A Much Needed Talk.

Around a campfire, the team along with Qrow sit on four logs positioned in a square. Lucina and Ruby were sitting next to each other. Jaune and Qrow were sitting by themselves, while Ren and Nora also shared a log. Qrow has just finished telling the story of the Maidens.

There is silence and Qrow takes a swig from his flask. He has a bandage wrapped around his abdomen over his clothing "Really? No questions?".

"Of course we have questions. This is just... a lot to take in" Jaune said.

Qrow sighs "Sure, of course".

"So these... Maidens... They're powerful fighters that don't need Dust to use magic" Ruby summed up.

"Yeah" Qrow confirmed.

"And there are four of them?" Nora asked.

Qrow nods "Yup. Always".

"Which means that, whenever one of them dies, the power transfers to someone - a female - that they cared about?" Ren asked.

"Whoever was in their thoughts last. Important distinction. Best option is someone we can trust. Regardless, their souls become combined, in a way" Qrow answered.

"And that's what you were trying to do to Pyrrha... the night the tower fell. You were trying to turn her into one of them" Jaune said, barely holding back his growing anger.

"The previous Fall Maiden, Amber, had been attacked. She was young, inexperienced. And her assailant, who we now know is Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power, but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well" Qrow explained.

Jaune looked angry "So you forced it on Pyrrha".

"We didn't force anything. We explained the situation and gave her the choice, and she chose. You were there, you heard her" Qrow said. Jaune hangs his head for a brief moment before getting up and walking several feet away from group. Qrow watches him go.

"You think you gave her a choice? Sounds more like an ultimatum to me" Lucina said, causing Qrow to look at her "You should really count yourself lucky that Severa isn't here. Pyrrha was the only real family connection she had for most of her life, since her mom was always busy and her father was a no show. Had she been here now, she would've attacked you. And I'm not so sure if I'd even want to stop her".

Qrow looked down little "Yeah... Lucky...".

Ruby put her hand on Lucina's, hoping to calm her down before things got worse, it had some effect "That guy, Tyrian, why was he after me and Lucina?".

Qrow sighs "Well, you definitely painted a target on your back with what you did at Beacon. I told you having silver eyes is a rare trait. And the fact that you were able to use them seems to have upset some very powerful people. Not many people know about the silver eyes. Those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced. As for why he would be after your girlfriend here. Could be because of her bloodline".

Lucina blushed "We're not-, wait. What does my blood line have to do with this?".

"Your father never told you? That's a surprise, Chrom was never good at keeping secrets. Guess he really didn't want to burden you with your inheritance" Qrow said.

"What inheritance?" Lucina demanded.

"That blade of yours, Falchion right? It's been passed down your family line for generations. Chrom used it before you, your grandfather before him and his father before him. But do you know who was the original wielder?" Qrow asked.

"Yes, it was my ancestor, Marth" Lucina answered.

"Nope, he is only the one people remember. Someone used Falchion before even Marth got his hands on it. His name has since been lost to time, but you may have heard stories about The Warrior Of Harmony. A warrior so powerful, even the deadliest of grimms were no threat to him. Well, that story is real, and his mark has been passed down from one generation to the next. That's where your special eye bran comes from, the brand of the Exalts. You stem from a line of royalty, Princess" Qrow explained.

Lucina put a hand on her branded eye "I... Am an Exalt?".

"Yes, the Exalts pose a real threat to our enemies, so naturally they would want you out of the way as well" Qrow said "That's why I've been keeping an eye on you in order to make sure you were safe. All of you".

"Well, then, why not just travel with us? It seems like that would've been way easier" Ruby pointed out.

Jaune answers her loudly enough to be heard, but with his back still turned to everyone "He was using you as bait".

"Look, I wouldn't put it like that - it's complicated" Qrow said.

"I think we are way beyond complicated at this point" Lucina said.

Jaune turns back "What is all of this? Ruby and Lucina are being hunted, the schools are being attacked, all for what?! What is the point of all of this?! Will you just tell us what's going on?!".

Qrow stares at him, then slouches over with a sigh "Would you sit down? You're stressin' me out, 'kid".

Jaune sits back down on his log and crosses his arms. Qrow starts to take another swig, but changes his mind before the flask reaches his lips.

"Not many people are super religious these days" Qrow caps and sets the flask down "This world's been around for a long time, long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real".

Everyone paid close attention

"They were two brothers. The older sibling, the God of Light, found joy in creating forces of life. Meanwhile, the younger brother, the God of Darkness, spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, they both had pretty different ideas about how things should go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. And at night, his brother would wake to see all the things that the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the God of Darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all he could do to rid Remnant of life. Life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something - something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything" Qrow began explaining.

"The creatures of Grimm" Ruby realized.

"You guessed it. The older brother finally had enough. Knowing that their feud couldn't last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation... together, something that they could both be proud of, their masterpiece. The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge, so that it could learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow - the path of light or the path of darkness. And that is how Humanity came to be" Qrow continued.

"But... what does that have to do with us?" Ren asked.

"Well, that's the kicker. See, the four gifts to mankind - knowledge, creation, destruction and choice - aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form, left behind by the Gods before they abandoned Remnant, and each of them is extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world. That's exactly what the enemy wants. The Huntsman Academies were created to train generations of Humanity's protectors, but they also serve another purpose - guarding the Relics. When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the Relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would constantly be surrounded by trained warriors. The hope was that hiding them would keep mankind from using them against itself... and, of course, keeping them out of her reach" Qrow finished explaining "So yeah, there's that".

"Her. You mean Salem?" Ruby asked.

"That's right. Not much is known about her. Quite frankly, that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants the Relics, and if she gets them, it's not going to end well" Qrow said.

Lucina remained silent... For some reason, hearing Salem's name made her very uneasy.


Meanwhile, back in Menagerie, Lyre was sitting on a window sill, with her legs dangling outside. She was holding her scroll while looking through some pictures. One picture was of her and Lucina, a celebration selfie for when they became partners, Lucina was so awkward back then, but she got used to Lyre's antics pretty quickly. The next picture was of Lyre and Severa... where Severa was strangling Lyre from behind because she wanted to take a selfie while Severa was only in her underwear, Lyre almost laughed and kind of missed Severa's temper tantrums. The next one was of Lyre hugging a blushing Bernadetta as a thank you for helping her out with a math problem, but this one was taken by Lucina because she thought it looked cute.

Lyre smiled before she continued going through the pictures... Until she stopped when she reached one of her and Weiss... Lyre had her arm around Weiss' shoulders while smiling and Weiss looked annoyed... Lyre also had a hand print on her face because Weiss had given her an super strong slap after Lyre playfully flipped her skirt up. She had the handprint on her face for several hours, but it was worth it since she got a peek at Weiss blue panties... They looked so cute.

"Weiss..." Lyre whispered... She missed her so much. Suddenly her ears perked up when she heard rustling outside.

Narrowing her eyes, she leaped outside and began looking around. Keeping her sharp senses on high alert, she canned the area for anything out of the ordinary. She looked down and noticed footprints, which clearly belonged to another person. She followed them with her eyes until she noticed they lead to a tree. She looked up and began climbing it. When she reached the top, no one was there, but she kept looking around... and finally she spotted something... It was very faint due to the darkness but it was unmistakable... A White Fang mask!

Lyre wasted no time in jumping behind the mysterious figure and grabbed her around the neck, earning a gasp in surprise "Who are you!?".

The girl didn't answer and she broke Lyre's grip and pushed her away. Lyre looked up just in time to see the girl take out an electric whip and was barely able to raise her arms in time to block a strike. Hissing in pain as her arms were shocked by the strike, Lyre stumbled of the tree, but managed to grab on to it before she could hit the ground. She looked to see the girl leaping away.

Narrowing her eyes, Lyre quickly followed her. No way she was letting her get away after catching her spying on Blake and her family.


Back with the team. They're still talking to Qrow at the campfire.

"Alright. So, let's say we believe all this. There really is this crazy evil being behind these attacks, not just some thugs trying to become powerful. Why doesn't the world know? Why isn't Atlas going after them? Or Mistral?" Jaune demanded.

"And why aren't we in more of a hurry to get to Haven? Shouldn't we be getting them a message? What if they're next?" Nora asked.

"The Headmaster over there saw what happened to Beacon. He's not dumb. He'll be on his guard. Besides, it takes time to mobilize forces like that. Do you really think they planned out that attack on Beacon overnight? And to answer your question, it's the same reason we keep quiet about the Maidens. If the whole world knew about the Relics, about Salem, there would be chaos. There'd be another Great War on our hands, and this time, you'd have to fight" Qrow explained and Jaune turns away "Look, I had the same questions, too. But ol' Ozpin would always put his foot down. We can't cause a panic. Heh, can't tell you how many times I've heard that. Salem's smart. She works from the shadows, using others to get what she wants, so that when it comes time to place the blame, we can only point at each other. She's trying to divide us. Humanity, and so far she's done a pretty damn good job".

Leaning back, Qrow looks up at the broken moon and the visual pans to follow his gaze before returning to him, with an above shot at first, changing to a frontal shot when he looks ahead and sighs.

"Alright, so what should we do?" Ruby asked.

Everyone looks to Qrow who chuckles "I don't really know" The teens all look at each other, surprised and nervous. They return their gaze to him when he starts speaking again "Ozpin has put a lot of trust in the Headmasters. Like I said, the schools are an important part of stopping Salem. Atlas is going to be on high alert after the last attack, and Vacuo is - well, Vacuo. It'll be hard to hire thieves and scoundrels to fight against other thieves and scoundrels. Take that, add in the fact that Cinder and her crew claim to be from Haven, and I think it's likely the next target. So, we're on our way to the Headmaster. Haven't heard from him in a while, even before the attack. I'm hoping he has the answers" He stands, but grabs at where he was cut "Alright, I think it's time you kids got some sleep".

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby spoke.

Qrow stops "Yeah?".

Ruby stands up "This is a lot to take in, and it all sounds crazy, but... I'm willing to do whatever I can to help because I trust you. But why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us, instead of this secrecy, and, and-".

Qrow stopped her "Look, this has nothing to do with trust. I- It's a long story, okay?".

"Seriously? Now you're tired of telling us stories?" Nora asked.

Qrow stares at the fire in silence before speaking. As he talks he kneels down, picks up a stick and pokes at the fire "Did you know that crows are a sign of bad luck? Old superstition, but it's how I got my name. See, some people can absorb electricity and some people can burst into rose petals and some people are just born unlucky. My Semblance isn't like most - it's not exactly something I do. It's always there, whether I like it or not. I bring misfortune. I guess you could call me a bad luck charm. Comes in real handy when I'm fighting an enemy, but it makes it a little hard on friends... and family".

Jaune looked rather bitter at that "Well, you are just a real bundle of help, aren't you?".

Ruby and Nora turn to glare at Jaune. Lucina said nothing, as her mind was still prossessing everything that was going on and everything she's been told about both the situation... and about her blood line.

"Yeah" Qrow said and walks away from the campfire, slowly.

"Where are you going?" Ren asked.

"Taking a walk" Qrow answered.

"There's nothing else you want to tell us?" Ruby asked her uncle in concern. A red-eyed raven lands on a tree branch with a quiet caw. Qrow looks at it, and it cocks its head, looking at him.

"Not tonight" He continues his slow walk away, leaving the four teenagers to themselves for a bit. The log he had prodded earlier rolls out of the campfire. Ruby watches Qrow, concerned.

However, all everyone could do for now was to get some sleep. But during the night, Lucina had another nightmare... But this time it wasn't about Cinder. Instead, she found herself trapped in a dark room, she looked around in worry until she noticed red eyes approaching her... But the eyes didn't belong to a grimm... But a person... Lucina couldn't see who it was but she could feel her terror growing... Then she looked at her hands... and noticed them becoming more pale... and black veins began appearing on her skin.

Lucina sat up quickly, breathing hard. She looked at her hands and noticed they were back to normal and she was still at the campsite, and the birds are a-tweeting as morning had arrived. The other four teenagers are in their sleeping bags, the campfire burned out in the middle. Qrow sits up against the base of a tree, facing the group.

Ren sits up with a sigh "We should probably get moving".

"Yeah, yeah" Jaune said while sitting up.

Both turn at the sound of Qrow coughing, which grows louder and sounds worse with each cough. Nora and Ruby sit up, and Ruby quickly goes to her uncle's side. Lucina followed her, having forgotten about her nightmare for now.

Purple staining is visible on Qrow's bandage, which he is holding his right hand over. He lifts his left hand to his mouth as he continues to cough. A cuckoo bird joins its call to the rest of the morning birds. Qrow pulls his hand away with a groan, and the whole palm, including up over the wrist and his fingers, is covered in the purple stain.

Ruby's eyes grow wide, and she gasps. Qrow looks at his hand.

"Well..." He looks up at Ruby "That's unfortunate".

With a groan, he lowers his hand and head before going still.

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