Qrow ran, he was close, so damn close! After months of chasing her he was just about to close in. cutting a path through the foliage Harbinger's fixed blade reflected the sunlight making it shine with a sinister gleam. Bushes were trampled, trees were shredded, nothing could stop him.
Finally more light started to flood his vision. Bursting from the forest he spun his weapon into its scythe form. Breathing heavily he slowly lowered his weapon. Anger welled up and he slowly walked forward. Stopping in the middle of the clearing he stood silently. He was alone, only some trash and other invaluable things left behind. With a roar he slammed Harbinger into the ground leaving a large gash in the soil. Falling to his knees he continued to scream slamming his fists on the ground.
"RAVEN!!!!!"
Back on the road Qrow walked silently a horrible storm of emotions flooding his system. Taking a long drink from his flask he reflected on the last two years. In the first months of his pursuit he had nearly caught up to them several times, but every time he got too close Raven showed up and stopped him while the group escaped. As the months passed she stopped doing that and simply moved before he could reach her. Last year on his birthday he had actually been able to see the camp, the closest he had come yet. But this year… cursing himself he took another drink.
With a sigh he drank drops of the strong amber liquid. He would soon make his way back to patch, Summer would want an update, and quite frankly he needed more supplies. With as much moving as he did it was incredibly hard to keep supplied via the villages, half the time they didn't have what he needed, or the price was far higher than he could afford to keep paying. He didn't have infinite savings, and to waste it all would mean having to delay his press for Jaune to earn more. Nowadays the only non essential thing he would buy was booze, unable to sleep without it. Some say alcohol suppresses dreams, but Qrow found it only helped dampen the effect the nightmares had. Unable to shake the ruined sight of their camp from his dreams all he could do was drink to make the guilt go away.
The quiet didn't help, it only let him sink into the emotional storm that was his mind. The storm so wild he didn't even acknowledge the absence of even birds singing was a bad sign. Despite his melancholy and inattentiveness, a scream ripping through the silence snapped his head back to reality. Drawing his blade he ran forward, his mind thankfully going blank as years of Grimm slaying experience was drawn on.
Finding the forest path he burst from the bushes, seeing several large black inhuman shapes he pressed forward. In the back of his mind he registered them as Ursa even as his scythe cleaved though the first one. Pulling his blade back he made more fluent movements quickly beheading the other two. Looking around he didn't see anymore but kept Harbinger out just in case. Looking around for the source of the scream he found two young children, no older than 8 or 9. Jaune's age, his mind painfully informed him.
There crouched next to a tree huddled the children, the boy had long, poorly maintained black hair with a pink streaked lock on the left side of his face. He wore traditional Mistralan clothes, a green top with black bordering, white pants, and black shoes. The girl had shoulder length messy ginger hair, unlike the boy her clothes were more modern. A white t-shirt with two little harts on the chest, a dark green coat worn unzipped. Pink shorts and pink sneakers were on her feet. Well that would have described them if they hadn't been so utterly dirty. The girl is somehow more so than the boy.
Looking at them, two faces look at him, pink and blue eyes meet red. Looking around again he sees a small wooden hammer on the ground near them. That wouldn't fend off a deer much less a grimm. Rolling his eyes he sheathed his blade again and offered the kid's his hands.
"Need help?" he says in his usual gravely tone. He would have to find their parents and beat some sense into them. Letting kids play alone in the woods was practically asking the grimm to eat them. Hesitantly the children take his hands as he helps them up. His close proximity allows him to smell the rather… pungent scent coming off them. "What are you two doing all the way out here?" he asks, lightly dusting them off as best he could.
"W-w-were going to the next village." the boy answers quietly as the girl shys away from his dusting hiding behind the boy.
"Next village huh?" He says now checking them over for injury, "you should be careful on the roads, Grimm roam around here. Did you get separated from your parents?"
At this the two stiffen, an especially pained look crossing the boy's face. Taking that as a sign Qrow quickly decided it would be best to distract them.
"Never mind that," he says with a shake of his head, " Why don't we start without names."
The two remain quiet and with a sigh he continues.
"My name is Qrow Branwen, I'm a Hunter." he says, after he gestures to the two encouraging them to introduce themselves.
"I'm Lie Ren." the boy says after a moment of hesitation,
"Nora… Valkyrie." the girl says slower than the boy. Putting on as small smile he reaches out his hand to Lie,
"It's nice to meet you Lie," he says, the boy hesitates again but shakes his hand, "And you Nora." he says, reaching his hand to her. She backs behind Ren again, but after a reassuring nod from Ren she also shakes his hand. This was the duty of a hunter, even when you don't feel like it you have to be kind and smile, especially with children. Not that it's their fault, but children are far looser with their emotions.
"Why don't you two tell me why you're out here? If I remember correctly there is a village not to far down that way." he says pointing up the road
"They told us to leave." Nora says quietly, "said we aren't welcome anymore."
Qrow frowns, he had planned on restocking in that town. Looking down at the children he wonders why they would be sent away. They don't seem terribly dangerous, a powerful destructive semblance perhaps? That might explain how they got as far as they did, but with none of the tell tale signs of combat it didn't seem likely.
"I see, what made them send you away?" he asks, deciding to see if they would give up any information.
"I punched the mayor's son." Nora speaks up hiding behind Lie as if she might get hit.
"It was to protect me," the boy quickly said, stepping forward, shifting the attention off Nora. "We were hungry and looking for food, but the mayor's son said we weren't allowed to take from the trash, we argued and he hit me, then my friend hit him. After that the mayor yelled at us and sent us from town."
Qrows' frown grew, he would have to have words with the mayor some time. It was one thing to kill someone, it was another to send them to get eaten by monsters. Hunters had a hard enough time protecting the kingdoms without entitled idiots helping the Grimm. That all rubbed him wrong, but the fact they were children fueled his anger even more. The image of Jaune being sent to the grimm burned in his mind as his firsts clenched. At this the kids in front of him cowered. Noticing, guilt filled him as he didn't mean to scare them.
"Woah," he says waving his hand "I'm not angry at you. The mayor was way out of line."
They relax a little but still look weary.
"Still, I'm impressed you made it all the way here on your own." he says with grin "must be pretty tough"
His words make them smile a little
"Not really," the boys says shyly "I have a semblance." he explains
"I see, must it be a pretty strong one? What can you do?" he says leaning non-theatly against a tree.
"He can hide us from the grimm." Nora chirps suddenly, happy to talk about her friend.
Genuinely impressed Qrow raises an eyebrow.
"Is that so?" he says smirking "I can't do that, I guess you really are tougher than me."
"I just hide our emotions," Lie says, slightly embarrassed, " and I can't hold it for long."
"Ah that's just a control issue then. In time I'm sure you'll be a grimm stealth master."
"Thanks." Lie says a little flustered.
"Now tell ya what, why don't I escort you two to the next town." he says standing up straight stretching a little.
"W-we can't pay you." the boys said looking frustrated. Typically if you wanted an escort from town to town you'd have to pay a lot of money since it could be so dangerous.
"Pay? Nah you don't have to worry about that, I was feeling a bit lonely anyways. The company would be nice." Qrow lied, at this moment the last thing he wanted was company, much less children. All they would do was remind him he was too late to save his own child.
"O-okay." Lie walking to his side, Nora quickly follows.
"Right on our way then." he replies with a smile.
Nora had been hesitant at first, but as the journey had gone on she quickly bombarded him with questions about the life of a hunter. Despite his heartache he had done his best to listen and respond appropriately to each question. If they were happy and calm it would attract less grimm, himself already being a target from them with his maelstrom of regrets. After walking for a few hours, and killing several grimm, they finally make it to the next town, Kuroka town.
Looking at the gates he felt some relief, perhaps now he could go drink and forget his pain. Then a tug was felt on his arm.
"Mr Qrow, thank you." Nora says a smile crossing her face before she lightly hugs his side. His heart broke, Jaune was all he could see in her, and it hurt so bad. Forcing his composure he smiled and patted her head.
"No problem Nora, you were fine company."
Looking at them he couldn't help but notice how thin they were. No kid should look like that. In the train before Raven had taken over it was rougher. Only the strong got food, so he knew what it was like to be hungry.
But his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the loud growl of a small stomach. And at that moment he made a decision.
"You hungry?" he asks, a genuine grin crossing his face.
"W-we couldn't ask more." Lie says, before a second later his stomach growls too as his face turns scarlet with embarrassment. Qrow simply chuckles and beacons the two to follow him. They do and soon find themselves at a restaurant.
"We can't pay." Lie says nearly panicking as Qrow pushes them into a booth.
"You don't have to, it's my treat. After all, who doesn't like a pal to eat with?"
The two look down, utterly confused by the kindness.
Eventually a waitress comes and Qrow orders a bowl of the local stew, after a moment of silence from the two kids he simply orders two more of the same for them. They sit in silence, their heads still down until the food comes. The stew is a hearty and thick food, full of veggies and bits of meat in a thick gravy like liquid, not only filling but tasty as well. It also came with a small loaf of bread. But a minute passes with none of them eating. Qrow felt like he physically couldn't eat, the toll of the day weighing on his mind making food his last thought. Lie and Nora didn't eat because they felt they couldn't. Even though their stomachs growled further and Nora's mouth salivated they simply sat there not touching it.
"Eat," Qrow finally says, "It would be a waste if it goes cold." he tiredly grins. Unable to hold back any longer, Lie gingerly takes the spoon and dips it in the food before eating it. Nora quickly follows his example. After the first bite they quickly begin eating faster as if the food would be taken away. Watching them he sees the relieved look on Lie's face, but the tears stream from Nora's eyes. He couldn't help but wonder how long it was since they had last had good food like this. As they neared the end of their bowls he simply leaned across the table and scooped the contents of his own meal into their bowls, then breaking the loaf in half he sets one by each of them. Shocked again, the kids look at him, he simply nods and they continue eating.
Raising his hand he catches the waitress' attention and she returns to him, he orders their local alcohol, which turns out to be Sake, and two slices of Pie.
As the kids finish he looks and smiles seeing some of the food left on their faces from their somewhat franticed eating. Reaching across again he hands them napkins. Blushing they wipe their faces and before they can thank him two slices of a golden apple pie are set before them. Nora's eyes sparkle as the sweet scent invades her nose. Lie is more hesitant as he looks questionablely to Qrow again.
"What's dinner without dessert?" he asks with a grin, lifting his small Sake glass in a toast to them.
Without any more hesitation Nora dives into the pie, the contented sound she makes after tasting it, bringing a smile to Qrow's face and motivating Ren to also dig in.
After they finished they left and it was already dark outside.
"Mr Qrow." Nora says getting his attention. Looking down he is just in time to watch her wrap her arms around him again. "Thank you for the food." she says happily
The pain returns to him, but he forces a smile.
"Don't mention it. Like I said, it never hurts to eat with friends." the girl beams at him again. His smile becomes just a little more real. After that the two disappeared before he could ask them where they were sleeping. But unable to feel anything anymore he lets his face twist back into his grief filled one. Looking desperately for a bar he finally found it, walking in like a wounded animal he took a seat at the bar and ordered a drink.
It wasn't till he was good and drunk that he stumbled out of the bar finding an inn for the night. But tonight no amount of drinking could stop the feelings flooding through his veins, every memory he had with Jaune clawed at his mind until all he could do was curl up on the bed and grip his head trying to force the haunting thoughts assaulting him. He doubted he would sleep that night, too wrapped up in his torment. If only he had been a little faster, a little stronger, a little better. But he was just a drunk failure who couldn't even protect his family. Lily died without him there for her, now Jaune had been taken because he was too weak to protect him.
It wasn't often the man cried, years of hunter's work hardening many emotions like grief, but the only outlet for his grief was found in the sobs he let out. Today he had failed, failed again.
The morning was cruel. He woke up in bed fully dressed feeling like a goliath had hit him. All he could do was lay in bed and adjust to the pain and light he felt. It wasn't anything new, the more he drank the less it felt like it affected him. Needing something quiet to do while he recovered, he began basic maintenance on his weapon. The only sound in the room is the quiet clinks of moving parts being cleaned. The new sections of his blade where Raven had cut it in half required less work since all the parts were still basically new. Finally finishing he stood and exited the room. He still felt like garbage and all he wanted was to go home, he needed rest for a day or two and to resupply before coming back and hunting his son down.
One thing he didn't expect as he made to leave the town was the sudden sound of footsteps running to him. Turning around he only had time to widen his eyes as a small ginger girl barroled into him.
"Mr Qrow," she says happily, hugging him tightly. He was genuinely surprised, he hadn't thought he would see the messy haired little girl again. The boy came running up behind her gently pulling her away.
"Nora, that was rude." he chastises gently.
"But Renny, he said we were friends." she says with an innocent grin.
"That doesn't mean you can just randomly hug people," he points out.
"Boo," she says, pointing her thumb down, "everyone likes hugs."
Lie simply shakes his head looking defeated, he doubted he could win this argument anyways.
"It's nice to see you too Nora." he says looking down in slight amusement at the duo, they reminded him of how Yang and Jaune had once been. His grin disappeared at the thought as pain jabbed through his heart.
"You look tired, Mr Qrow." she said, looking up at him visibly concerned.
"I'll be alright Nora, us hunters are used to long nights." he says, forcing some bravado in his tone.
"So where are we going today?" she says instantly changing the subject placing her hands on her hips in a determined expression.
"Nora," Ren says, quickly rebuking his friend. The hunter had been kind the day before, but asking him to take them along again was stepping over the line.
"What? I thought we were a team now?" she says brightly smiling, it suddenly dims as she looks back to Qrow "You were taking us with you right?" her blue eyes staring into his crimson.
Qrow stood still for a moment, surprised. He hadn't considered taking them along. Before this moment all he could think about was getting home. But the more the thought of just leaving the two here the more it carved a pit into his stomach. He had his duty as a father, he had to get back to searching for his son… but could he really condemn two children the age of his boy to the streets? Was that right? Could he really add another sin to the mountain upon his back?
"Nora you can't expect-" Lie started before he was cut off.
"Just till the next town." Qrow said making a decision. "You have to stay close and listen when I give an order okay?"
"Okay!" Nora says happily with a salute before quickly following the older man. Lie simply stood shocked before he had to run to catch up.
Taiyang Xiao Long didn't know how to help. His wife Summer hadn't been quite herself all day. He of course knew the reason, the same reason that had her cry herself to sleep on this day for the last few years. He wasn't heartless and he had helped raise Jaune too so he felt pain just like her, but he would never quite feel it to the same extent as Qrow and his wife.
When Raven had abandoned him and Yang he had hated her, but once summer entered his life he came to forgive her to some extent. If she had never left then Yang wouldn't have been gifted with a wonderful new mother, and new baby sister. They found great happiness especially when Qrow and Jaune had moved in. so in a way he thanked her for that. Her shittyness gave way to happiness he had never felt before. But the hate had returned the moment he learned of Jaune's kidnapping.
But what's worse was what it bought out in himself. He remembered when he had silently thanked the brothers that it wasn't Yang who had been taken. He hated himself every time the disgusting thought reared its ugly head. He had seen the grief that had gripped his once brother in law, his wife, and even his daughters and felt sick the thought even came to him. Why did Raven have to disappear for years, then suddenly return and steal her nephew, why did she always have to muck things up like that. It was hard to think he had once loved the woman.
The day Jaune had been taken they had gotten a frantic call from Qrow. Summer did not even hesitate once she heard, leaving the kids with their grandparents and immediately dragged him out to mistral. The three had spent a month in the wilderness searching, calling in favors, and exhausting themselves. But in the end nothing had turned up, Raven was too good at evading them, and they couldn't leave Yang and Ruby with his parents forever.
He remembered the trip back vividly. Qrow fumed in his seat, his anger at an all time high. But Summer, the ray of light she had always been, was blank. She had simply sat expressionless in her seat for the few hours while returning home. When they had gotten to patch they had stopped at the house first. Summer had wordlessly walked upstairs into Yang's room. His little girl had insisted that they keep all Jaune's stuff where it was for when he came home. Qrow had told her when they left it was only for two or three years before he would come back and join her in school.
Summer had sat on his bed picking up one of the stuffed animals gently holding it in her hands looking at it. He had watched her do so before she finally talked.
"I feel like this is all just a bad dream. One that I'd hoped I'd have woken up from by now." she said quietly in an unusual monotone voice. After that he'd watched as her blank expression slowly fell apart after a month of holding herself together. He'd held her while she had sobbed. He'd never heard Qrow leave. The man had simply come back to get money and left in the night.
They had gotten Ruby and Yang the next day once Summer had gotten all her tears out. It had been an extremely difficult conversation to explain to the two girls Jaune had been taken and they didn't know when they would get him back. Yang had locked herself in her room, Ruby had clung to Summer. It was one of the worst memories he had ever had.
Nowadays Summer had changed, she was still a supermom, but her protectiveness was high. Oz had pushed her to go back to the field, but she had refused to take missions and instead accepted a job at signal academy to stay close to home. It rubbed him the wrong way how Oz, despite claiming to be sympathetic to them, had been so pushy for Summer take missions again, especially since despite knowing their plight he hadn't offered to help them.
He still trusted the man, but it was hard not to notice the barrier he had erected between himself and Summer and Qrow for that matter. With a sigh he shook the thoughts from his head and walked down stairs finding Summer watching some cartoons with the girls. On this day she stayed home simply keeping the girls close to help comfort herself, and remind herself she couldn't let the grief conquer her less she neglected her other children. The amount of attoration he had for his wife grew by the day, she was always the strongest in team STRQ, maybe not physically but definitely mentally. If he had been in her place, losing Yang, Ruby, or gods forbid Summer he feared he would have fallen apart. But hoping that day would never come he simply walked to his family and wrapped his arm around them.
Today would be a solemn day, but he held onto hope that eventually the missing members of his family would return.
A/N: a sad chapter, but I also hope you see some specks of light in it. No Jaune in this chapter, but I felt it was important to check back with not just Qrow but with Summer and Tai too. Don't think badly of Tai, but Qrow was jaune's dad, and Summer was his mom. The relationship he had with Jaune just wasn't on the same level as the other family members. He still hurts but in a different way. Anyways, Leave a review. I really like them!!!! Next story update will probably be Glynda Goodmama GET EXCITED!!!!!!!
AQUA OUT!!!!!!!