"You can learn a lot about a woman by getting smashed with her." - Tom Waits

The sounds of shot glasses slamming on the table punctuated another round of slow banter. Among the four women sitting at the table the beverage slid down easy, cinnamon flavor lingering on their tongues.

Bar hopping was a strange experience with Yang Xiao Long in charge of the festivities. Although the busty woman flaunted her outgoing personality, and she could certainly toss back shot after shot without batting an eye, there was a calmness about her when doing so. Party girl Yang was normally sober and clear headed. The more thoughtful side of Yang began to rear its head after the first few drinks. That fact always managed to surprise her friends, or at the very least, the ones who chose to imbibe with her to varying degrees of inebriation.

Yang sat at the table with Blake, Weiss, and Pyrrha. It would be the final time before they left the grounds of Beacon. Inevitably, all of them would go their separate ways. It was a sad little fact, but one Yang easily accepted as she toyed with her straw. Taking a sip of the fruity cocktail in her hands, she listened to the redhead across from her. Inwardly she rolled her eyes the entire time, pity bubbling from the steep pit of minor annoyances.

She didn't envy anyone at the table, but she pitied Pyrrha most of all.

Yang latched on to Pyrrha's worries, and twisted them around in her brain. A frown played on her lips, edging its way across her face before disappearing entirely. "Hey, Pyr?" she interrupted almost too quietly among the dull roar of bar patrons.

"Hmm?"

"Maybe you should hang back."

Green eyes lifted from the deep cup of merlot that seemed never ending. "It's not that simple. There are things I must attend to."

"So? Deal with them, then come back. I live near here, so at least that way you're still around a bunch of people you know. Blake's staying behind too, so if Jaune's cool with it, we can get a quad going for tough missions. No one says we can't all keep in contact."

A haughty and winded sigh demanded attention. "I hope you're joking, Yang. It would be an imposition on his family. They don't have the money, or the room for that matter, to be taking strangers into their home," Weiss stated dourly.

"Weiss, she's not a stranger…"

"But she isn't family either, Yang…"

"She's been on Jaune's team for four years. In a family of hunters, that makes her family too." Yang's elbow all but crashing onto the table, her loosely clenched fist supporting her cheek. "Hell, I think Jaune's mom basically adopted all of JNPR by default."

"It would still be inconsiderate, though," Pyrrha said, trying to get Yang to see her point.

"Exactly!" Weiss said, her voice carrying validation she assumed Pyrrha needed. "It's still rude to assume such pleasantries extend to beyond graduation. We're not children."

"Fine then, she can crash at my place. We've got the space, and my dad wouldn't even think twice about it. Argue that one, princess," Yang fired back quickly, knowing Weiss wouldn't dare try to make a statement against Taiyang. Happy to have the upper hand, she turned her attention back onto Pyrrha. "I say, if going home freaks you out, stick with what you know. You can kick it with me at the island. We can take missions, it's a win-win."

Yang was an optimist, but none of the other three women around the table could match her exuberance on the topic. Blind faith simply wasn't easy to come by, and hesitantly, Blake decided to burst the blonde's bubble. "Yang, I hate to say this...but all of that is very unreasonable."

Pyrrha scrunched her lips together in worry, brows knitting together as she seriously considered Yang's point. Then with a sigh, she dismissed it once more. "I must admit, I strongly considered taking Jaune up on his offer, and yours too, Yang. I'm tempted to stay in Vale. The fact of the matter is, the circumstances just don't allow for me to do so."

"Well, then what's stopping you?"

"Yang, do you have to pry?" Blake sighed. "She already told you she couldn't stay."

"Yep! I'll be prying all over the place if it works." Yang nodded, completely undeterred. "I'm a big sister, being a pain in the ass is kind of my job."

"Don't we know it…" Weiss agreed with a dry laugh, earning a middle finger from Yang for her efforts.

"Sit 'n spin, Weiss."

"You made the statement, I was simply agreeing with you."

"And here we go..." Blake muttered, gulping down the beer that was in front of her and cringing at the taste.

"Nope, here we don't go. Back we go," Yang said, waving her hand in the air, ordering another round of drinks for everyone. "I'm serious, I want to hear Pyrrha say it out loud. Talking through stuff like this is important. We're not her teammates. No feelings are hurt, no toes stepped on, everything stays at this table. So, Pyr, you know the drill. Why the hell aren't you staying in Vale?"

Pyrrha allowed a lone finger to dance around the rim of her wineglass before she grasped the vessel fully and lifted it to her lips. "Honestly, that's a question I've asked myself several times in the past few days. It merely comes down to the fact that I've been raised to be one sort of person. Deviating from that upbringing even slightly can be difficult."

Yag motioned with her hand. "Okay, sooooo?"

A hard breath of air expelled from the redhead's lungs. "Although I wanted nothing more than to be a huntress, I'm expected to be a gladiator first and foremost. I certainly plan to take missions, however, that goal has always been somewhat secondary to what my family would like. Honestly, I just don't have the heart to go against their wishes."

"Oh, I've heard this song and dance before. Let me guess, you feel guilty for not following in the family's footsteps, so you think you can make yourself happy with being a huntress on the side," Yang pieced together.

The redhead nodded simply. "Yes, frankly, I thought it would be a compromise worth making."

Weiss downed what little was left of her martini, tenting her fingers and resting her chin there. "I understand where Pyrrha's coming from. Her bloodline follows a particular path, same as mine. It would be a shame to let that history falter. As an only child, it falls directly onto Pyrrha's shoulders to carry on her family's noble legacy."

"Oh, that's total crap, Weiss, and you know it!" Yang groused, an open palm slamming onto the table, clicking the empty glasses together. "Life's only worth living if you've got something to live for. If that's being a huntress, then Pyrrha should be a huntress full time."

The cat Faunus flattened her ears back, feeling them crinkle the silk of the bow on her head. "Actually, why else have a family unless you want to pass something onto them, right?"

"Uh, to have a family...you know, for the sake of it?" Yang retorted questioningly with an upraised blonde brow. "It's a good thing, a great thing even, but it doesn't have to be everything."

Blake, the resident lightweight of the group, looked down at her beer. She couldn't recall if it was her second or third, all she knew was that it was cheap and went down relatively easily. Even though it smelled absolutely repulsive, the color was golden and the taste was bland. "It's a complicated situation, when you really stop to think about it."

"At the risk of sounding like a complete and total bitch, what would you know?" Weiss asked softly.

Yang glared at her as if she'd grown a second head. "Weiss!"

"It's just a question, Yang."

"Yeah, a stupid one."

Weiss was not willing to back down. Moments together were precious commodities, each one worth its weight in gold. She needed it to mean something of value, and so she decided to grasp onto final opportunities as they presented themselves. "I am tired of walking on eggshells. I want to know the truth right now. While I still have a chance to hear it in person."

"That's not your call to make."

"Are we truly that untrustworthy? Just means to an end? You're her partner, are you satisfied with that?"

The table became tense as Weiss faced Yang down in a heated yet a wordless argument. If looks could kill, both of them would have been goners several times over. Yang was the first to back down. She didn't want to, but she knew she had to. Closing her eyes Yang slumped forward. "She's got a point, Blake."

The Faunus was silent. Old memories and new alike on the tip of her tongue, but they were just too difficult to say. Weiss didn't know what she was asking, none of them did. Blake didn't want to talk about it. She just wanted to forget. She shook her head, mouth sealed shut, the same as always.

"This is exactly the problem." Weiss said, her gaze focused on the Faunus. "You've never once spoken about your family, and whenever we ask, you never say anything. Considering your refusal to even open your mouth, I assumed there were none left to speak of at any length."

Blake shot Weiss a bitter expression. "I have...parents. We're just not very close anymore. Things happened, life went on, I put the past behind me the best that I could. That's it, end of discussion."

Blake cleared her throat, feeling the weight of the three gazes burning into her. One of concern, one of confusion, and one that teetered on the borderline. A forced of sense distance obviously consumed the outsider. It was that final one, directed at her from green orbs that was the most uncomfortable.

"Anyway," Blake pressed, eager to change the topic. "The point I'm trying to make is that we should choose how we want to live. Yang's right about that. However, when something is left to you, it changes things. It's not just about you anymore, it's about the others choosing to entrust you with something."

"It seems as if you've done quite a bit of thinking on the subject," Pyrrha offered with her usual neutrality. Whatever emotion compelled Blake to voice her thoughts on the topic, it was a sore spot. She hesitated to make the matter any more painful than it already seemed to be. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Blake wordlessly shook her head.

"Hey, you good, Blake?" Yang asked then, the only one who could easily do that offhandedly.

Blake nodded. "I'm fine. I thought about it, I made my choice. Like I said, I put the past behind me."

Weiss cleared her throat. "Setting aside the past is all well and good, but what about the future?"

Strangely enough, it was that question that went unanswered as the new beverages graced their table. The switch had been flicked, and Yang decided the air was much too heavy for her liking as she pulled a deck of cards from her wallet. "We're here right now, and we should make the most of it. The future can wait. Time to ante up for some penny poker ladies. You know the rules, first one out pays the tab."

Copious amounts of alcohol had been consumed by the Schnee heiress, but that didn't seem to stop her from getting up early the next day. The squeaking of a felt-tipped marker upon a calendar ticked off another morning in bright red ink. It was something Weiss did every single day, and it was something Blake grumbled about whenever it woke her up.

The Faunus groaned as she buried herself further under the blankets, ears pinned down to drown out any racket. The soft footfalls of Weiss padding around the room barefoot was as equally distracting as the sounds of sliding drawers. It was obvious that Weiss attempted to be as unobtrusive as possible. It was still too loud for Blake's liking. Once the static noise of papers rustled, and a pen scratched against them, Blake lifted her face from the soft feather pillow.

"Weiss," Blake growled unthinkingly, "it's six in the bloody fucking morning." She instantly regretted the hangover that was stabbing at her forehead. The sensitivity to light and sound wasn't something Weiss could control, and she certainly didn't deserve the foul attitude aimed at her. "I'm sorry, Weiss, that came out wrong."

The white haired woman was already dressed at the absurdly early hour. She spared a glance to Blake before closing her notebook, gathering her things, and switching off the lamp on the desk. Without so much as a peep, she slipped out of the room, securing the door behind her as quietly as possible.

The actions were strange.

Blake expected a snarky remark about responsibility and punctuality. That a routine was not something meant to be broken. Instead, she'd been met with an aloofness that was cold and bitter. Withdrawn without reason to be. Blake chided her own stupidity as she sat up and dragged herself out of bed. Whatever was wrong with Weiss wasn't exactly Blake's concern, but she had obviously upset the woman further by commenting.

She got dressed and headed for the common room, and then the library, but Weiss wasn't in either of those places. Her third option was trying the school roof, but who she found loitering there wasn't Weiss, it was Pyrrha.

"Doesn't anyone ever sleep in this place?" Blake asked as she stepped outside, ignoring the nip in the air to the best of her ability.

"Less and less, it seems." Pyrrha said as she turned to the Faunus, hands stuffed into the pockets of a spring jacket. "You're not usually an early riser, is everything alright?"

"My morning bitchiness strikes again," Blake rumbled under her breath in way of an explanation. "Have you seen Weiss?"

"Before sunrise?" Pyrrha returned incredulously. "Weiss has never been sociable before breakfast time."

"But you do see her wandering around in the mornings. Where does she go?"

"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that."

"Damn."

"Was it a terrible disagreement?"

"You don't bite her head off without her fighting back. Today, she didn't even try, she just left the room."

A soft hum fell from Pyrrha's throat as she scanned the horizon. "If she doesn't want to be found, she would go someplace no one else would think to go at this time of day. It would have to be someplace inconvenient and out of the way. She would also have to like the particular spot. It's a long shot, but the row of pavilions in the gardens may be your best bet."

Blake inwardly cursed. "She wouldn't walk that far so early in the morning, would she?"

A smile was all Pyrrha offered, insightful and laced with humor. "You'd be amazed if I told you the places I've found Ren and Nora before."

"I'll go look then." Blake didn't think Weiss would travel so far, and she expected to come up empty, but she had to try.

There was something in those crystal blue eyes that just bothered her. Blake wasn't sure why, but that same something seemed to be in Pyrrha's eyes, too. The emotion itself eluded Blake. She couldn't quite describe it. It's wasn't just confusion or sadness, and she couldn't attribute it to pensiveness either. It was something else that made Pyrrha's gaze so glassy looking, shimmering in the dim light of the morning.

Green or blue, the owner of the emotional vortex didn't matter. The intensity could swallow Blake whole if she let it.

Her head throbbed, and she growled through the piercing pain. She owed Weiss a better apology. That had to come first. She could spend some more time with Pyrrha later. With her decision made, she headed for the gardens, intent on making things right.

Her senses were on fire. The scent of morning dew touched her nose. It was so distinct, she could almost taste the gentle spring rainfall from the night before. The birds were loudly chirping, squawking, and fluttering around. Amongst all of that, Weiss was difficult to find by usual means, and Blake refused to do anything more than squint in the general direction she was heading. It took her some time to find the painted bench Weiss perched on, sitting under two white magnolia trees.

The woman looked pissed.

Blake sat down, arms crossed as she closed her eyes. "White magnolias depict nobility in a lot of the literature I read…makes sense I'd find you here of all places."

"Better than the lonely willow tree, Belladonna."

"Touché."

"Have you followed me out here for a good reason, or am I merely the continuing victim of your bad mood today?"

"About earlier, I didn't mean that." Blake said quietly. "I had my head up my ass."

Weiss merely shrugged slightly. "I was positive you'd go back to bed."

"And miss out on you avoiding me? Not a chance…but, what were you doing, exactly?"

"Writing to Ruby."

"Oh…"

They sat in the stillness for a long time. Weiss looked ahead, her gaze focused on the rows of flowers ahead of her. When she finally concluded that Blake was waiting for some sort of explanation, Weiss became even quieter. The tapping of her foot along the cobblestone below ceased, her breath became shallow.

"For as articulate as I am, Ruby inspires the worst mannerisms in me," Weis finally said. "She was not what I was expecting in a partner when I came to Beacon. However, in these four years I've decided that Ruby's strange, if not sometimes hyperbolic tendencies suited me well. I believe I could apply that same sentiment to this entire team."

"Huh, really, never would have guessed."

Weiss licked her lips, quiet and tense. "I have exactly one week left before I go back to Atlas, and strangely enough I find myself filled with things I simply must say to her. However, I have no way in which to say them. Everything seems so rehearsed, or, it just doesn't convey what I'd like it to in the first place."

Blake felt like a jerk, her own voice quiet and uneasy enough to reflect that. She hoped Weiss would accept the sincerity. "I didn't think about that...it's getting closer to that time."

"Why would you? As Yang made clear, you'll be a short commute away. For you two, nights like last night could resume on a fairly regular basis, and it would be of no consequence."

"Not very good with goodbyes, are you?"

Weiss turned to Blake. "The concept of saying farewell implies that I have no intention of maintaining contact in some fashion. That's certainly not the case, so no, I don't intend to say it. I'm going back to Atlas, not dying. It can't be difficult to keep in touch with my former teammates."

"Former, Weiss, really...you do suck at saying goodbye."

"Alright, fine, I'm terrible at saying it! I have no desire to do so. Are you satisfied now?"

Blake raised an eyebrow, wisely choosing not to say anything as she rubbed her hands together. The air was cooler than she would have liked, and a small shiver slid down her back as she puffed hot air into her hands. "If that's the way you feel about it, this is about as much as a goodbye from me as you're going to get. I've got no reason to say it, if you actually care that much about keeping in touch. Instead, I'll just say this - don't get killed. If you ever run into any trouble, you call and let us know."

"The same goes double for you, and I'll hold you to that," Weiss shot back, wagging a finger with an annoyed little huff. "Our agreement in our first year still stands. Just because we've graduated doesn't mean you can start hiding things again. The moment you need help, you tell someone. Deal?"

Blake smirked, grasping her friend's finger and shaking it. "Deal…" The glare she received could have frozen hell itself over.

"Must you be completely insufferable?" Weiss chastised as she took Blake's hand fully into her own. "If we're going to shake hands, at least do so properly."

Parties were held in honor of the graduates. The ceremony wouldn't be for another week. Officially, for the graduating class of students, there wasn't much left to do. Many took this time to finalize their plans and others lazed the days away. For those who decided to take Ozpin up on his offer, however, there were other things that needed to be done.

All students underwent full-bodied physicals once a year as a requirement. They faced re-evaluation after every major injury, illness, and mission deployment that lasted longer than a few days. Ruby was starting to find out that such protocols weren't just for the protection of unprepared students. Those records were used to study the health of hunters sent away for long stretches of time in the wilds. The amount of studying involved in the practice was extensive, and after having a gambit of tests run on her, she was exhausted.

Clad in little more than black shorts, matching sports bra, and running shoes, she nearly doused herself with her bottle of water. The last thing she wanted to do was end up being scrutinized by aura specialists and semblance experts. Still, she gathered with the rest of the huntresses. Some of them she knew, others she didn't. Standing in the group was Glynda Goodwitch, the woman looking equally exhausted.

The tall and leggy blonde was probably forced to deal with the same testing as everyone else.

As one of the newest recruits, Ruby shuffled awkwardly in place, small talk about her uncle was one of the few things she could think about to speak of, but thankfully Glynda humored the conversation for what it was worth. Ruby told the older woman about the fight she had with him, hoping that maybe, she might know how to mend the gap between them.

"After the fight, he just sort of sat there quietly until he sobered up." Ruby finished her tale. "Then he left. I wanted to talk to him, but he won't even pick up his scroll. He does that on missions sometimes. He can't answer for one reason or another, or the call doesn't go through, but what if he's just mad at me?"

Glynda sympathized with the girl. Qrow was bullheaded and opinionated. A man who spent his days away from civilization, and it showed. "Hmm, yes, that's about the reaction I would expect." Her expression was mild as she regarded Ruby. She wasn't entirely sure the girl was cut out for the sort of work Ozpin wanted her to do, but she had always held reservations about Ruby. Those considerations didn't just fade away with age. "From my perspective, your uncle may have a point."

"Yeah, but he can't even tell me why he hates the idea. What kind of point is that?"

"The missions we generally receive are confidential and dangerous." Glynda parroted the well-used phrase. "We aren't at liberty to speak of them at length. Even if we could, it would often put others at risk."

"Well then, that's fine, but he can't really use that as an argument, now can he?"

The tall blonde woman laughed a little at Ruby's candid response. That signature shyness obvious as Ruby dug the tip of her shoe against the asphalt. Yet, there was something else too. A clear and honest determination that didn't subsist purely of false bravado. There was a steel in the girl, always had been as far as Glynda was concerned.

Unfortunately, the same could have been said for Ruby's mother too. That was hardly the justification someone usually used to put a green huntress out into the field. Unless, of course, that someone was Ozpin.

"Well then, allow me to explain what he obviously failed to," Glynda began. "Qrow's perspective is tainted by time and circumstance. He chooses missions based on the likelihood of failure. The higher it is, the more willing he is to take it."

"Why would he do something like that?" Ruby asked, hands clasped behind her back, no weapon to be found. Even the simple comfort of running her fingers along the metal was lost to her in this moment. Fidgeting and needing something to do with her hands, she finally crossed her arms over her chest, but it was hardly a comfort. "Why not take missions that aren't so hard all the time?"

"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that. However, I can say that it's a well-known curiosity in the profession."

"Curiosity?" Ruby murmured, eyes narrowing in confusion.

Glynda nodded sternly. "One that he doesn't talk about, but the statistics don't lie. I have a theory on the matter, but it's hardly proven as factual…"

"Can I still hear it?"

"So long as you understand, this is purely an educated guess on my part. You see, Qrow has a unique set of traits, semblance included. Knowing that, I'd say it's impossible for him to follow the same rules as everyone else."

"You mean, like, the turning into a bird thing?"

Glynda wished it was so easy, but it wasn't. "His unique set of traits make him invaluable to Ozpin. Qrow drinks himself into a stupor every day, but he continues to take missions no one else dares to. I'm still not sure if he's just that good, or simply suicidal. His semblance is to blame for it."

"What is his semblance anyway?"

To keep hydrated, and to stall for a moment to think, Glynda reached for a water bottle. Looking ahead, she saw the obstacle course she would have to gracelessly wade through on her own merits. She wasn't as young as she used to be, and knowing she wouldn't be allowed to use her semblance, she cursed inwardly.

Turning her attention back to Ruby only proved the predicament currently standing beside her. "I only know that he cannot fully control it. He calls himself a bad luck charm. If I had to speculate, he somehow manages to turn the tides of battle to his favor. It's probably why he can survive missions that no one else can. His semblance is rare to find."

"Yeah, but your semblance is hard to find too."

"Telekinetic semblances are rather common. The problem is that it takes a great deal of concentration. Trying to deflect an oncoming attack while also preparing to strike isn't easy. A semblance like mine is normally more useful in other fields, such as construction or medicine."

"Goodwitch, come take your mark!" one of the scientists in charge of the tests called out, signaling that it was her turn to run the gauntlet.

Before she made her departure, she turned to Ruby briefly. "My advice is that if you wish to know more, that you speak to Ozpin directly. Just know that doing so may prove to be a larger headache than you realize..."

AYangThang: Hey everyone, time for another installment of this monster of a fiction. It's not as long as last chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed it all the same. Anyone who's a fan of the Rooster Teeth series Always Open, the bar scene I had in mind was influenced by the podcast, and I thought, well, why not add a nod to my other favorite Rooster Teeth series. This fiction's acting Beta, Dongyrn, kept me sane during this chapter, and the following one.

Chapter 4 is admittedly giving me more trouble than I would like to admit, and I don't yet have a release date planned for it. Just know, it's in the works, and I'm trying to smash through my terrible writer's block as best as I can.