A/N: Welcome back~

Bit more fluffiness this chapter~

Do enjoy~

Reflections of the Soul

Chapter 2: Glint and Shine

''So... you're born from Ruby's soul?''

Garnet smiled slightly at Yang's query; asked with a raised brow and a mixture of uncertainty and awe. The living room around them was toasty; a stark contrast to the freezing outdoors that they'd trudged through for what felt like hours, and during the night at that. Taking the cliff-side path had been a dangerous calculation, but both of them knew that the Grimm were more likely to stalk the main path looking for weary traveller or runaway kids. Many residents of Patch had been lost that way in the past.

Dispelling the thought Garnet answered Yang's question. ''Yes. I understand it's probably strange, but I think my appearance can confirm that I'm 'related' to her.''

Taking her eyes off of the blonde Garnet swept her gaze over to Ruby. The younger of the two Roses was slumped against the corner of the couch, several layers of warm blankets on her and the fire crackling away at full blast, helping bring her temperature up. She'd already had a bowel of cereal, some hot cocoa and whatever bits of food Yang could scrounge up on a dime. Now, her risk of starvation no longer imminent, Taiyang had taken to cooking them something a bit more filling; bacon, eggs, toast and some beans to go with it.

Not exactly night-time food, but they both needed the calories admittedly, so Garnet didn't bother protesting. Not that she wanted to anyway; her stomach needed food just as much as Ruby's, thank you very much.

Yang plopped herself down in the seat across from her, chin coming to rest on her palm. ''Do you have, like, her memories and stuff too?''

''Indeed.'' Garnet smiled. ''I remember constructing Crescent Rose, hunting my first Grimm with Qrow, celebrating with you and Taiyang when I got into Signal, your atrocious puns-''

''Hey, they're pun-tastic!''

Ruby groaned from her spot on the couch. ''Ugh, Yang, please not today?''

''Alright alright, I'll throw you a bone,'' Yang grinned. ''Though I gotta say sis, you're pretty cold today.''

''I will throw this cushion at you, Yang!''

Garnet giggled, joined soon by Ruby and Yang, the three sharing smiles. Ruby herself squirmed about in her bundle of blankets until she had her back to the arm of the couch, allowing her legs to lay across and with her feet ending on Garnet's lap. The older Rose smiled and tickled them a little, earning a squirm and giggle from the young Rose – though one that trailed off as Yang asked a question. One that Ruby had been expecting, but secretly hoping wouldn't come up.

''Hey Ruby, mind if I ask something?'' The blonde brawler asked in a soft voice, legs crossed and leaning forwards.

Ruby hesitated but nodded. ''Y-Yeah?''

''I can't help but notice you haven't opened your eye, like, once.'' Yang pointed out, concerned. ''Is something the matter?''

Ruby spared a quick glance at Garnet. Garnet smiled back and dipped her head in a shallow nod – an interaction that didn't go unmissed by Yang, but one she didn't comment upon. ''Um... maybe?''

Before Yang could ask further a loud clatter was heard from the kitchen; preluding Taiyang sauntering out with a cheer. ''Food's ready~!''

With two plates in hand the bulky man sauntered into the room, laying both plates chock-full of greasy, high-calorie food before the two Rose sisters and instantly derailing Ruby's entire train of thought, her lips ajar and a steady stream of drool starting to leak out. Up until Garnet gave her leg a firm nudge, startling Ruby out of her daze and making her remember what she was about to say. The moment she did her mood lowered, the brief burst of joy overcome by a sense of hesitation, of uncertainty.

''I...'' Ruby paused as she felt Garnet's hand on her thigh. It was a simple thing, but it brought her comfort. ''I think it's time that I tell the whole story, right?''

The mood in the room became more sober, the food temporarily forgotten. Taiyang was the one to speak. ''Yeah... I guess so.''

Ruby drew a breath and then began to speak. ''So you know how I said I passed out and Garnet was there to take care of me, that we hid in an abandoned cabin? Well... when I was visiting mom's grave I found this weird goblet thing. I thought someone might've left it so I held it up, a-and I found a message on the bottom. It was the same chant thing people use to awaken a person's Aura – I read it aloud and the thing started to glow, then... poof, I woke up sometime later in the old cabin.''

''I had been summoned when she was knocked unconscious.'' Garnet filled in for her, giving her a break. Ruby was silently grateful for that. ''The item that Ruby found calls itself the 'Holy Grail'. It... communicates with me to an extent. Not like two people talking, but like... like if you were to try and converse with one of the holograms at the CCT. Some questions might yield answers, but others will just get generic 'please rephrase' responses.''

Taiyang nodded slowly. ''I've never heard of this 'Holy Grail' thing, but... well, I don't exactly have a reason to doubt either of you. Summer never had any children before Ruby and you look older than her, so you can't have been born after her either.''

Ruby drew a breath. ''There's more.''

Without waiting for either to answer she opened her left eye. Immediately their own eyes widened and Ruby resisted the urge to shrink back into her seat, merely swallowing her unease and letting them look. She had admired it before at the cabin with Garnet's help, and while she had to admit it looked kinda cool, it still made her uncomfortable. Having a golden eye was weird enough, but a glowing gold eye? That was painfully weird. Like, latex bodysuit combat gear weird.

''Woah... yeah, that's uhh... that's something alright.'' Yang said slowly. ''What happened to your eye?''

''The Holy Grail.'' Garnet was the one to answer. ''For reasons beyond me, it required to take a part of Ruby, to make her its host. It chose her left eye.''

Taiyang frowned. ''It made her it's... host? It's inside her?''

''In a metaphysical way, yes.'' Garnet seemed uncertain as she spoke. ''I'm sorry, I don't know much more about it.''

''Can it be taken out?'' It was Yang who spoke – before immediately raising her hands. ''If Rubes wants, that is.''

Ruby frowned at that, looking down. Did she want it gone? Her first thought was a resounding yes... but putting aside her weird eye, she'd gotten Garnet, who for all intents and purposes seemed like a calmer, more collected version of herself. Putting aside the awesomeness of having what amounted to a twin, it also led her to question what else it could do. Maybe the Grail had created her because she was weakened? If so, what else could it do? Make her shoot fireballs? Give her more Aura to work with? An extra Semblance? So many doors opened themselves to her, and while she doubted many would open, the prospects alone made it hard to want the Grail gone. If it turned out they it was bad or had some serious drawbacks, then sure, she'd like it out of her head ASAP, but until then...

''I'd actually be fine with it. For now, anyway.'' Ruby spoke before Garnet could. ''I-I mean it's weird, but not really bad, right? Garnet's cool, and I just need an eyepatch to hide my eye in public, so it seems like a win-win to me, right? Right? I always thought I'd look cool with an eyepatch, ehe...''

Garnet smiled wryly at her, but answered Yang's question all the same. ''Technically, I suppose it could? I mean, we've heard of devices that could take out and transfer Aura between Hunters, so it's not impossible. What it'd do to me, or more importantly Ruby, I can't say though. Maybe nothing, maybe her eye would turn back to normal, maybe...''

She trailed off but gestured at herself, her unspoken meaning obvious. She had no clue what would happen to her, a being created by the Holy Grail, if said Grail was to leave Ruby.

''Well I think we can let the idea rest for now.'' Taiyang responded firmly, a smile coming to his face. ''It's been a long night and you two look like you could use some rest. Eat up, I'll go make some calls and tell everyone we've found you – you had a lot of people worried, young lady. Or young ladies now, I guess.''

Both Garnet and Ruby giggled; the latter shuffling forwards and tucking into her meal with gusto, in contrast to Garnet who managed to be a bit more reserved about it – making conversation with Yang as she ate.

''So, you sleeping with Ruby I'm guessing?''

''I suppose so if Ruby doesn't mind?'' Garnet looked over at the shorter girl, who stuck a thumb-up.

Yang snickered. ''Well that was easy. Though, kinda makes me think... since you popped up out of the blue, how old does that make you?''

At that Garnet paused mid-bite, blinking. ''I... don't know, actually. The same as Ruby, I would guess?''

''You look older than her though... hm, and I doubt people will think you're a long-lost twin.'' Yang scratched her chin, looking to Ruby for assistance... only to find the younger Rose busy stuffing her face. ''Uhh... maybe... seventeen? You look around that age, I think. Could pass for seventeen anyway.''

Garnet nodded hesitantly. ''Then I guess I'm seventeen now.''

''Hey, don't sweat it. Dad will sort something out.'' Yang soothed, grinning. ''Heh, if you're seventeen then which of us d'ya think is the eldest sister?''

''I think I'll leave that role to you, aha...''

A muffled sound from Ruby gave them both pause, looking over at the youngest Rose as she swallowed her food. ''Ooh! Ooh! What about stuff like Semblances? Can you go really fast like me as well?''

''Hm... I don't think so. Semblances are supposed to be expressions of the soul, right? And since I'm a different aspect of your soul, perhaps I wouldn't have the same Semblance as you.'' Garnet answered thoughtfully. ''Though, since we ultimately share the same soul just in different bodies, I would assume we share the same Aura.''

''That's so cool~!''

''And also probably kinda risky.'' Yang pointed out with evident concern. ''Ya gotta think sis, if you both share the same Aura, then that just means it'll run out twice as quick in a fight.''

''Oh.'' Ruby blinked, understanding blossoming on her face. ''Ohh.''

Garnet bit her lip at that. ''I hadn't thought of it that way.''

''Well, look on the bright side! You can always do those good ol' Aura exercises dad made us do before we got into Signal.'' Yang grinned – said grin widening when both of them groaned at the memory. ''Oh come on, you'll love it!''

''I don't think you're in a position to talk Yang.'' Garnet sighed, taking a quick mouthful of food before continuing. ''If I remember right you hated doing those and would complain all day to dad.''

''Aha... yeah, fair point.'' Yang sheepishly smiled. ''Still! Look on the bright side; since there's two of you, it'll make it go by twice as fast, right?''

''I guess you have a point...'' Ruby grumbled, shovelling another slice of bacon into her mouth.

Garnet didn't comment but gave a wry smile in response, tending to her own late dinner.

It wouldn't be long until the two exhausted Roses retired to bed either, snuggled up for warmth and letting days of wilderness survival catch up to them, granting them a nice long rest.

X-x-X

The tweeting of birds was the first thing Ruby heard as she stirred from her sleep.

She was hot, almost uncomfortably so, but she couldn't muster the effort to do anything and so just shifted about slightly. The covers were thick and puffy, completely unlike the stale thin ones that she'd had to endure at the abandoned house up in the woods – the thought gradually stirring the slumbering Rose and earning a sleepy mumble from her as she turned onto one side, squinting against the bright sunlight that was pouring inside, the curtains shut but still letting a lot of light in.

She wasn't alone in bed though. Laid just beside her was Garnet, her hair undone from its low ponytail and splaying down her back in a more free fashion, black locks transitioning into red tips that curled inwards. For a moment Ruby just stayed where she was, admiring her other, older self. Smaller details that she'd initially overlooked became much more apparent from up close, like how Garnet had slimmer shoulders and a couple inches of height on her, or the more lithe build to her. Their busts seemed to be about the same but Garnet's figure made it seem slightly smaller, giving her an overall more slender appearance.

As if woken by her thoughts Garnet shifted subtly before cracking her eyes open, staring at her with silver eyes she must've seen a thousand times in the mirror, yet they felt different. Older, wiser.

''Good morning Ruby.'' Garnet then spoke, a smile spreading across her lips.

''Hey.'' Ruby said and shifted, a yawn slowly forced out of her. ''Mn... what time is it?''

Garnet turned over and fumbled for their bedside table for a second until soon nabbing her – their? – Scroll and opening it. ''It's... ten-thirty. We've been asleep for quite a bit.''

''What time did we even go to bed at?'' Ruby groaned as she sat upright.

''You know, I don't recall ever checking.'' Garnet did the same, wiping the sleep from her eyes. ''Well, we best get ready I suppose.''

''Huh? Are we going somewhere?'' Ruby cocked her head to one side.

Garnet made a so-so gesture. ''You said you wanted to find out if I have a Semblance, so I was wondering if we could practise a little, see what happens. It could also be useful if you want to start wearing an eyepatch; fighting with one eye closed is pretty hard, after all.''

Ruby's mood dropped a little at the reminder of her eye, but a gentle touch from Garnet shook her out of her momentary depression – a smile, albeit a small one, returning to her face. ''Okay. You wanna just head out now or go in the shower first?''

''Let's just head outside now.'' Garnet smiled, before looking down at herself. ''Well, after we get dressed, anyway.''

Ruby's giggle brought a light blush to Garnet's face, but soon the elder Rose found herself giggling as well – the mood light as they climbed out of bed and got ready for their spar.

…

It took the duo a little over ten minutes to throw on some clothes and head outside, with Garnet borrowing some of Ruby's looser clothes that covered her enough for her liking.

Ruby was practically bouncing from place to place, grinning even as she made a few practice swings with the wooden sword in her hands – a relic from her youth when she wasn't sure what weapon she wanted to use and, naturally, defaulted to a standard sword to see what suited her preferences. Taiyang had even chopped down a tree solely to make the swords himself. While she hadn't used a sword in years she knew she couldn't exactly use Crescent Rose against Garnet, who was without a weapon of her own.

Taiyang himself had come out to supervise, having already been awake and about to start breakfast when Ruby had loudly proclaimed their intent. Though considering they were both just using wooden swords, she doubted that they even needed the supervision – but, Taiyang was curious, and as such neither had seen fit to chase him away. It wasn't like it was secret anyway.

''Are you ready Ruby?'' Garnet smiled, levelling her sword out towards her, one foot before the other.

''Heh, you bet!'' Ruby grinned and mimicked her posture. ''Dad! Count us down!''

''Alright.'' Her dad chuckled from his spot by the back wall of the house. ''On go. Three, two, one...''

Ruby tensed her legs.

''...go!''

In an instant she burst forth, reflexively tapping into her Semblance and closing the distance between them in little under a second, her wooden sword sweeping out in a standard swing. For a split-second she realised she might've overdone it – but any such worries purged themselves from her mind as Garnet reacted with equal swiftness, raising her wooden sword up and blocking the blow. Their weapons collided with a dull thunk but the wood chipped from the harsh impact, tiny splinters flying from their blades. For a second they just gazed in surprise at one another.

Then Ruby's momentum died down and she fell back to the ground. Garnet took a single quick-step back before swinging out with both hands on her blade, forcing Ruby to raise hers to block. The second the wood thunked together Garnet pulled back, silver eyes gleaming with focus as she brought her blade down again, this time at a slight angle – preluding the many more slashes that followed, each one hurriedly blocked by Ruby, but her lack of swordsmanship showed as she was forced to take several quick back-steps to avoid losing her footing.

''Mn-!'' Tilting her blade at an angle Ruby pushed Garnet's own blade aside – before with a valiant battle cry she charged in, intent on poking her clone in the stomach.

Garnet, however, side-stepped at the last second – executing a fluid spin before bringing the blade down on the back of Ruby's head. The younger Rose yelped and stumbled forwards, rubbing the back of her now-sore head, but aside form the soreness no wound was to be found.

A poke to her ribs though reminded her that Garnet was still there, and didn't consider this 'spar' over.

Pouting Ruby spun around to face her clone in response, yelling with determination as she swung for her counterpart's head – but Garnet ducked, a slight smile twitching at her lips. Growling Ruby followed it up with several more earnest swings but Garnet nimbly dodged each one, evading her blows even without a Semblance of her own, prompting Ruby to try and compensate by walking forwards with each swing, trying to make her opponent lose their footing.

A mistake, as Garnet parried the wooden blade aside with her forearm before jabbing her in the tummy, earning another yelp from Ruby. However with a grin Ruby copied her clone's earlier move, twisting and pouring her momentum into a sudden, strong spin and bringing her blade down on her foe. Garnet pulled her blade back in time to block it but her grip was loosened; her fingers fumbling to reassert a firm grip on the wood.

Ruby dashed in then, pushing her clone's hands to one side and jabbing her in the stomach. ''Hah~!''

''Oof.'' Garnet obligingly sounded out, smiling even as she skipped back a step. ''Not bad.''

''Hey, you got, like, two hits on me first.'' Ruby grinned bashfully. ''I miss using these things actually, it's nice not having to worry about accidentally lopping someone's head off.''

''You probably shouldn't jinx yourself.'' Garnet amusedly remarked.

Taiyang drew their attention by knocking on the wood three times, amused. ''She's right. That aside, not bad, good to see that you haven't lost your touch Ruby. Same for you, Garnet; I wasn't sure if you'd have the same muscle memory as Ruby, but from the way you're both moving I can tell that you do.''

Garnet smiled and tapped the side of her head. ''Mm, it's all in here. I wonder what weapon I should use though?''

''You don't need to decide right now. Heck, you two just started practising.'' Taiyang chuckled ruefully. ''I'm guessing if you've got Ruby's memories you'll also want to become a Huntress?''

''Indeed.'' Garnet said, looking over at Ruby. ''If that's alright, of course.''

''Alright? It'll be amazing!'' Ruby proclaimed with a bright grin. ''I mean just think of it, two butt-kicking sisters killing Grimm and saving the day!''

''Hey, already forgettin' about me sis~?''

The cheeky lilt drew Ruby's gaze over to the backdoor where Yang now stood, leaning up against the frame with a familiar cocky grin. Dressed in a loose orange tank top and some shorts she wasn't out of bed much later than the Roses, but the gleam in her eyes spoke of her intent well.

''Mind if I join in?'' Yang cracked her knuckles playfully. ''Bet I could take you both on.''

''Yeah right! There's two of us!'' Ruby puffed her chest out confidently. ''We don't even need our swords! Right Garnet?''

Garnet glanced over at her younger companion, and smiled. ''I think I'll keep my sword to even the odds.''

''Wha- we'll be fine! Trust me, I've got a plan.''

''Since when?''

''About three seconds ago.''

Yang snorted. Taiyang wasn't so polite and chuckled outright.

Ruby stuck her tongue out maturely at them. ''Hmph! You'll see! Come at me- er, us!''

Yang complied.

…

''Ugh...''

Safe to say, attempting to spar bare-fisted with Yang was a good exercise in remembering that Yang was a hand-to-hand fighter, whilst Ruby was very much not.

Garnet had a slightly easier time, if only because her added height and arm length meant she could strike Yang a tiny bit easier, but unfortunately she didn't gain any magical ability to fight bare-knuckled when she was summoned. It was only made worse when Taiyang decided to join in for some 'family-bonding', and all three of them went up against their father... and lost. Mightily. Arguably Yang was able to hold her own at the start, but Taiyang was a veteran Huntsman, whilst Yang was still one in training.

The result was all three of his daughters sprawled out across the grass, groaning and in various states of pain. Their Aura healed any bruises they had accumulated but the soreness was taking its time to leave.

Chuckling Taiyang brushed off some imaginary dust from his shoulders. ''Alright, now it's been fun playing with you girls-''

Yang groaned and flipped him the bird. Taiyang continued as if she hadn't reacted.

''-but I'll go ahead and get started on breakfast. I'm sure you could all use it after some light exercise.''

''You call this light?'' Ruby moaned pitifully from her spot on the grass.

''Oh trust me, when you get to Beacon you'll find out that this is a walk in the park compared to some of the training they undergo.'' Taiyang teased, heading back for the house. ''Don't stay outside smelling the roses for too long, girls!''

Yang groaned and propped herself up on her elbows. ''Ugh... I forgot how hard he hits.''

''As did I.'' Garnet panted out in agreement.

Ruby on the other hand was already starting to crawl towards the house.

''Strawberry milk... will restore... my strength...'' She grunted out but soon gave up her arduous journey, her hand falling limp. ''Bleh...''

Yang stifled a snort and stumbled to her feet, her whole body sore but her Aura slowly starting to work its magic, removing some of the stiffness from her limbs. ''Here, maybe if I kick you in the butt you'll move faster.''

''I don't think that's how it works Yang.'' Garnet groaned out.

Yang wiggled her brows in the elder Rose's direction. ''You wanna find out?''

''...I think I'll pass.''

The laugh Yang let out brought a smile to Garnet's lips, and as one the three shambled back inside just in time for breakfast.

X-x-X

After a hearty breakfast and amicable chat about what to do with their day, Ruby and Garnet decided to go out shopping – mainly to get Garnet some more fitting clothes. Yang, naturally, tagged along with her sister and sorta-sister, leaving Taiyang in the house alone.

The man himself hummed at that, deep in thought as he reclined into his chair. 'I still don't know how to feel about that...'

On one hand, it was a bizarre, unheard of thing. A clone? Or as Garnet called herself, a manifestation of Ruby's soul? Nonsense, part of him decried, but any such thoughts perished the moment he looked into Garnet's silver eyes. They were the same as Ruby's. Not the colour, not the shade, but the look in those eyes. Call it paternal instinct, but one look was all he needed. She was Ruby through-and-through. That was good enough for him to call her his daughter.

'I wonder what you would've thought, Summer...' Taiyang thought with a hint of melancholy.

Thankfully footsteps outside his house stopped him from falling back into heavier thoughts, his head perking up as he heard a rustle of bushes and kicking of some stones, all of which were far too methodical to be coincidence. His suspicions were proven correct when he heard a key stuffed into the lock and a mere second later the door rattled open, allowing a certain old crow to stalk inside, eyes heavy but red irises sharp.

''Where's Ruby?'' Qrow intoned briskly.

''Out with Yang and a friend.'' Taiyang soothed his former teammate, unable to miss how Qrow's shoulders slackened almost imperceptibly.

''So she's alright.'' He muttered, stalking over to the dining table before slumping into the nearest chair. ''Thank goodness.''

Taiyang's lips just quirked up and he hummed, not saying anything as he watched Qrow pull out his flask and take a deep drink. Normally he would've told his friend off for that, but considering the scare Ruby's disappearance had given them all, he let him off the hook. It was pure luck that Qrow had returned from a mission a mere day before Ruby disappeared, though unfortunately the man himself wasn't able to find Ruby before she rematerialised on her own. He didn't blame him though; flying in this kind of cold weather wasn't feasible for long periods, and the man could only do so much on a massive, forest-riddled island.

Movement drew Taiyang's eyes down and a brighter smile lit up his face as Zwei meandered over to him. The family dog had proven useful in tracking Ruby in the past so naturally went with Qrow, who was best equipped to track – and though this time he'd failed to find her, it was hardly a loss when they got her back in the end. With that thought in mind he reached down and scratched the dog behind the ear, earning a happy, panting smile from the canine.

''So.'' Qrow grunted after a long moment, putting the cap back on his flask and drawing Taiyang's attention. ''What's the story?''

''Oh you know, Ruby took a walk, went to visit Summer's grave, found a magic cup that knocked her out and gave her a clone.'' Taiyang teasingly fired back.

Qrow snorted. ''Yeah, you're a real jokester.''

''Who says I'm joking?''

''You seriously expect me to believe that shit?''

Taiyang smirked wider. Qrow paused.

''...fuck me you're not kidding.''

Taiyang burst out laughing; his uproarious voice filling the house even as Qrow let his head fall onto the table with a dull thud, his groan lost amidst the boisterous laughs of his brother-in-arms. With some effort though Taiyang manage to wrangle his laughs under control, though a few errant snickers still sneaked out as he leaned forwards in his seat, arms crossed and gazing across the table at his comrade, his expression growing a tiny bit more serious.

''I am being serious though, for the record.'' Taiyang said, the last of his humour trickling away. ''Yang and I found Ruby coming down from the plateau near the cliff-side route. She was in bad shape; underfed, cold and exhausted, but she made it all the way from somewhere near the plateau, an old house of some kind.''

''I swore I'd searched them all.'' Qrow frowned.

At that, Taiyang could only shrug. ''I guess you missed this one. If it's any consolation, Garnet said she picked one as far away from any Grimm as she could, so you might've just overlooked it?''

Qrow nodded slightly but his eyes narrowed, picking up on a little detail. ''...Garnet?''

''Ruby's... clone. For lack of a better word.'' Taiyang remarked. ''The story is that Ruby went up to visit Summer, found a, quote, 'weird-looking cup', accidentally recited the incantation to awaken an Aura and caused it to activate. This apparently knocked her out and left her weak for several days, during which time Garnet – who manifested when Ruby fell unconscious – took care of her. When their supplies dwindled they staggered back here, where Yang and I found her.''

Qrow soaked it all in with a slow hum and deep, contemplative expression. Taiyang waited but when it was clear his companion was too deep in his own thoughts he gave him a light kick, nudging Qrow out of his thoughts. A pointed look made the dark-haired man grunt and recline into his seat, frowning.

''I can't says I've ever heard of that happening before.'' Qrow muttered. ''She safe? Not some weird Grimm in disguise or something?''

''No.'' Taiyang remarked with absolute certainty.

The confidence must've shown in his eyes as Qrow backed down without question, trusting his judgement. ''Alright then. When do I meet the little squirt?''

''Not so little. She's older than Ruby. Physically, at least.'' Taiyang snorted. ''Like I said, they're out shopping. Should be back any minute now as a matter of fact.''

''Good.''

As if jinxed they heard voices coming from down the path; the resounding laughter of Yang, the petulant whines of Ruby, and the more reserved giggles of Garnet. Qrow undoubtedly noticed the familiar, but ever-so-slightly different pitch Garnet's voice took – but Zwei lacked any hesitation the old Huntsman had and eagerly charged out through the ajar door.

A second passed.

Then the sound of a body hitting the floor.

''ZWEI! I was wondering where you were! Who's a good boy, who's a good- bleh, wait, no drool! I just bought thi- aw man...''

Yang's laughter resonated all the louder, and with a smirk Qrow rose from his seat and sauntered out to meet his newest niece. Taiyang meanwhile stayed where he was, a fond smile on his lips and eyes gently closing.

'...I think you'd like her, Summer.'

[END]

A/N: And thus Qrow arrives in time for some shenanigans~ Bit more light-hearted this first part of the story is. Wonder how long it'll last~

See you next time in Chapter 3: Scarlet Desires~