Yang Xiao Long
"Alright, up and at em!" Her hands clapped as she spoke, as if her voice wasn't loud enough on it's own to rouse the sleeping children. Though, they wouldn't be sleeping for long if she could help it. "I know at least one of you heard me!" Morning's were easiest when the kids got up without a struggle... or at least when Celica was being easy to handle, lately her magical ability had easily put her on the top of the pecking order when it came to the three kids. Their rooms were all next to one another, the three doors all stemmed off of one almost mini-loungeroom meant to serve as their 'connected space'... honestly, she hadn't gotten it too much. But, Blake had explained that it was meant to give the kids each their own private spaces, as well as a connected space that was more theirs then anyone else's.
Mainly it was just where they dumped all their shared stuff. Besides all the toys and assorted items scattered around - somewhat neatly - the 'room' lacked doors besides the kids rooms, being directly connected to the hallway. It also had a couch and a TV, but Yang had never actually seen any of them use the device.
"Mum... I'm tired..." Sun was the first up this morning, exiting his room while rubbing his eyes. She held in a small chuckle at his pajamas, the rather cute design being so strange to see on him.
"Well, hi Tired-!"
"Please dont-"
"I'm Mum!" Her grin was enough to put a frown on the boys face, pure annoyance and spite having woken him up as he stared at her. "Wake up Celica and Jasper for me, please." Even though she said please, it most definitely was not a question.
"Why do I have to do it..." His grumbles were only for complaint, which was why he was already moving over to his sisters room.
"I woke one of you up, didn't I?"
"I have the best hearing though...! It's not fair." More grumbles left him as he dragged his feet into his sisters room. Yang took a seat on the couch while she waited for the twins to emerge, but the second child awake was actually the youngest.
She smiled as Jasper slowly stepped out of his room, the boy having woken on his own and making things much easier for Sun. He looked the same age as his older siblings, but now that the twins were ten they would start growing more in the coming years. Jasper on the other hand had just entered the 'five years of ten' as Yang liked to call it.
"Morning, Buddy!" Her happy expression was contrasted with his less then impressed one. The boy definitely had a favourite colour palate, one that matched his Aunt now that Yang thought of it. Still, the black and red he always wore did nicely fit in with his hair and eyes, and Yang no longer saw her mother everytime she looked at him.
"Why do you have to be so loud in the mornings...?" His question was less a plea and more a tired question, just not the 'sleepy' kind of tired.
"Cause that's when it's most fun to be loud!" Another yell from his mother resulted in another groan from the boy, actually two groans. Yang turned and smiled at Celica, both twins stepping out of her room and looking just as tired as the other. "Alright, get ready kiddos. We gotta be at the castle in an hour!"
She stood without giving them a chance to question why exactly they had a place to be, and was down the hall and heading to the kitchen before the trio could recognise what had happened. Blake often said that even with the three kids in the house, Yang acted the most childish. Yang would actually agree with that, but the keyword was 'acted'. She could be the serious and collected parent when they needed it, she just preferred being the fun and cool mum when they didn't need a rock solid support.
"Yang?" Speaking of a rock solid support, Yang turned and smiled as her eyes met Blake's. "Did you-"
"Kids are up and should be getting ready. I'll make breakfast." Not a word wasted as she stepped past, planting a kiss on her wifes cheek as she moved into the kitchen.
"Yang-" Though apparently said wife had followed. "Are you ok?"
"Where's this coming from?" She didn't turn away from her task while answering, instead opening a few cupboards and grabbing some stuff for cooking, pans mostly so far. "Where's the-"
"Yang-"
"That is your favourite word this morning." The blonde flashed Blake a grin, but it quickly stopped as she focoused on her wifes face... one of worry, and not at all what she had expected so early in the morning.
"I'm being serious..."
"Ok, ok." Yang stepped through the kitchen and gently grabbed both of Blake's hands, giving her a small smile at the same time. "What's up?"
"I know you're excited for Qrow coming back... but... he's been stuck in Vacuo for a long time... He hasn't even met Jasper...!"
"Or Argus."
Blake's voice was a whisper, too quiet for the kids to hear even if they were trying to snoop. Which was a feat only Blake could pull off. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Blake. He's come back a few times-"
"And in all those situations, he's just... gone to a bar and gotten drunk for a few days. He hasn't visited during any of his-"
"Visits?"
"Breaks." Blake's unimpressed expression was all Yang needed to stop trying to crack jokes. "I'm worried about how he might have... changed."
"Blake..." The distance between them closed as the bigger woman pulled her wife into a tight embrace. "I know that you're worried... but... trust me, he's been through worse then this before. You gotta remember that he's like... three hundred years old!" It only now occurred to Yang that she didn't know her uncles exact age. "Four years is nothin."
"Is that how you see it too...?" All the worry and nerves from her manner of speech had remained, but they took on a whole new air as the conversation changed course.
"I-" Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, they never got the chance to see that particular discussion through. A crash of a noise that any parent would recognise as trouble and more then likely broken furniture immediately had both women rushing out of the kitchen and marching down the hall... only to find three kids, two of which looked rather guilty... and Celica looking rather unimpressed.
"What happened?" A question that probably would have been addressed to all of them... but Blake and Yang both knew who was going to answer.
"They raced down the hallway." Celica's answer had an air of 'I told you so' that pretty quickly shaped a sequence of events in Yangs head... one that ended with the broken cabinet both boys were awkwardly standing in front of. Hopefully nothing valuable had been in there... sentimental value of course, lord knows they got enough expensive gifts Lien wise come birthdays from their sister in law.
"Alright, all of you in the dining room. I'm going to go make some grub." Yang wasn't exactly ready to punish the boys, mainly because their spectacular failure of a race had been the perfect escape from her and Blake's conversation. No, she planned to leave their punishment fully to the other parent... one who had completely shelved all of her issues and worries the instant the kids were present.
"Fancy place." Her smirk was accompanied well by Blake's attempts to not smile, and of course the Queens unimpressed scowl. Yang had said that each and every single time she'd come to the castle without fail, and not just randomly either. She specifically said it either directed at or just around Weiss. It had driven the Queen crazy after only the first few times... they had been here a lot more then just a few times.
"Argus!"
"Jasper!"
Both Ruby and Yang shared a smile as their kids ran over and started excitedly talking. The cousins were almost the same age with Jasper being slightly older. Honestly, Yang had worried they wouldn't be good friends. Between Jasper's whole red and black look and Argus's more white and light blue look... well, she had worried it would be clashing of more then just colour palletes. Yet they were actually pretty similar when it came down to it, both were fairly intelligent boys who were mostly serious unless someone else was there to entertain them. Argus leaned into the more serious side as expected of a prince - even one as young as himself - while Jasper was a bit more often a goofball thanks to his older brothers encouragement... or rather, influence.
"Hey guys." Ruby waved with a smile, but Yang was practically glowing with a grin of her own. Everytime she saw Ruby nowadays it struck her with just how much she had changed in such a short period of time... gone was the vibe of a teenager just trying to accomplish her dream... and now stood tall a member of the royal family, married to a wife that loved her, mother of a child, and of course... already having all she could want. Yang didn't particularly think that Ruby had quite realised it yet, but chasing after any other goal would be a moot point for the Queen Consort. The Blonde Dragon could recognise her sisters attitude and state of mind, even if the woman couldn't for herself. Ruby was happy, and that was the best outcome Yang could have hoped for her sister.
She didn't have to worry about Ruby Rose, her eldest daughter with a self destructive mindset... now she could worry about her other kids, while Ruby Schnee, her younger sister with a family of her own did her best.
"Dammit. Qrows not even here yet and I'm already tearing up."
She tried her best to inconspicuously rub her eyes of any water, and luckily the only one who noticed was Weiss standing across from her. The Queen was kind enough to not bring it up, and they all got to chatting as they waited on the landing pad. Qrow's airship was due to land any minute, and with any luck the man wouldn't be drunk when he met two of his nephews for the first time... oh who was she kidding.
"Why didn't he just... open a portal?" She blurted the question out once things got a bit too silence for her tastes, and Ruby was quick to jump on that particular conversation.
"Uncle Qrow dosent have enough mana to do that."
"I thought Harbingers had-"
"They have heaps sure-" Blake didn't look too offended from being cut off, it was bound to happen when Ruby started speaking about magic. "But opening a portal from one capital to another, across continents? It would put him out of the count for a day at bare minimum... and that's not even taking into account the barriers. He would have to open one portal to get from Vacuo's capital to the country's border, then cross the border by flight. Then another portal to reach the barrier around Vales border, then manually cross, then another to the capital."
"It takes more mana to open multiple portals for the same distance as just opening one?" Argus was the only one of them who seemed anywhere near as interested in this subject as Ruby... well, her wife was also staring at her while she spoke. But that was less educational interest and more... 'interest'.
"Yeah. Think of it like creating multiple doorways rather then just one long one. The actual process of creating the gap in space then crossing it can-"
"Oh, look! I see the airship!" Blake's sudden yell was enough to stop both Argus and Ruby, which left Yangs side of the family sighing in relief, compared to Ruby's side who all looked up at the sky without a clue about what had just happened. Blake hadn't been lying of course, the airship - while still a spot in the sky - was fast approaching and would be here sooner then they knew it. "I hope he's not too tired from his trip."
"He's always tired." Yang smiled as she spoke, but caught Ruby confirming that to Argus when he whispered a question to her.
"Oh he is so not ready to meet Qrow."
Though, after glancing at the Queen it seemed that she was more nervous to introduce her son to Qrow then he was nervous to see his Great uncle. Yang herself was expecting at least one remark from the Harbinger about when Ruby and Weiss were gonna have their next kid, which was sure to spark some new and fresh teasing material.
After what felt like ages, the airship finally touched down on the ground... and the ramp slowly opened. They all held their breath in anticipation, the tension in the air practically killing Blake or Weiss... probably both. Slowly, but surely, a man stepped his way down the ramp and- tripped and fell straight onto his face.
"Crap... not again..." Yang was more surprised that Weiss had spoken before Qrow, rather then her particular choice of words. Still, 'not again' opened up a whole load of questions that she was sure to get out of her sister in law later tonight... but for now? Well, she had to help her drunk uncle.
"Never change, Qrow. Never change." Both Yang and Ruby stepped over to help the man up, grabbing him from either side and hoisting him onto his feet. "You wanna sit in it for a while or skip the buzz?" Healing him would probably make introductions easier... but first impressions had already been made, and Qrow was now most definitely the 'drunk uncle' to the kids yet to meet him.
"Argus...take a good look. Here we see a great example of what not to become." Weiss's words were harsh, yet fair... as was Argus's expression that seemed to be drinking in every detail as he took his mother's words to heart. Yang was confident that he'd be taking notes if he had a pen.
"Ok... just checking one more time..." He pointed his finger at the twins. "Celica and Sun,-" Then to Jasper. "Jasper." Then to the Prince. "Argus."
His correct answers were met with an enthusiastic clap from both Ruby and Yang, meanwhile the other parents were trying their best to assure their kids that there was more to him then there first appeared to be... Sun and Celica however, sat with almost smug expressions that radiated an energy one could only describe with the sentence 'You get used to it'. The second they were allowed, all the kids raced off to go play further in the gardens.
"Jeez... I remember when I only had to remember one kids name." The bottle sitting between them was pulled further away from the man, Weiss eyeing him down with a raised eyebrow as she kept it out of his reach.
"I hope you're not insinuating that you had to try to remember my wifes name as she grew up." Apparently the Queen had taken more offence to that then Ruby, the woman in question trying her best to calm the other as Weiss eyed Qrow down.
"Well, at first." A moment passed as they all stared at him, and only after registering that fact did he elaborate. "What do you expect? I wasn't exaclty... 'family material' back then."
"I question if you are now." Weiss let out a sigh and relinquished the bottle to Yang, who filled Qrows glass to a level less then he would have liked.
A minute or two passed as they all relaxed, sipping their drinks and watching the kids rush around the garden, seemingly having the time of their lives. Ruby and Yang were doing their best to sit still and not join the kids, they each had their reasons to not join the fun afterall. Ruby wanted Argus spending time with other kids and having more interactions like that, while Yang wanted to see from afar how Sun and Celica treated the younger boys. So far, all was well in both areas. Argus and Jasper got along swimmingly, while the twins accepted their cousin like he was just another little brother to play with and look after. They played all manner of game, though mostly stuck to basic things like tag or hide and seek... which was good. Thanks to being a prince and having rather overprotective parents, Argus didn't go to school, instead taking lessons from tutors in the safety of the castle... which while more then likely would prove to give him a better education, would more then likely put a dampener on his social skills.
The silence between the adults finally broke as Blake chuckled and all eyes darted to her. "Sorry-" Her expression was rather embarrassed. "I just realised... this garden is probably the location of the highest average power in the world right now." Between the Harbinger and three adult Dragons, Blake had a solid point... though the unmade comment of her bringing down the average was not lost on the others. Yang especially saw the words ready to leave Blake, and shot it down with a gentle squeeze of her hand.
"I guess... speaking of, where's Conquest?" Qrow's question left Yang a little confused, she herself having no clue why the man would want to know that.
"Wedding planning at the moment." Weiss's answer was nearly enough to satiate his curiosity.
"She really getting hitched to the Hero?"
"Yes... oh, speaking of which... Ruby?" Silver eyes immediately darted to the Queen. "Are the spears ready for Pyrrha and Jaune?"
"What? O-oh... yeah." Ruby's attention was locked somewhere else at the moment, only partially listening as she stared off at the kids. Yang followed her eyes and tilted her head, they were still just playing. Though, Celica was showing off some magic now. "Just have to send them over this afternoon- Argus!" Her sudden yell surprised everyone, including the kids. The Prince immediately dropped his hands and glanced away with a guilty expression before standing and rushing over. Yang felt bad enough just being a witness as he moved over to Ruby and Weiss with a hanged head, but luckily the parents were being strong.
Well, one of them was.
"Argus... did you try and show them?" Weiss's words were commanding, yet soft. A question that promised punishment if unanswered, but simultaneously promised mercy no matter the answer.
"Y-yes..." Yang had to try her absolute best to not hug the boy and defend him regardless of what he had done. Honestly, between his overly combed hair, adorably serious outfit and his timid voice? He was doing a way better job at making her feel guilty then any of her own kids had done.
Weiss let out a small sigh and pulled him closer into a gentle hug, her hand softly stroking the back of his head. "Is that Ruby's cloak?" Qrows answer was met with a sigh from both of his neices, but apparently his questions weren't done. "What's the big deal anyway? Isn't he only like... five? How much damage could he do with a Mana tank that size?"
"It's his Innate Spell... his one and only ability from being a Dragon." Ruby's explanation was followed with a gentle nod to the boy in question, who had turned and gently held his hands out like he was trying to cup water.
Titles always granted abilities that were useful, no one in their right-mind would ever forget or neglect one of said abilities... unless your name was Pyrrha Nikos. Dragon's especially were made unique by their titles, each one having vastly different abilities... but always put them around the same level of power. Ruby had three abilities as the Rose Dragon, Weiss had two, Yang also had two... but for Argus to only have one?
The Dust Dragon focoused his eyes as they all watched with held breath, and slowly but surely over the course of about ten seconds... a crystal about the size of a dagger formed in his hand. One with a beautiful light blue glow, and an incredibly dense aura of mana.
"His... mana tank didnt change..." Qrows voice was oddly serious for once, which was only met with nods from both Ruby and Weiss.
"The Dust he makes is just as strong as any natural crystals... and he uses ambient mana to do so." Weiss's explanation made things a thousand times worse in Yangs book. Ambient mana was natural mana, anything and everything that existed outside of a soul or container... besides the World itself.
"Oh so... no worries, the kid has pretty much an infinite mana pool." Qrow liked to overexaggerate sometimes... but, for once it was deserved.
Jaune Arc
"So, yet again, the reasons I just presented are only the tip of the iceberg. Naming me heir is simply the smart thing to do." Jaune had heard that same exact speech more times then he could count now, and clearly so had everyone else in the room. Saprhon layed out her points well, but a well structured argument was still a moot point if it was repeated over... and over... and over again. The whole Arc family had been forced to gather again just for this same meeting, this same request from Saphron that had been made many times over the last few years. Everyone from the branch's of the family no longer carrying the Hero's blood, to the main branch and the current head of the family as well... Jaune's mother.
She was the only reason why Saphron hadn't yet convinced everyone. Everyone else's opinion meant nothing before the Matriarch of the family's own decision... and hers had been made quite a while ago. Jaune's father had lived just long enough to see him awaken the Hero's power, and his last wish had been for Jaune to take over the family once he was ready... which had two requirements. A spouse, and an heir. Clearly, the older man had regretted not having an heir prepared until so late in his life, which left the quite old mother of the family taking his seat until Jaune had said requirements.
Pyrrha's acceptance to his proposal had at first been a cause for celebration for most of the family. It was a commonly believed myth that the blood of a previous Harbinger could improve one's chances at receiving one of the Titles, and Pyrrha was of course one of the most well respected individuals in the world. Her skill so mighty that she attained the title of Conquest while only being an Amazon, a feat which had never been recorded before in history... well, post the Great Erasure. And of course - as vain as it was - all of his sisters and even his mother were immensely excited at Jaune managing to convince such a beauty to join him in marriage. All had seemed right... for about ten minutes.
Then came the unfortunate news of Pyrrha's condition. It wasn't a failing of her own, nor something that could be fixed... save for someone able to meld or alter a Print. Adoption was the option Jaune was looking at mostly, even Pyrrha being excited at the prospect of raising a child, no matter if they were technically 'hers' or not. One particularly annoying cousin had raised the issue of an adopted child not carrying the Hero's blood... or Pyrrha's own for that matter, but Jaune hadn't seen the problem in that. In his mind? He didn't need to be 'Lord Arc'... he simply wanted to spend his life happy and content with his family. Jaune had been more then happy to relinquish the status of heir to his eldest sister... but both his mother and soon-to-be wife had issue with that solution. His mother didn't like it as it went against his fathers last wish, and Pyrrha because she viewed it as a sacrifice he was making for her...
So, here he sat. In a meeting, leading the charge against his sister for the right to inherit a Lordship he had no interest in... all for his Mother and the woman he loved...
Though, perhaps 'leading the charge' was a bit of an overstatement. Jaune certainly attended every meeting Saphron called, and he kept his stake to the claim strong... but he never argued with his sister, never really... fought for it. In his mind, the only way this could end was... rather grimly, the death of his mother. When she passed, the fighting would finally come to a head, and hopefully more people would side with Saphron then him... leaving him happy and content to live a life with Pyrrha and finally get married. That was the hope anyway... more then likely, Pyrrha would end up blaming herself for all of this...
"Yeah... this is a fun thought process to keep on repeat in my head... while my sister yells at me..."
"Well that was-"
"Exhausting..."
"Yeah..." Jaune didn't bother hiding his exhaustion as he moved through the door, the entrance to a small house on the Arc property that was currently his and Pyrrha's place to call home. "Can I... get you anything...?"
"Pyrrha. You don't need to worry... ok?" He loved her, but she could prove to be... very difficult sometimes. Pyrrha had a very bad habit of not accepting help, and blaming all of the bad things that happened to the people she cared for on herself. In her mind, she was strong enough to help and protect them no matter what! Which meant that if anything did happen to them, it was her failure. Jaune worked hard to try and break that habit, or at least find a wedge into it and open a leak... anything to get her to rant or vent to him. Some way for him to help her unwind before all the things she bottled up inside exploded out in gloriously horrible fashion.
So far? No progress.
"I should shave." He turned to move to the bathroom, and Pyrrha followed... surprisingly.
"Really? Don't like the beard?"
"I would... but I think my face looks a bit too young for it." Entering the tiled room, he came face to face with his reflection through the mirror... it was weird to say the least. He felt entirely foreign everytime he peeked into the mirror, simply because of how... little had changed.
He wasn't blind, over the last four years his sisters and other family members had all changed, younger cousins had grown to be old enough to talk. Children had become teenagers, some teenagers had become adults... and his nephew Adrian had been born. So much had changed for everyone around him and yet... here he stood, Pyrrha at his side... and the only thing about them that had changed was his beard, and that was only because he had let it grow out for a while.
"Guess Awakened Hero's really do age different..." The rest of his family, with un-Awakened power, were all essentially humans who possessed Mana pools and therefore Magic. He on the other hand didn't look like he had aged a day since... well, since the raid to save Ruby. He was equally worried and relieved about his apparent halting of the ageing process. On the one hand, he would have a closer lifespan to Pyrrha's own, but on the other...? How many of his family members would he watch age and die...? If he became the head of the family... how long would that last? How many generations of his family would he watch go by?
"O-oh... umm... The spears arrived." Pyrrha had ducked out of the bathroom quickly, probably trying to find something quickly to distract Jaune from his current thought process. By the time she had returned, he'd finished shaving. "They're different to what I imagined-" She paused after seeing him, and after a moment gave him a gentle smile. "You're right, that is better."
"Thanks." The beard hadn't suited him, but if he lived for long enough maybe he'd get the chance to look good with one. "Show me one." Pyrrha held up the rather long spear, and Jaune sneezed as it came into view. "O-Oh... crap...! Ruby dosent mess around..." The density of the magic coming off of just the one Pyrrha held up to him was in a word, intense. In multiple words, it made him feel heavy, itchy, sweaty, and downright intimdated just looking at it. The long weapon was a solid silver metal in colour, though more then likely it was made of some kind of magic-steel. It lacked engravings or any kind of flair or design, even the head of the spear was simply a point the same thickness as the rest of the pole... honestly it resembled a javelin more then a spear. Another small note to point out was the seam just before the spearhead, like it was meant to screw off.
"She sent a note as well... some... well, instructions?" Pyrrha looked nervous as she spoke, and after continuing Jaune understood why. "Apparently if we try to open them up... they'll... and I'm quoting this... 'Go up like that time two Harbingers clashed spells and nearly destroyed Amity Colosseum'..."
Ruby had only witnessed the one Vytal festival... which meant she was talking about that blast. Now, Jaune wasn't actually sure if Ruby could have fit enough magic in these things to make them capable of both that, and their primary function... but, he wasn't about to test that. Ruby was smart, almost terrifyingly so when it came to this kind of stuff. If she was warning Pyrrha, Conquest, not to try and open them? There was no way in hell that Jaune was even gonna think about it.
"These should work... and I believe Ruby's making more for everyone else she thinks they might go after."
"Maybe...? I don't really wanna think about it to be honest." Jaune sighed and placed the spear down gently. "We'll cross that bridge if we ever actually do encounter Neo again."