Chapter Fifteen: Unexpected Rendezvous

Qrow found himself sitting in a stuffily posh restaurant, tugging at the stiff collar of a rented tuxedo, wondering what idiotic notion had led him to be waiting in a place so far removed from the norm as to be ridiculous. Sure the kids would be fine without his supervision for a da restaurant, tugging at the stiff collar of a rented tuxedo, wondering what idiotic notion had led him to be waiting in a place so far removed from the norm as to be ridiculous. Sure the kids would be fine without his supervision for a day or two, he'd made sure of that much, but still, this was so far removed from his normal haunts that it'd be hard to even claim relation between such places and this ludicrously hoity-toity joint. And even more strange was the fact that he was actually sober for this shit. So absorbed in his musings was he that he almost failed to notice the person taking a seat across from him. Weird that I didn't hear her coming, he thought. Those boots of hers are usually so distinctive. Nevertheless, he looked up, expecting to come face to face with haughty, blue-gray eyes and that annoyingly passive face that just made you want to tease her just to get a reaction, and... Holy shit, man, get yourself together, because not only is that line of thinking totally not the point, but she ain't even the one here. Instead, Qrow's gaze met only a darkened reflection, thrown by the helmet worn by the individual in front of him. A server approached cautiously, no doubt intending to scold Oberon on proper dress code, but a single look from the monochrome warrior convinced him that he most definitely had somewhere more important to be right now. Qrow sighed; he was nowhere near drunk enough for this one.

"You are definitely not a Schnee," he observed, warm familiarity in his tone subverting any attempt to sound unhappy.

The boy chuckled. Always chuckles with that kid, Qrow wondered how long it had been since he had simply laughed. Not that half-way amused sound, not that crazed battle laughter either, just simple, care-free laughter. Well, not that Qrow could blame the kid. He'd definitely seen more shit than anyone his age had any right to. "Oh, you mean the young lady that was rushing here to meet you after work? She's going to be a bit late I'm afraid."

Qrow rolled his eyes. Of course she was. "What did you do?"

"I'll tell you what I didn't do. I certainly didn't cause a bucket of water to fall off a roof, spilling it all over her so that she would be forced to take a detour to her apartment to change and redo her hair and makeup." As if on cue, a buzzing noise in his pocket notified him of a text from his ice queen, verifying that was, in fact, exactly what happened, though she was under the impression that the culprit was targeting her due either to her connection to the military or the Schnee Dust Company, never imagining that it might be related to him, instead. Damn, he was going to have to make this up to her later. Of course, that could be fun... "You know, you've got a really stupid look on your face." Oberon said calmly. "Not thinking of anything dirty, are we?"

Qrow glared at the boy, snapping back to attention. "It's been a while, huh Yue?"

Oberon sat back in his chair, contemplative. "Haven't heard that name in a long time," he replied, chuckling again.

"Yeah, well, I just don't get why you changed it."

Oberon shrugged. "I never really liked Yueliang. Shouldn't I have a name I like?"

Qrow snorted. "You say that like it's so simple. You think I could just stop being Qrow if I felt like it."

"Yes."

A sigh. "Kid, it's not that easy."

"Yes, actually, it is. All you have to do is fill out a form and boom, new name. Or in my case, just start calling yourself by the new name, everybody else will eventually follow suit."

Qrow sighed. The kid had a surprisingly simplistic world view, in the face of everything he had experienced. He wondered if that wasn't that very simplicity that made him such a merciless and prolific killer. To him, everything could be simplified and reduced. No need to think about his victims' families, no need to worry about whether he was on the right side of history. If they opposed him, they were evil, and there was nothing more to be said on the matter. Guess that's what happens when Raven is your sole role model for most of your life.

"You're thinking something rude about your sister, aren't you?" Obi interjected.

"Seriously, chill with the mind reading, will you?"

"You know as well as anyone that mind reading is not within my skill set. You always get this certain look when you start thinking about Raven, like you swallowed something bitter. And since you literally never have any nice thoughts about her, it was an easy leap to make."

"Well, she's not exactly on my warm fuzzies list, ya know?"

"Because of what happened with your niece, or because she returned to the tribe."

Qrow had to admit, he hadn't expected Oberon to bring up the tribe. Honestly, he was surprised Obi even knew they existed. "I was under the impression she was keeping your little group in th dark about the tribe."

"Oh, they are. But does anything you know about me lead you to believe that I would be content to remain in the dark about my leader's activities, to follow blindly without being able to see the bigger picture."

"Fair enough, kiddo, fair enough. I can't exactly fault you for being curious. You're not one to keep in touch, though. Guess Raven really rubbed off on you in that sense, at least. So, that being said, what brings you to my neck of the woods?"

Oberon brought a hand up to his face, index finger pointing upwards on the side, while the rest of his fingers curled downwards over where his mouth would be beneath his mask. Something serious, then. "Tell me, Qrow, how much do you know about Roy Flagg?"

Qrow stiffened. "Why would you be asking about Roy Flagg?"

"That's not something you need to know. But we have reason to believe he is colluding with Salem. Is he one of her subordinates?"

"I wish it was that simple, kid. Now, ya gotta understand, I don't really have all that much information on him. He covers his tracks pretty well. But, from what I can tell, he does not so much serve Salem as works along-side her."

"A partner, then?"

"I doubt it. They both seem to be serving their own, personal goals. However, it appears that they do share some mutual objectives and are willing to assist each other in carrying out those objectives."

Oberon sat silently, absorbing this new intel. The fingers of his right hand drummed on the table as he considered the possible implications, metal fingertips tapping away on the glass tabletop. Qrow did not fail to notice the slight stutter in his movements, or that sometimes he missed a finger in the pattern. A part of him wanted to hug the kid, to tell him it was gonna be okay, but he'd been through enough to deserve the truth, and Qrow, at least, wasn't gonna lie to him."

Did you ever meet Summer?" Qrow asked, suddenly breaking the silence between them.

"A few times, yes." Oberon replied, jarred by the sudden subject change. "Why do you ask?"

"What did you think of her?"

Oberon considered his answer, casting back to the few memories of Summer that he had. "She was kind, and caring. She put everything she had into raising her kids and killing Grimm. She always polite when we met, and she never treated me like a kid. But, you know, she always seemed sad. No, not sad, just...wistful, I suppose. I think she missed Raven, though she would never admit it. But she always said she understood why Raven left."

"Well, that makes one of us."

"Excuse me?"

"I still don't understand. What the hell could make you leave your family like that?"

"She couldn't stay. You know that, don't you?"

"Even if that's true, that was no excuse to leave Yang behind."

"It was better for her."

"Oh, yeah? Did you ever consider that if she had brought Yang, she might still have her arm?"

Oberon slammed his hands down on the table, cracking the glass. "OR MAYBE SHE'D BE LYING DEAD IN AN UNMARKED GRAVE!"

Qrow deflated, self-righteous anger popped like a balloon. "Shit, kid, I didn't mean-"

Oberon held up a hand, silencing him. "It's fine. Just...think about it, okay. Anyway, your date's here." He nodded behind Qrow towards the door. There she was, his Schnee. He smiled, taking in her long, elegant dress, white at the top, fading to light blue as it flowed downwards. He turned back, only to find the seat across from him was empty. Just then, he heard those familiar steps making their way to him.

"Do I even want to know what happened here?" she asked, noticing the cracks in the table.

Qrow grinned sheepishly. "Long story, Win, long story."

A/N: This is all I have right now, and I'm kind of engrossed in a different project right now, so this is going on hiatus for a while. Do I know how long? No. Do I plan on coming back to it eventually, yes. So, yeah, that's about it. Bye