Rest and Resolutions.

At the dinner table, it's abuzz as everyone is talking over each other indistinctly. The mood is quite cheery, with the children all smiling and laughing. After having been apart for so long, it was time to catch up. And everyone were really enjoying their time together.

Yang laughs to Jaune "How do you lose your map at a time like that?".

"Believe me, I've asked myself the same thing ever since" The girls laugh, while Jaune smiles and giggles sheepishly.

"Hey, but you made up for it, Mister Muscles! You shoulda seen this guy take a giant Grimm head on!" Nora pointed out.

"I couldn't have done it without Ruby and Lucina wearing it down" Jaune said.

"Uh, me? Did you see Ren during that fight? He was out of control!" Ruby reminded.

"I've never seen him that angry before" Lucina agreed.

"I'm sorry, I may have lost my temper momentarily" Ren said.

"No, no! Out of control as in awesome!" Ruby assured.

"Oooohhh" Ren said before he smiles "Thank you".

Everyone at the table bursts into laughter. As dinner continues, Weiss tells her story about how she accidentally summoned a Boarbatusk during the Schnee charity ball. Not her proudest moment for sure.

Ruby gasps "You did not!".

Weiss has her face in her hands "Yeah, right in the middle of the party".

"Please tell me you let that lady have it" Yang said, making it clear if she had been there, she would've punched that insensitive woman.

"Of course not! Even if I did really want to" Weiss said.

"Wow, when did you become so cool?" Severa asked with a smirk, earning an annoyed look from Weiss, though there was a small smile on her face.

Nora crosses her arms, skeptical "No way, I don't believe it".

Weiss summons her Boarbatusk right next to Nora. The Grimm summon growls, causing Nora to yelp and fall to her side. Everyone laughed at that. However, Weiss was not quite done yet.

"But Bernie really surprised me. I've never seen her raise her voice like she did" She said, causing everyone to look at Bernadetta who blushed.

"Well I just got really mad... Besides, that's nothing compared to how I escaped from my father" Bernadetta said.

"Oh? And how did you escape from him?" Severa asked.

Bernadetta blushed more "I punched him... right in the face".

"What?" Ruby asked in surprise.

"And sent him flying through our front gate..." Bernadetta added.

Everyone were silent for a moment before Yang let out a proud laugh before pulling Bernadetta in to a strong hug "I am so proud of you! You finally stood up to that bastard of a father! Talk about breaking out of your cage!".

The others groans at her pun, but Bernadetta only blushed but smiled at Yang's praise. As dinner nearly finishes, Yang shows off her robotic prosthetic arm to the rest of the group. All of them react in awe.

"It's not a replacement for the real thing, but I'll make sure to make good use of it" Yang said.

"That's amazing" Jaune said.

"Incredible" Ren added.

Ruby gets all starry-eyed and quickly zooms over to her sister's side to admire her arm "And it's just as strong?".

"Hm, sure is" Yang answered.

Suddenly, they hear a bang on the table. Nora has her arm out ready to arm wrestle "Wanna bet?"

"Nora, please, now's not the time..." Despite Weiss' protest, Yang and Nora arm wrestle. Jaune and Ren cheer on Nora while Ruby, Severa and Bernadetta cheers on for Yang. Weiss looks on disdainfully and Lucina remained neutral.

"Don't let her beat you! You can do it! Come on!" Jaune cheered.

"You can do this! Show 'em what Team JNPR's made of!" Ren added.

"C'mon, sis! Aw, you can't lose to a girl in a skirt!" Ruby cheered.

"You wear a skirt, Ruby" Weiss reminded.

"Weiss, you're not cheering loud enough!" Ruby shouts as she shakes Weiss, who is still frowning.

"Come on Yang! Show her how strong our family are!" Severa cheers.

"Just don't break her arm" Bernadetta said weakly.

Nora smirks at her opponent "It definitely feels like the original, I'll give you that!".

Yang smirks back "Yep. But, it does have some new features!".

"Heh, oh yeah?" Nora asked.

A robotic sound is heard coming from Yang's arm, and suddenly Nora's is knocked back to the wall holding Yang's detached arm in her hand. Nora groans in pain while the others look on in concern, except for Yang, who has a smug grin on her face.

"Did she... win?" Jaune asked.

As Nora comes to, she realizes she's holding Yang's robotic arm, causing her to scream and throw it away from her. Yang laughs while she catches her arm.

"Yeah, your new arm is neat and all. But I've got to ask: Does it have an vibration function?" Severa asked.

"SEVERA!" Lucina shouts with a big blush on her face.

"Come one, I'm sure everyone is curious about that" Severa said with a smirk, earning some blushes from the rest... well minus one.

"What do you mean? What vibration function?" Ruby asked.

"Of course you wouldn't get it. You'll understand when you're older" Severa answered.

Ruby frowns "Hey, I'm older now!".

"Not quite old enough, cuz" Severa said as she pokes Ruby's nose.

Ruby pouts before she smiles "Still getting used to that. Who could've guessed we were cousins?".

"Yeah, was a shock for me too. Only wish I'd known it sooner, a lot sooner" Severa admitted.

"Well we all know now. And were are all finally together" Yang said.

Severa smiles "True. Still, I have years of teasing to catch up on".

To prove her point, Severa grabs Ruby and gave her a nuggie, causing Ruby to comedically flail her arms around, earning laughter from the others, minus Lucina who only smiled at her girlfriend being teased. Later on, Jaune helps clean up the dishes.

"Gyah... We ate it all..." He picks up the pot holding all the bowls "Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick...".

"Easy there, Vomit Boy, I believe in you" Yang said.

"Oh, we're doing nickname throwbacks now. Wonderful" Jaune said sarcastically before walking away with the dishware in his hands.

Weiss giggles causing Nora to perk up "I mean, the Ice Queen seems to like it".

Weiss stops giggling, and Ruby bursts into laughter at Nora's remark. Weiss smiles nonetheless and rolls her eyes "I so did not miss you people".

Nora gasps "Oh my gosh, she really does like it! What went and warmed your heart while you were gone?".

Weiss looked slightly offended "Hey! You make it sound like I used to be terrible".

"Nah. Just a lot to deal with it once" Yang said.

"Hmph!" Was Wiess' response while Yang playfully sticks her tongue out at her.

"It's been a long time. We've all grown in our own ways" Ren said.

Ruby looks at him "You really think so?".

"Well, think back to when we were all at Beacon, would you say you ever did anything foolish or embarrassing? Or do you think you were perfect?" Ren asked.

"Oh gosh" Weiss said as she buries her face in her hands again.

"I may have been a little too gung-ho from time to time" Yang admitted.

"Heh, you? I tried to 1v1 a Nevermore on the second day of school" Ruby said.

"And I was just a self pitying jerk to everyone" Severa said, cringing at how she used to be.

"And me? I was to scared to do anything unless I was literately ordered to do it" Bernadetta said.

Lucina remained silent. There were parts of her days at Beacon she did not want to remember... Mainly when Cinder showed up... She still wished she had the courage to tell people about it sooner, instead of hiding it out of fear of what Cinder would do.

Jaune walks back into the room "Yeah, well... don't even get me started".

"Well that embarrassment - that desire to go back and tell yourself not to be so stupid - that just proves you're not the same person you used to be. You're smarter, you're kinder, you're stronger, and you're not done growing yet. None of us are" Ren said.

There is silence for a brief moment.

"Yeah, turns out Ren gets real deep when he feels like talking" Ruby said and everyone giggles.

"Well, hold on, I thought I was pretty great in school!" Nora said.

Yang had an amused smile "Even at the dance? When you spilled punch all over yourself in front of-".

"Yes, especially the dance! Thank you, Yang!" Yang covers her ears from Nora's yelling, who has her scroll out playing Shine. Ruby laughs.

"How can nine kids possibly make so much noise eating dinner?!" Qrow and Oscar are seen standing next to Jaune. Nora presses her scroll to stop the song. Oscar gives a small laugh.


Everyone relocates to the second-floor living room, with Severa, Bernadetta, Weiss and Yang having finished being filled in on what everyone else knows so far.

"So, the Maidens. Magic. Salem. It's all true?" Weiss asked.

Qrow nods "Uh-huh".

Ozpin, who was now in control looks at Yang "Miss Xiao Long, is this more or less what your mother told you?".

Yang doesn't respond, still having her arms crossed. Weiss answers for her "For the most part".

"You forgot something. You forgot to tell everyone what you did to Qrow and my mother" Yang said, making Ruby gasp.

"What is she talking about?" Jaune asked.

"Oh, great" Qrow said, not pleased that his sister shared such sensitive information.

"Hm, that's not a secret I thought she would give up so easily. Your mother must trust you a great deal" Ozpin said and Yang scowls at him "My ability to reincarnate, though a curse, isn't without a few key benefits. Much like the Maidens, I too possess a certain... "magical" power" He stands up and walks next to Qrow "Using this power, I was able to gift the Branwen twins the ability to "see" more, to move freely and be unburdened by their natural bodies. I... well... gave them the ability to turn into birds. Rather ridiculous sounding out loud, isn't it?".

Ruby looks at Qrow "Uncle?".

"You turned them... into birds" Ren said, clearly hesitant to believe it.

"Alright, now you're just messing with us" Nora said.

Jaune looks angry "What else is new?".

"He's telling the truth. We saw it. Yang's mom... changed, right in front of us" Weiss said.

"Yeah, it was really mind blowing" Severa sad

Yang glares at Ozpin "Why would you do something like that? I mean, what is wrong with you?".

"Yang, that's enough! We made a choice. We wanted this" Qrow said, and Yang relents.

"But was it your choice? Or do you just think it was your choice? Like how Pyrrha seemingly had a choice, when it clearly wasn't?" Severa asked, making it clear she was far from forgiving them for what they did to her cousin.

"She's right. There is a very big difference between a choice and a ultimatum" Lucina said, really hating how they seem to mix those things together.

Qrow sighed "Fine, I will admit that Pyrrha's situation was a lot more grim. But me saying no to becoming a bird wouldn't have harmed anyone, so that was a choice".

"If you say so..." Severa said but did not follow up with anything.

"May I?" Ozpin asked and Qrow nods "Granting this power to them was no trivial task, and I can assure you it was not done frivolously. I required assistance in gathering information on Salem's plans, as well as searching for Maidens when their hosts became unclear".

"Okay, so, have you done this with others? Like General Ironwood? Or Professor Goodwitch?" Ruby asked.

"As helpful as that might be, unfortunately, it is not that simple. My power is finite, and if I'm being honest, dwindling. The amount that I gifted to Qrow and Raven was, all things considered, rather miniscule. You see, centuries ago, I sacrificed a great deal of magic to four young women, who I hoped would use my gift for good. They were the first Maidens" Ozpin explains and everyone is silent for a moment "Miss Xiao Long, it was never my intention to lie to you. To any of you. There are just some matters that I prefer to... play close to the chest. I believe that's how you phrased it?".

Qrow chuckles "Yeah".

"Everyone has a choice. The Branwens chose to accept their powers and the responsibilities that came with them. And later, one of them chose to abandon her duties in favor of her own self-interest. Now, all of you have a choice. If anyone wishes to leave, now is the time. There's no shame or disgrace in abstaining, only in retreat" Everyone is silent as they ponder Ozpin's words "Very well, then".

Yang suddenly stands up, making Ruby look at her in concern "Yang?".

"If Ruby sticks around, then I will too. If there's one thing I know about her, it's that she somehow always knows the right thing to do" Yang smiles at Ruby after saying that "But, if we're going to help, if we're going to keep risking our lives, no more lies. No more half-truths".

"She's right. If you want us to trust you, then you need to trust us. So no more plotting behind our backs. From here on out, you tell us what we need to know. What we deserve to know" Severa said.

Everyone remains silent. Ozpin and Qrow exchange a brief look with each other. Ozpin ponders Yang and Severa's words for one last moment, before responding with a smile "Understood".

Yang sits back down as Jaune speaks "So... what now? I mean, what can we do?".

"Mm, that is a difficult question. One that I believe is best answered tomorrow" Ozpin answered.

"What do you mean?" Jaune asked.

"The road ahead is undoubtedly filled with hardships and peril. However, it's been far too long since you have all been together" Ozpin puts his hand on Yang's shoulder "Please, take tonight, enjoy this moment".

Yang smiles and suddenly Oscar's eyes glow, with Ozpin giving him control back to his body. Oscar realizes he has his hand on Yang's shoulder and quickly takes it off and nervously holds his cane in his hand. Yang and Weiss laugh at him, before hearing a noise from Nora.

"Oooohhh. Raven? Qrow? They're birds! Cracked it!" Nora said as she leans back, proud of herself.

Ren shakes his head at Nora being slow on the uptake.

"I swear she's living in her own world half the time" Severa said while rubbing her face and Lucina chuckled.


At the Branwen Tribe camp's entrance, Shay D. Mann and two other bandits stand guard, conversing with each other.

Suddenly, a voice calls out from the forest "Hey ugly!".

With Shay and the bandits' attention drawn, Mercury and Emerald walk out from the forest toward the camp's entrance.

"Is Raven Branwen home?" Emerald asked.

"Ya know, I've had a real bad week. So I think I'm gonna take it out on you-" Shay stops mid-sentence when he notices Cinder and Watts walk out of the forest and joins the two of them.

"Hmph, doesn't look like he wants to cooperate, Boss" Mercury said.

Cinder chuckles "Well, that's unfortunate, isn't it?".

Líf emerged from the shadows "Yes, very unfortunate... For them".

He approaches the bandits, his sword drawn... and it begins to glow in a dark aura.

.

Tell me what you think.