sister? Be happy you're making it out of this academy with a diploma to show for it? There's all kinds of jobs out there, you don't have to work for Oz."
"Why can't you be happy that I'm living the life I want to live? I'm getting the dream I've always wanted."
"Your dream is a goddamn nightmare, Ruby. You don't understand that. There are other forces at play here. Things you don't understand, because your dick of a headmaster won't tell you the truth, not even if you ask."
"Then why don't you tell me?"
"Because I decided to become one of his lackeys. By law, there are some thing I just can't say. Missions are confidential, and unless you're read into them, I can't tell you anything. For your safety there are things he shouldn't say, but if you knew what I knew…you'd run like hell."
"No, I wouldn't. I don't get scared off that easily."
"Your mom's dead because of this bullshit, Ruby. Just keep that in mind."
"Mom died because she accepted a dangerous mission. She chose to do it, and it ended badly. It sucks that it did, but that's not anyone's fault. I'm choosing to work for Ozpin because I want to understand what her life was like. She had a life outside of Patch, and I want that connection to her. I want to see life the way she did."
"See, you say that, but you're talking out of your ass, kiddo, trust me."
"Right, you're drunk. It's hard to reason with drunk people. It's not worth the fight right now…" Ruby said aloud, more to calm herself down, rather than to pick a fight with her uncle. She grabbed her weapon and began to dismantle it for proper cleaning.
"Ruby…"
She looked up from her work, giving him a harsh glare, biting off two infuriated words. "Not. Now." She couldn't bear to look at him like this and averted her gaze soon after. Her next set of word were gentler. Weakly spoken into the air. "Sober up first…"
Blake climbed the stairs to one of the conference rooms on Beacon's main floor. It wasn't uncommon for her to be called up there considering how many job applications she filled out. When she received the summons from the headmaster, he told her that she had a guest waiting for her on campus.
She assumed it was another employer waiting for her on the other side of the door. Smoothing out out her combat attire, and making sure her bow wasn't lopsided, she cleared her throat and grasped the handle of the door with clammy hands, cursing her nervousness.
The woman on the other end of the table surprised her.
Blake hardly believed it. All visitors to Beacon needed to wear a nametag, that the woman's name was clear as day. Kali Belladonna.
"Mom?" The word itself seemed almost alien to her as it clawed against her throat awkwardly.
"It's been a long time, Blake." The woman said, standing slowly from the plush leather seat. "You've grown…"
Blake wanted to chide the woman, pointing out that it was expected after so many years of being away. Unfortunately, it wasn't so easy to yell at her mother face-to-face. The insults and slander she spat out as a young teenger were easier when she didn't have to look at the woman.
"How did you find me?" It was as good a question as any.
"Ozpin called us the day you enrolled into Beacon."
"Excuse me?"
"You were seventeen, he couldn't allow you into the academy without our permission. You were a minor at the time. He makes cases for orphans and emancipated minors, but you were neither of those, and given your history, he had to inform us the moment you chose to enter into his school."
"Nice of him to rat me out…"
"That wasn't his intention."
Blake said nothing to this, slamming the door behind her and locking it. She crossed her arms, already on the defensive. She didn't know what to expect from this meeting, but she hated surprises, and this definitely counted as being blindsided. "I don't believe you."
"You lied to protect yourself, and he understood that."
"Apparently he didn't understand enough, and why did he lie about not knowing me?"
"He tried talking to you, or so he says, and you weren't keen to talk back. He felt like it would be best if he played along. However, as a courtesy to your father and I, he called us to let us know you were alive and well."
"And you didn't think to come to Beacon then?"
Kali sighed. She expected this kind of confrontation from her daughter, but there wasn't much she could say in the face of it. Faunus aged differently from humans, matured sooner in many ways, and were stunted in several others. It made the divide obvious as children, and young teenagers especially felt the burdens of their heritage.
Blake distanced herself from her family by choice, trying to fit into a human world, and to be the same as them. When Kali had first heard that Blake was covering up her ears, she wasn't surprised, she was hurt. Seeing the truth for herself was all the more painful to bear.
"Given the circumstances at the time, he thought you might feel betrayed. Even though you were able to fend for yourself, we felt it would be best if adults still looked after you. As much as we wanted to visit, we were afraid you'd run again. Entrusting you to Ozpin seemed to be what you wanted."
"I didn't ask for you to come here. I didn't want that."
"Blake…please…it's been too long as it is. Don't turn me away."
Blake let out a heavy sigh, ears pressing flat against her head. It wilted her bow in the process. "What do you want?"
"To see you," Kali said.
"I really wish I could believe that."
Kali ever so slowly rounded the large curricular table. "Blake?"
For human ears, the whine at the back of Blake's throat wouldn't be audible. A cat Faunus like Kali understood it perfectly as a cry of anguish. Blake's words were broken, uneven, and forced between harsh breaths of air. "Why don't you hate me?"
"There isn't enough time in a day to explain why not," Kali began, "but the start and the end of it is that you're my daughter. I love you too much to hate you. I've come here to bring you home."
"I am home!" Blake protested. "I was born in Vale, I'm a citizen of Vale."
"Your father is the chieftain of Menagerie. That is our home now. I know you don't like it, but it's not a terrible place to live. The people are nice there, and the population grows larger by the day. Humans and Faunus live side by side peacefully, it's truly a wonderful place."
"That island is like a cage, and when you don't mince words, the island is named after the very place humans think we belong. A zoo. A place to keep and show off animals. We're not equal, we're pets in an atrium!"
"That's just not true. If you'd give it a chance, you'd see all the good it has to offer."
"You're lying to yourself! I can't believe dad agreed to a little island off in the corner of nowhere."
"People deserved the peace that Menagerie provided. It's not ideal, I know. There are several things wrong with the island, but no home is perfect, and we make due as best as we can. Your father wants to name you his successor. It would mean the world to him if you came home and took a place at his side."
"I hated that island as a kid, what makes you think I'll go back to that hellhole now?"
Kali gestured to the table, her eyes soft and hopeful. "Blake, can we sit down and truly discuss this? It's very important."
"Fine." Blake ground out, guarded as ever, even though deep down she didn't want to be.
She pulled out a chair and sat down, startling slightly when her mother took the chair next to her and turned it so they could sit in close proximity, face-to-face. The entire situation was very off-putting. She could smell her mother's scent, something she hadn't come across in years. It was both soothing and depressing at the same time. How many times had she nuzzled into that smell that bound them as family?
She couldn't count all the times, but as a child, it was a daily occurrence. If they were on better terms, she would have hugged her mother tightly and pressed her nose to the nape of her mother's neck, where the smell of her parents lingered the strongest.
As it was, Blake could hardly look the woman in the eyes.
"Blake, as a huntress you know that the Grimm can be very dangerous. The aquatic Grimm are deadly to the ships that travel to and from the island. Even on the island itself, the Grimm there are large. Your father is many things, but he is not a huntsmen."
She reached out her hands, taking Blake's into her own. It was the first bit of physical contact she dared to make, knowing how often Blake bristled at surprise contact of any kind, even as a little girl. She was a cautious sort of person. Prone to fear, easily startled, and quick to bristle against unwanted contact.
It was always best to wait for Blake to go to others in her own time. Perhaps, in those ways, Blake was even more catlike than Kali herself. The woman has always found herself amused in Blake's small quirks when her daughter was small, but as an adult she wondered if Blake was almost too guarded.
It wasn't mere shyness or distrust, it went deeper than that. It always had. Knowing this, she proceed gently and took great care not to push too far.
"In order to live safely, we need hunters such as yourself to protect the village. In all major cities, there are schools and leaders in charge of overseeing the threat of the Grimm. In Menagerie, hunters need someone to follow. He wants it to be you. He wants you to come back, so we can be a family."
"You gave up on Vale." Blake murmured, pulling away. "I haven't. I won't. This is my home. I'm not just a Faunus, I'm a person, and nothing you say will make me want to go back to that kennel. I am a huntress, and a citizen of Vale. I refuse to give that up."
Kali frowned deeply. She knew her husband wanted to be here too, but that he couldn't possibly leave the island on a whim. She reached for a pen and a piece of paper from inside of her purse, jotting down several numbers of where they could be reached, and handed them to her daughter. "Take it."
"Why?"
"I can't stay here with you to help get you acclimated into adulthood. I'm needed back in Menagerie. I can't be in two places at once, but you're my child, and I do worry. I need to know you're going to be okay. You'll have me worried sick otherwise."
"There's a bank account at the bottom of this." Blake said, hesitating.
"A savings account we made when you were born. Truth be told, there isn't as much in it as I would like. We were poor back then, and it was all we could do to get the bills paid. When we sold our belongings before the move, we put that money in there. Obviously, the money has gone untouched, but it was intended for you to use."
"I can't accept it."
"Yes, you can, and you're going to. I need you to." Kali forced the paper into Blake's hand. "Blake, sweetheart, please don't shut us out of your life. Adulthood is not an easy thing, it's complicated, and it's expensive. For you, it will even be dangerous. Promise me you will keep in contact. I need you to obey me just this once, and swear to me that you will."
"I'll call every so often." Blake finally agreed.
Still, she had her pride, and her dignity. Two things she would keep no matter what. Relying on her parents now, after all of the terrible things she'd said, seemed impossible. She neglected to promise that she would use the money, silently swearing that she would find another way to support herself after graduation.
AYangThang: Huge ass chapter this time around, nice and meaty...hope you all enjoyed it. Dongyrn acted as the beta for this chapter, so a huge thank you for that...and for those of you science fictions fans, really, go give RWBY Star Wars: Prophecy a read if you haven't already. Trust me, it's good, you'll like it.