Okay, reactions to vol 5 chap 2: Hazel is the likable villain, screw Adam, screw canon Raven. Weiss isn't quite the cinnamon roll as Ruby, but still. You do not kick Weiss in the face! All hope for Raven in canon is gone...At least birdmom kind of exists here.
Oh, and this chapter was combined with 9. Both were on the shorter side, and I believe deal with similar things. That means one less week until Reconstruction.
Raven pulled her sword out of the man she once fought in the tournament. "What a waste." She wiped a hand across her chin then held it away from her face. Her gloved hand was coated with her own blood. The guy actually made in through her Aura before she made it through his. If he didn't run as soon as his own fell, he might have been able to kill Raven. "And here I thought you were a worthy opponent back then."
She limped across the rooftop toward the side where Vacuo police should be taking care of the two people Raven left alive. Her Aura should be able to take care of her newest leg injury before the day was out. Raven looked over the side of the building. Four officers led two prisoners between them. Maybe, just maybe, this bunch getting busted would be enough to knock some sense into the Nevermores. If they did, Raven would go back to her baby girl. She'd been away for way too long.
As Raven was pulling away from the edge of the roof, the kids were brought out of the building. She stopped and watched what the officers and kids did. The kids tried to cling onto a few of the officers. But most of the officers wanted nothing to do with the kids. Only one of them showed any interest in helping them, and he was the biggest guy around. Just like Tai, a big teddy bear. Get Summer in there and they'd feel loved and wanted in two seconds flat.
Raven's instincts told her to get down there too. Even though she'd been gone most of Yang's life at that point, she still wanted nothing more than to be with her Firecracker. Those kids down there needed a mother's touch. Raven had to fight going down there herself. The remaining Nevermores might find out that this whole thing was a ruse.
She shook her head and left the scene. Raven picked up her mask from where it fell. At this point, she didn't need to cover her face, but it still felt better. All those monsters she faced would see a Grimm mask as they were cut down…Summer would not approve of that kind of thinking.
Summer was due to come in later in the day. Most of the time she just spoke about Yang, and how she wanted Raven to come back. Hopefully this time was different. Raven wanted to see her daughter again, and not with a bird's eye view through a window. She wanted to hold Yang in her arms, sing her to sleep, like she'd seen Summer do so many times through a window.
Raven stopped as her legs hit the half wall on the other side of the roof. She didn't even realize she walked that far. "I'm daydreaming again. Summer, you're still rubbing off on me." Raven shook her head and turned around. She swung her sword in front of her and a portal opened.
She stepped through it and into her apartment in one of the few towns on the border of the Kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo.. The portal closed behind her and she sighed. She set her weapon by the wall to the door and limped to her couch. After all the time away from the rest of the team, she'd fallen back into some of her tribal habits. Not bandaging wounds and letting Aura heal them was one of them. Of course she'd get a lecture from Summer about Aura not being able to heal infections well. At the moment, Raven wouldn't mind hearing Summer read her the riot act.
Raven turned on her projector and turned to one of the few channels Vacuo's CCT actually got out this far. The only news station this place got was VNN, which was fine with Raven. Kept her just a little closer to home. It looked like the only interesting thing that happened in Vale recently was a Mountain Glen salvage team having to return early because their Huntress escort got sick. That couldn't be fun for anyone. Other than that, the newscast focused on a new Faunus equality group called the White Fang. Hopefully this one didn't go the path of so many others.
Someone knocked on her door. Raven stiffened and looked toward it. It could be Summer, but it could be someone sent to get rid of her. That had happened a few times. Raven stood up and creeped toward her door. She drew her sword and looked through the peephole.
A person in a brown robe stood outside, facing away from the door. He or she turned around and a pure white mask covered his or her face. So far, it looked a lot like Summer's disguise. Raven opened the door a crack and glared at the person. The person reached up to his or her face and pulled the mask down so just her eyes were visible. Silver irises stared back at Raven. It was Summer alright, but something was…wrong.
Raven pulled her door open and Summer stepped inside. She closed the door quickly behind her partner. "We're clear, Sum."
Summer's shoulders sagged and she sighed. "Good." She peeled her mask off and let it drop to the floor. "It hurts standing this stiff." Summer let her extra cloak fall to the floor. She wore her normal combat outfit minus her trademark white hood as she always did while visiting.
"Anything interesting happen since last time we saw each other?" Raven walked to her couch and sat down.
Summer winced and sat next to Raven. "Yeah, you could say that." She rubbed the back of her neck. "There was a small Grimm attack on Vale a few days ago. I helped force it back. There was a Colonel from Atlas there as well. James Ironwood. His team beat ours in the team round in our first tournament."
"Since when does a small Grimm attack get you riled up?" Raven smirked. "You don't like him, do you?"
"What? Ew. No!" Summer fervently shook her head. "He was a good fighter. The only reason I mentioned him is because I had to put him in cryofreeze to save his life. A Deathstalker got him pretty bad."
Raven froze. "So, someone from Atlas who isn't a Headmaster knows you're a Maiden?"
"Maybe, maybe not." Summer shrugged. "The entire right side of his body's pretty much gone. Even with the freeze, I don't know if he's going to survive." She dipped her head. "I need to lay low until Ozpin clears this whole mess."
"Well, as long as you keep your disguise on while in public, you're welcome here." Raven paused. Something wasn't sitting right with her. "But you're not stressed because you've been found out."
Summer smiled, but the expression didn't make it to her eyes. "I can't think of anything else it would be."
"How have you kept this whole thing a secret with you being such a bad liar?" Raven's heart sunk. "Is everything okay back home? Is Yang okay?"
"Everything and everyone's fine." Summer waved her arms in front of her. "But I…" Her eyes watered. She pulled her feet up onto the couch and buried her head in her knees. She mumbled something into her legs.
"I can't hear you, Sum." Raven put a hand on her partner's shoulder. This wasn't a good thing. Whenever Summer wasn't smiling, something was very wrong.
Summer lifted her head an inch. "I slept with him." She buried her face once more.
Raven's jaw dropped. "James?"
Summer shivered and she faced Raven. "What part of 'ew, no' don't you understand."
"Qrow?" Raven raised an eyebrow.
"I wish it was that simple." Summer faced forward again and rested arms on her knees.
Raven narrowed her eyes. Summer wasn't one to sleep around. As far as Raven knew, Summer hadn't slept with anyone before whoever this was. James was a ridiculous thought, Qrow made sense because the two actually went on half a date. Who else would Summer… Raven's eyes widened. "Tai?" Summer squeaked and buried her head in her arms.
Raven's eyes twitched. Her partner, the one who never wanted to hurt anyone, slept with her husband? Wait…Summer 'save myself for the one' Rose slept with anyone period? "Why?" Raven's voice was nothing but a growl.
"I don't know." Summer shook her head in her arms. "I can't even remember what led up to it. All I know is he said how good of a mother I'd been to Yang and he somehow compared me to a sunrise and I…jumped on him." Summer hugged her legs tighter. "After that, everything happened so fast."
"So, this wasn't Tai's idea? He didn't force it on you?"
"No. It was all me."
Raven stared at her partner. Her head told her to be mad. She wanted to scream at Summer and tell her to leave. But at the same time, that felt wrong. Why wasn't she upset? She should be furious that Summer slept with her husband. But she wasn't mad. In fact, she almost felt happy for Summer. "Wow. I never thought I'd hear you say that."
"That's not even the worst part!" Summer took her head out of her arms. "I had to tell him everything after that. He knows why you left and that we've been seeing each other every few weeks. He knows you still love Yang and you're coming back as soon as you can. I went on a mission the day after. When I came back, he acted as if nothing had changed.
"Then yesterday, I checked the team's bank account because you know, that massive hack that's going around. I noticed a large dip in Tai's. I was about to call it in, but I saw that it was spent at a jewelry store in Vale." Summer swallowed and inched away from Raven. "I think he's going to propose. And after this past year, I don't know if I can say no."
Once again, Raven thought she should be angry, but she didn't. "Well, I guess that's that." She leaned back on her couch.
"But…aren't you mad? Why aren't you yelling at me?" Summer looked at Raven with tear filled eyes.
"I'm asking myself the same thing." Raven shrugged. "But I'm not. If you want, Tai's all yours."
Summer's jaw dropped. "But, Raven."
"You've been there, I haven't. I guess I've had time to think about all this." Raven shook her head. "Things were looking up, but I could tell after Yang was born, we would go back to our old fighting selves sooner or later. Anyway, you're a better mom than I could ever be."
"Um, about that…" Summer looked away and purse her lips. She rubbed the back of her neck and her cheeks burned red.
Raven straightened up. "Summer, you're not…"
"I am." Summer nodded. "Got the first round of morning sickness while escorting a salvage team in Mountain Glen."
"That was you?" Raven turned to the projector then back to Summer. "I just saw something about that on the news." Raven felt a smile tugging on her face, but didn't see anything remotely like that on Summer's. "Come on, Sum. I always expected you to be jumping off the walls when you got pregnant."
"I mean, under normal circumstances, I would. But…" Summer shook her head. "Tai is your husband not mine."
"I believe by Vale law, we're divorced and you just said you think he's going to propose, and you essentially said that you were going to say yes. You should be bouncing off the walls." Raven stood up and picked Summer's mask up from where she dropped it. "Come on. We're going out. We're going to celebrate you having a baby of your own."
Summer breathed deeply as she settled into her new bed. "Well, that hurt." In fact, she still hurt. The worst pain of her life. That put the few broken limbs she had to shame. The pain had dissipated in the past few minutes enough so that wasn't everything she felt, but she still wouldn't be walking around for a while…but it was so worth it. She lifted her head and smiled at her baby girl, who had only just fell silent. "At least you were smaller than Yang."
Tai reached an arm over and rubbed his second daughter's head. "She's beautiful. She kind of looks like you. Another clone, maybe?"
"She has my eyes. That's all we can tell right now." As if on cue, Ruby's head shifted and she opened her eyes. Pure silver irises stared back at their mom. Summer's smile grew. "Hi, Ruby." She tightened her arms and brought her daughter closer. She kissed Ruby on the forehead. "You are just the prettiest little girl." Ruby closed her eyes and laid her head back on Summer's chest, right above her mom's heart. "Yep. Another perfect baby girl."
"You thirsty?" Tai held out a glass of water.
Summer chuckled. "Is the moon shattered?" She took the glass with her free arm and drank greedily. The water did wonders for her sore throat from screaming so much, but it wasn't nearly enough. Summer pulled the glass away and held it toward her husband. "Could you get me some more?"
"Of course. You've earned it." Tai took the glass and walked toward the bathroom.
"So did you," Summer called. "I can't remember everything that I said or did, but I think I abused you quite a bit."
"You did. But then again, you weren't you." Tai disappeared into the bathroom.
Summer returned her attention to her baby girl. "Now where were we?" She pulled Ruby up again and rested her head on top of her daughter's. "I've been waiting to meet you for months, Ruby. You were worth the wait." Ruby's eyes opened again and she looked up at her mom. Tai walked out of the bathroom, full glass in hand. Summer placed a finger on Ruby's cheek an guided her toward Tai. "Ruby, that is your daddy."
Tai smiled and waved with his free hand. "Hi."
"He's been waiting for you too." Summer rocked her baby. "He may look big and scary, but he's sweet. He won't hurt you. He'll protect you for forever."
"That I will." Tai sat in the chair next to Summer's bed. He leaned forward and kissed Ruby on the forehead. "Don't worry. You're probably in the safest room on Remnant right now." He handed the cup to Summer. "Here you go. Got it as cold as I could."
"Not that I couldn't fix that in a second or two." Summer took the glass and downed that one as well. "Any idea on when Qrow's getting here with Yang?"
"Soon." Tai took the cup. "He texted as they were wheeling you in here. He should be in the hospital now. Need more water?"
"Please." Summer leaned her head harder onto Ruby's, but not to the point where she'd hurt her baby girl.
As Tai left the bathroom again, the door to the room opened. Qrow poked his head in. "Is it safe?" he asked.
"Perfectly." This time, Summer only took a sip of her water. "Come on in."
Qrow pulled his head out. "Come on, Firecracker," he said to Yang. "Time to meet your sister." He pushed the door fully open and entered the room.
Yang ran past and to Summer's side. She stood on the tips of her toes and tried to look over the bed. But the two year old wasn't tall enough to see her mom, much less her sister. "I wanna see," she whined.
"I'll help you out." Qrow walked behind Yang and put his hands on her sides. He lifted Yang up and set her on Summer's bed.
Yang blinked and crawled across her mom's bed to where she was sitting just across from Ruby. She craned her neck and pushed herself up on her mom's side. "I wanna seeee…"
"Let me help." Summer gave her glass back to Tai, then guided Yang onto her lap. Her oldest looked up as Summer turned Ruby so Yang could fully see her sister. Ruby didn't even protest. "Yang, this is your new baby sister. Her name is Ruby."
"Wuby." Yang put on one of her Sanus sized smiles. "Can I hold her?"
Summer hesitated for a half second. "Of course. Just hold her like I am now." Yang nodded like she was in an earthquake. Summer carefully handed her baby girl to her big girl.
Yang equally as carefully held her sister and her smile grew. She hugged Ruby and gently rocked from side to side. "I wove you Wuby."
"Her name is Ruby, not Wuby," Summer corrected.
"I said that." Yang looked up at Summer. "Wuby."
Summer giggled. Yang still couldn't say her 'r's and 'w's right, and she didn't even know it. "Yang, repeat after me. Rrrrrrruby."
"Wwwwwwwuby." Yang's eyes narrowed and her lips stuck out. She was so cute when she got angry.
"Rrrrrrruby," Summer corrected again.
Yang shook her head and her lips stuck out even more. "Wwwwwwwuby!"
Summer smiled at her oldest and shook her head. "You'll have plenty of time to practice in the future."
Yang stuck out her lips even more then turned her head to Ruby. "I talk good." Her smile returned and she rubbed her head against Ruby's. "I teach you." Ruby's lips trembled then she started crying. Yang's jaw dropped and she hugged Ruby even more. That only brought more cries from the newborn. "What I do?"
"Here." Summer took Ruby back from Yang and held her close to her chest. "You need to be gentle." She rocked Ruby from side to side. "You need to talk in a calm voice. Hold her about right here, close to your heart. Well, that one might only be for me 'cause I'm her mom." Ever so slowly, Ruby's crying lessened and disappeared completely. In fact, it sounded like she was falling asleep. "See? I learned some of these things from you."
"She okay?" Yang wiggled up Summer's lap and positioned herself across from Ruby.
"You just made her uncomfortable." Summer smiled at her oldest. "I don't think she'll hold it against you."
Yang nodded and wiggled closer to Ruby again. "I'm sowwy Wuby." She hugged her baby sister, this time more gently than the other. "I didn't mean to scare you." She kissed Ruby's forehead and just leaned against her. This time, Ruby didn't complain.
Summer covered her enormous smile with her free hand. She removed it and made an old-fashioned camera gesture. Tai took his Scroll out of his pocket and lined it up with the three girls. Summer rested a cheek on both her girl's heads. She waited for Tai to give her the all clear. A few seconds later, he stuck a thumb up at Summer. "Okay Yang," Summer kissed her oldest's head, "mommy's tired. I'm going to be here for a few days, but I'll be home with Ruby soon?"
"Why?" Yang looked up, her eyes starting to water. "You gone so much."
Ohhh, boy. How do I explain childbirth this early? "I, uh…"
"Why aren't you fat?" Yang poked Summer's belly.
Summer shot a glare at Qrow, then returned her attention to Yang. "I found her in Grimm territory. I ran and fought so much, I lost all that weight."
Yang's lips shot out again and she looked at Ruby. "Why she there?"
Tai shrugged. "We don't know for sure, but some people think it's storks that got lost and were too tired to carry babies."
"Your dad found you a few miles away from home." Qrow walked in from the side and put a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Found you surrounded by sunflowers believe it or not." He placed both hands on Yang's sides. "Now your mommy said she needed her sleep. We should probably let her do that."
Yang's shoulders slumped and she kissed Ruby's cheek. "Fine." She removed her grip from Ruby and allowed Qrow to pick her off the bed. "Be home quick," she said as Qrow set her on the ground.
"I'll be home as soon as the doctors say it's okay for both me and Ruby to leave." Summer gave Yang a small wave. "Bye!" Yang returned it and Qrow escorted her out.
Just as Yang left the room, Qrow turned his head back. "So who's the father? Can't be Tai. Ruby's too cute for that."
Tai laughed, but Summer glared at Qrow. "Not with Yang in earshot," she growled through her teeth. Qrow winced and left the room as well.
"A little much, don't you think?" Tai asked.
"Yang might be able to understand stuff like that. No need to confuse her early on." Summer sighed and leaned back in her bed once more. "We'll have to tell her eventually, but only when she's older." Some motion outside the window caught Summer's eye. A raven was flying erratically just outside the hospital. If the motions were any indication, that raven was Raven. Summer honestly didn't expect her partner to show up like this. Still, it was a welcome surprise. The whole team was there. If only Raven could have been in the room. That would have made the whole thing better.
Summer shot up in her bed and listened. Everything sounded quiet in the house. Tai didn't snore, both Yang and Ruby were quiet, and it didn't sound like anything was outside, not even the owls that kept Summer up so many times before. So why did she wake up in such a hurry? She shrugged and laid back on her pillow. Probably just the wind.
Just as she closed her eyes, she heard her baby girl crying. Summer snapped her eyes open and looked to where her daughters' room was. She burst from her bed and ran for the door. This happened every night, but it never got any easier.
As she reached Ruby's room, Summer stopped in place. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The girls' room didn't have a nightlight, but most nights, the moon shone perfectly through the window. No nightlight needed, not that any girl needed it in the first place. Yang was trying to climb down from her bed. Summer picked her oldest up and set her back down on the bed. "Mommy…" Yang's lower lip trembled, "I help."
"I know you want to Yang," Summer caressed Yang's face, "but I don't want you hurting yourself or her climbing into the crib." She turned around and walked over to Ruby's crib. "It's okay, Ruby, I'm here."
Summer picked her crying, baby girl up and cradled her in her arms. She looked over her baby and listened for anything to give Ruby's current episode away. It didn't sound like she was hungry, and it didn't feel or smell like she made a mess. "It was only a bad dream." She kissed Ruby's forehead. "That wasn't real, this is." Ruby's crying lessened with time.
"That's my girl." Summer faced her oldest once more. She'd had an idea for a few nights now, and she wanted to test it out. "Yang, do you want to try?"
"Yes!" Yang nodded frantically, never taking her eyes off Ruby.
"Okay then." Summer sat by her oldest's side. Yang held out her arms and her mother set her sister in her arms. She held her sister close, with Ruby's head just over Yang's heart. Yang rocked Ruby while humming. Ruby's crying slowed and disappeared from existance. She was still awake, but silent.
"Very good, Yang." Summer rubbed her oldest's back. "Maybe you'll win the award for 'Best Big Sister of the Year."
"Weawwy?" Yang finally took her eyes off Ruby and beamed up at Summer.
"While I'm not in charge of that, you'd definitely win it if I was." Summer returned her attention to her baby girl and caressed Ruby's cheek. "You're in good hands, Gem. Mine, your daddy's, and your big sister's."
Yang smiled and kissed Ruby on the forehead. "I wove you, Ruby."
Summer tried and probably failed to hold back a huge smile. That was the first time she ever heard Yang say an 'R' right. "I think it's time we put you both back to bed." She continued rubbing Yang's back singing one of her favorite lullabies. Yang's eyes drifted downward, but she snapped them back open before they fully closed. Ruby's breathing slowed and her eyes shut.
Summer stopped her song and lifted Ruby out of Yang's tired arms. She carried her baby girl back to the crib, kissing her forehead. "Sleep well, Gem. You will feel better in the morning." She set Ruby back down in the crib and pulled the covers over.
"She okay?" Yang asked groggily.
"Of course." Summer faced her oldest and approached the small bed. "Just a nightmare." She kissed Yang's forehead. "Now you need to get some sleep too." She pushed Yang back onto her bed. Yang fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow. Summer kissed Yang's forehead again. "Goodnight, Phoenix." She pulled Yang's covers over her.
Summer backed up from Yang's bed and left the room. She closed the door and walked back down the hall, listening back in case one of her girls woke up. Hearing nothing, she pushed the door open to the master. Tai hadn't even budged. Always the deep sleeper. Summer didn't mind. The more time she spent with her girls the better. Time of day didn't matter…too much.
"Okay. Let's see if this works." Summer straddled Bumblebee and kicked him into gear. As she hoped, her motorcycle purred to life. She clenched one of her fists and pumped it. "Finally! I can go off-roading!" She let the engine die and got off. Before she pushed open the doors to the shed, she checked the bit of the engine she had working on, just to make sure nothing came loose. Not seeing anything, she closed the cover back up.
As she picked up her helmet, she heard the door open behind her. "Mommy?" Yang said. Summer turned her head and faced her oldest. "What you doing?"
"Well, I just finished working on Bumblebee." Summer rubbed her motorcycle's seat. "Before I could only take it on the paved roads, not the dirt ones or any trails."
Yang looked down and out toward the main street. "But how you get from here to there?"
"I walked it there before, but now I can ride out there no problem."
Yang's face lit up like a lighthouse. "Can I ride?"
Summer just stared at Yang. Her instinctual response was 'no.' It was too dangerous, especially since she wanted to get around the whole island as fast as possible. Then again, she didn't need to drive around the island, and Yang would need to travel someway other than walking at some point. At the moment, Summer only trusted herself to help Yang in that regard. "I guess for a little bit, but you'll need your bike helmet."
"Yay!" Yang walked past Bumblebee to where her on training wheeled bike rested. She picked her helmet off the handlebars and returned to her mom's side. "Can Ruby come too?"
Summer shook her head. "She's too young, too tiny. Besides, Bumblebee can only fit two."
Yang hung her head. "She have fun."
"Maybe." Summer knelt down and stuck a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Yang, I know you love your sister, but you can't do everything with her. You're going to preschool in a few years, but Ruby can't go for a couple years after that." She looked past Yang and out the door. "Besides, I think Ruby's having plenty of fun now." She turned Yang around to look to where Ruby was crawling after Qrow, who was holding a bag of strawberries.
"I guess." Yang looked up at Summer and her smile returned. "Can we go?"
"Of course. You need help putting on your helmet?" In response, Yang fit the helmet over her head. She grabbed the two connectors and moved them together. Both pieces missed several times. Summer was about to help Yang out when they clicked together.
Yang's smile widened and she jumped around. "I did it! I did it! I did it!"
"Yes, you did." Summer put a hand on top of Yang's helmet, making her oldest stop. She smirked. "Don't lose your head." Yang giggled and pushed her mom's hand away.
Summer picked Yang up and set her on the back of Bumblebee's seat. She grabbed her own helmet, mounted her bike, and kicked it on. The engine purred to life once more. Yang screamed happily and clapped her hands. Summer straddle-walked Bumblebee out the door.
"You ready Phoenix?" Summer turned her head back.
Yang bounced in her seat. "Go! Go! Go!"
"You asked for it. Hang on tight." Summer revved the engine twice, making Yang squeal in delight. She took her feet off the ground and flew down the dirt path to the road…so slow the needle didn't even move. It took all of Summer's concentration to keep her bike balanced at such low speed. Yang's tiny arms wrapped around Summer's waist, but judging by the squeals, she wasn't scared at all.
Summer rode around the house once. Tai had joined Qrow in front of Ruby, but he held a couple cookies instead. He waved at Summer as she came close. "Hey! So you got…that…working." His eyes widened and were fixed on a spot directly behind Summer.
"Yep! I can finally go cross country on this thing. I'm taking Yang out for a ride. We'll be back soon."
Tai blinked several times, then shook his head. "Be safe out there."
"We will." Summer turned Bumblebee toward the nearest forest trail and rode in. She walked this way many times. Heck, team STRQ was the reason this trail was here. Bumblebee would not have made the trip before, but the all purpose tires along with the engine improvements made it a cakewalk.
Yang didn't freak out either. She didn't squeal as much as she did back in the yard, but she wasn't scared either. The few times Summer managed to look back, she saw Yang smiling at everything around them. Summer smiled to herself each time. Yang was becoming a lover of the wilderness. Maybe she should take her out to Emerald Falls park sometime, especially at nighttime.
A few minutes later, Summer and Yang left the trees and arrived at Summer's favorite place on the island, despite the conversation she and Raven had here years ago. She let the engine die again and pulled off her helmet. "How about a break here Yang?" She kicked down the kickstand before Yang could answer. Hopefully it wouldn't sink too far into the dirt.
"Why you like this place so much?" Yang asked as she looked over the cliff.
"I like the view. Another thing, the ocean breeze here is so nice most of the time. I'd live here if I could, but I can't pick up the house and move it here. I'm not that strong."
"It is pretty." Yang agreed.
Some motion in a nearby tree caught Summer's eye. She looked toward the tree line and saw a Raven flying toward them at full speed. Summer bumped her daughter. "Yang, it looks like your friend is here."
Yang looked toward the bird and squealed some more. "Birdy! Birdy!" Raven flew toward Yang and landed on her shoulder. She pressed her head against Yang's cheek. Yang hugged her real mother in disguise. "Mommy, can we keep it?"
Every time Yang asked that question, Summer wanted to say yes. Every time, she held herself back. She wanted to lock Raven in the basement and keep her there. At least then Yang would know her mother. "You know we can't, Yang. Birdy's home is out here."
"But…" Yang looked up at Summer with puppy dog eyes, "please…"
Summer shook her head. Yang was cute, even 'oogle my way into everything' cute, but not 'endanger everyone around me so I can have a pet' cute. "Yang, we've had this discussion before. We can't."
Yang's free shoulder drooped. Her head rose and she perked up again. "What about that one?"
Summer followed Yang's finger and stiffened. She had never seen an actual Nevermore around here before. "That's no birdy Yang. That's a Grimm." Raven took her head off Yang's cheek and looked in that direction as well.
"But it looks like a birdy."
"It may, but that's why they're so dangerous. They can pick up and take cute little girls from their homes."
Yang gripped onto Summer tighter, but loosened almost immediately. "How many you fought?"
"More than I can count." Summer reached for Sun's Light, but she grabbed empty air instead. She didn't grab it when she left the shed. "But it's not hurting anyone right now. Let's leave it be then head back home." Raven's head flicked to Summer and she nodded. She pressed her head into Yang's cheek once again, then jumped into the air and flew straight toward the Nevermore.
"But we just got here," Yang whined.
"There's Grimm in the area. We need to go." Summer put her helmet back on and kicked on Bumblebee's engine. She drove away at a little more than five miles an hour. Several minutes later, she thought she heard a Nevermore scream. That took Raven longer than it should have. Then again, Raven never could make portals on the move, not for lack of trying.
The house came back into view and Summer drove for the shed. She parked inside and grabbed Sun's Light as soon as she made it off Bumblebee. Better safe than sorry. She helped Yang off the motorcycle. "Come on, let's get into the house."
Yang fumbled around with the clasp beneath her chin. "Help?"
Summer kneeled down and disconnected the chin strap in a second. "There you go." She hung the helmet on the handlebars on Yang's bike. By the time she turned around Yang was waiting by the door. "In a hurry?"
"Daddy has cookies!" Yang pointed at her dad, who indeed had a few more cookies in his hands.
"Well then, let's go get them." Summer gestured toward Tai. Yang sprinted out the door toward her dad. Summer giggled to herself and followed. As she walked, she searched the sky for any more Grimm. A Nevermore could cover that distance in less than a minute. If there were more, that could be bad for Ruby and Yang. She shook her head. That thinking would only attract them here.
Summer focused back on her family. Yang was reaching up for a cookie and Tai was giving one to her. Qrow was eating a strawberry while it looked like Ruby was nibbling on at least one. Summer stepped on a branch, snapping it. Ruby looked in her direction, with a strawberry in her mouth. Summer waved at her youngest. "Hi, Ruby"
The strawberry fell out of Ruby's mouth as she smiled. She leaned forward to stand on all fours, then she…stood up straight and started walking toward her mom.
Summer stopped in place and she clamped her hands over her mouth and nose. One of the biggest smiles she ever had hid behind her hands as she watched her baby girl take her first steps. She bounced on her platforms as Ruby approached. Ruby wasn't stable by any means, but she was making progress. Summer knelt down and opened her arms wide when Ruby was only a foot away. Ruby fell onto her mom's chest and Summer hugged Ruby tight. "Congratulations, Gem! You're getting to be a big girl!"
Fluff is fun. I should do this more often.
A few more things: Merry Hallowthanksmas pt 1! (or at least I think it's part one...the weather here says otherwise) Happy Birthday this whole series. Two years ago today, I uploaded the first chapter of A Rose' Scales, then called Rubys and Scales. But more importantly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUBY ROSE! Hopefully you will celebrate with team RNJR, Qrow, and Oscar.