Qrow held the twisted metal in front of him and looked it over. Mauber's breath was heavy and he didn't say a word. Neither of them did. Slowly, he put the knife down on the counter next to his hand. But the doctor paid no attention to it, he was still transfixed on the air above Qrow's open palm.

'Did you see that, Qrow?'

'What part of it?!' Qrow shouted, his eyebrows narrowing.

'Above your palm..the...' Carefully, but with all the grace of someone who had just been hit by a car, Mauber walked over to a chair in the corner of the room by the window, part of what looked like a waiting area, and flopped down. 'The...that red thing...the field.'

Impasse, Qrow picked up the knife again. He looked down at it for a moment, before laying his palm back down on the counter. Again he brought it down on his hand, with what looked like much more force. It struck again, the field lighting up, and the metal bent again as if it had been melted, right into another awkward shape. Qrow scowled at Mauber, who had his head resting in one of his hands and was looking at the floor. Qrow struck his hand again. And again. He was gritting his teeth as he did so. Each time the field lit up, the twisted metal slid into another shape. When he was finished, it was just a skrunkled ball in his fist. Throwing it away behind the counter, it landed with a clang, and he marched across the room to Mauber.

As Mauber looked up, he saw Qrow in front of him with his hands on his waist, looking like he wanted an explanation. Eventually, Qrow spoke.

'I don't know what to think of it either, Gert. But it's part of me, now that I've seen it I can feel it. That's the one thing I know.' He held up his hands and looked them over. 'It must be what protected me from the bear yesterday, and maybe whatever the hell else I've been through up to now!' He looked to the ceiling and rose his voice slightly. 'How does that fit into your chronic undress idea, eh?' Qrow had become erratic, and Mauber could tell.

'It doesn't fit into any idea I have, Qrow!' He stood up suddenly, and Qrow moved back. 'I've spent my time writing papers on the Efficacy of Apothecaric Practices for Munich...and, and... seeing to the sprained legs of children and arthritis in the elderly! And you expect me to explain an act of God!' He gestured wildly, his hair flopping around and his glasses sliding down his nose a little.

'What, so you don't even wanna try and make sense of this, huh?' Qrow stretched his hand out for Mauber to look at. 'I'm just an act of God to you! Is that what you're saying?'

'I don't even know how to feel about what I've just seen, Qrow, this is unprecedented! I've given you all I can in terms of explanations for your situation. This just confounds things even further!' And, no I am not saying that is all you are, I...'

'What am I then?' Qrow interrupted. 'If there isn't an explanation, then I must be just that, an act of God.' They stood silently for a minute. Mauber relaxed and pushed his glasses back up his nose. He walked over to the window and peered out. The sun was still high in the sky, and it had just gone midday. The sky was cloudless and light inched in past the letters painted on the glass. Qrow watched him.

'What chance do we have of finding out who I am now, Gert? The man who's an act of God?' Qrow said. Mauber sighed.

'You're not an act of God, Qrow. You're a man, just like me, just like anyone. I'm sorry for saying that.'

Qrow's expression was still just as severe for a moment. Walking over to the counter, he leaned against it. He seemed to have calmed down a little.

'A man with a fucked up kind of sixth sense, sure.' He looked glumly at the floor. So much for not being of emotions.

'I try to look for an explanation for everything, I always have. And the first time I'm unable to make one was bound to be a moment that shocked me, Qrow. And just because I was unable to, doesn't mean there isn't still an explanation for who you really are.' Qrow looked up.

'I came here ready. I was telling myself I wasn't going to give up if my life depended on it. But...this just throws a wrench in the whole damn thing. What are we...what am I meant to say to someone who sees that? What if it gets out and I become some kinda point of interest for your government? Or these damn Nazis they're fighting? Who, by the way, I still have no clue about. Jonas didn't want to elaborate much on that.' Mauber winced.

'I'm sure you can understand that Jonas might not want to discuss much the enemy he's just had his life on the line fighting.'

'I get that, but don't think I'm owed an explanation since this war seems so damn close? I know they took over half of the damn continent, but nothing more than that.'

'How do you know that?' Mauber asked.

'A book from Jonas' apartment with some little maps in it.'

'An older one, then.' Mauber said.

'What, why would that matter?' I mean yeah it was older, but...' Qrow trailed off as he saw the concern on Mauber's face. Their eyes met, and Mauber spoke.

'There are certain things we can't talk about here anymore, Qrow. Doing so comes with a price.' Qrow looked confused.

'Not everything surely. I mean, I can see a war coming with secrecy but not knowing talking much about the guys just over the damn border seems a bit much.'

'That's true Qrow, but even then, there are many other things that we choose not to speak of. If you saw that in a book then you'll know how long this has been happening.' The concern seemed to disappear from Jonas' face and was instead replaced with light melancholy. 'All of Jonas' life, and a good part of my life.' He laughed. Slowly, he walked to the window again, this time on the other side of the door. 'When I was Jonas' age, it was much simpler, I believe. We all fought each other out for stupid, easy reasons. The kings of Europe had their great wars and their conquests of equal terms. But now...' He paused, looking back to Qrow. 'I just can't stop myself thinking how it all came to this, how things had to become this way.' The sun's light outside seemed to shift further into the room as a cloud passed. 'Do you believe in destiny?' Mauber asked, Qrow cocking his head.

'In all honesty, Gert, in my position...I don't know. I can't know in my state. What are you saying?'

'I think this was meant to happen to us all along. That this was our destiny, and that now we have to live with it. What the reason for that is, I don't know. But I've always had that feeling. What I'm saying is that we can't worry about that, not as much as you might want to. We should put things into perspective and focus where we can, in this case helping you find out who you are, and perhaps finding out what miracle there is.' Mauber gestured at Qrow's hands.

Qrow listened, intrigued, but he couldn't help but think it all sounded dramatic. But he understood the situation, and in a way Mauber was right. The best thing he could do now was to keep on the path of figuring out more about himself. Still, the secrecy of the war itself had quickly lodged itself in Qrow's mind. If they did find out who he was, didn't he have a right to know about the world he was going back into? The world he still knew next to nothing about? Where he would have to relearn almost everything? Perhaps he was asking too much.

'I have a feeling that's going to be harder than finding out who I am. I understand if we can't talk about some things, Gert, but I still think I ought to know sooner rather than later.' Mauber nodded slightly in agreement. Qrow began feeling around in his trouser pocket. 'Besides...' He pulled his hand out. 'You're going to want to see this.' It was the note he had found the night before. Handing it to Mauber, he unfolded and looked over it.

'What is this?' Mauber asked.

'I don't know exactly, but I know it was for me. In the bar last night, when those guys started singing.' Qrow said.

'Oh yes, of course. A very popular song among troops such as themselves. I've even heard it on the wireless a few times.'

'I was right next to their table, then I feel something against my legs. It's this kid, who funnily enough I've seen before, outside Jonas' apartment. A weird little guy with blonde hair. He was sitting under the table and crawled past me. I look at him, and he basically points me back under the table where this was. I can only assume he wrote it. It reads just as weird as he was acting.'

Mauber folded the paper back up, putting it down on the windowsill and crossing his arms. A look crossed his face, the same one of concern he had shown many a time talking with Jonas in the woods, or as Qrow had just been questioning him.

'It could mean anything, Qrow. But the chances are, this boy noticed you, saw you as a foreigner, and got a little territorial. Some people around here can be like that. when I first moved here I had to put up with rumors and doubts, even from those who came to see me here. Suspicion over the new doctor from out of town and that kind of thing. When you're in a place this perfectly hidden from the rest of the country it's easy for such things to become common. It's only become more common since the war started as well, so I wouldn't worry about it.' Qrow pursed his lips.

It was a good answer but left something to be desired. The whole had just seemed too weird to chock up to territorial attitudes. Now that Qrow thought about it, that whole episode had stood out starkly from the rest of the night.

Qrow furrowed his brow. That answer wasn't going to cut it, but it would do for now. Looking at the door, then back around the room. 'You think we could get on and do whatever you were planning on doing anyway? In the spirit of carrying on figuring out who I am.'

'Of course.' Mauber said. 'But what will you say to Jonas when he gets back from the police station? He hasn't seen any of this.'

'I'll just do that again. It won't hurt. If you're willing to spare some more of your cutlery, of course.' Mauber laughed.

'No problem. But, Qrow, may I ask why you chose not to tell us yesterday? I'm sure you had your suspicions after the attack as to why you were unhurt, being on the receiving end.'

'I was still struggling to put it all together, to be honest. And even then I felt like I was in shock or something. It was only after today I felt like I needed to see if it would happen again.'

'I see. But in the future, with us or with anyone, you may want to let us know as soon as you can. We must have trust.'

'Yeah, sure thing.' Qrow said. At this point, he had no reason not to trust Mauber or Jonas. But others? He was unsure. What with Mauber's idea about the boy's note, he had suddenly realized that not everyone in this country, the Nazis especially if he were to meet any, might treat him with kindness or solidarity in his situation. There were clearly chances for acrimony, and that was something he told himself to be weary of. Trust, he thought, might be a fickle thing in some cases.

...

Back in the upstairs room of the practice, Mauber sat opposite him by the windows. He has shut the blinds a little and enough light made its way into the room. On the table next to Mauber was a pile of books he had gone away and selected, and in his hand was a clipboard with papers on it.

'Now Qrow, I'm not a professional psychiatrist, but I have dealt with plenty of people in emotionally stressful situations. Needless to say, yours is one of these. Your purpose here in Germany and in the world at large even has been deprived of you in a perhaps one-of-a-kind in all of recorded medicine. What with your miracle, as well, which defies much explanation.'

Mauber had taken to calling his ability a miracle, and Qrow went with it. He didn't know what to think of it entirely yet, but calling it something like that helped take the edge off.

'Where do you wanna start?' Qrow asked.

'We've already been through where you woke up and your adjacent experiences, so I hope you don't mind me asking again if you've remembered anything or if anything of note has come to your mind?'

It wasn't the first time Mauber had asked this. In the woods, they had been over it. But Qrow quickly remembered his dream.

'Yeah.' Mauber sat up, intrigued. 'But it's not a memory, I've still got nothin' there. The day I woke up and met Jonas when I was back at his apartment having a bath, I dozed off and I had a dream.'

'Can you describe it?' Mauber asked. Qrow sat back and began thinking.

'I was in a desert, right in the middle of a sandstorm. I'm walking and can see two rocks in front of me. There's a big one and a couple of small ones. I walk up to them, and then behind I can see my body.' He choked slightly. 'I know it's mine because I can see my face. It looks like it's been beaten in, it's bloody and looks really nasty. And there's all this sand sticking to it. I looked at it for a minute, then I woke up.' Mauber flipped through some pages on the clipboard and made some notes.

'That's interesting. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that dreams are influenced by what we know and experience in life, so this is a good start.'

'But I can't tie any of that to what I don't know. I mean, I was naked when I woke up and that's about the only thing that's true that I could see in the dream.'

'You say you were injured, and that you knew this was your corpse. I'd say it's not too far-fetched that these are just extensions of your anxiety at your situation.' Qrow nodded in agreement.

'That doesn't leave us with much, though.' He said.

'Pay attention to any dreams you have in the future. Don't try and become lucid, don't try to control them, but try and remember as much as you can. When you wake up, write them down in as much detail as you can. This you can look back on later, and may well prove useful.' Qrow nodded again, slower this time. 'Alright?' Mauber asked.

'Yeah, I'll do that. I just...feel like I'd get nowhere just by focusing on dreams. What if they're all just as vague as that one was?'

'We can't predict the textuality of dreams. We can think about something hard enough and will it into a dream sometimes, yes. But if you want to recover some sense of yourself from within I think it would be best not to do so.'

'Then what else is there?' Qrow asked. Mauber craned forward a little in his chair.

'We just had an entire conversation about the war, didn't we?' He raised an eyebrow at Qrow, who looked to start thinking about it. 'Part of you wants to know more about it.'

'Now that you say it, that might be true. When I first walked into town, the first place Jonas took me was that square you have with all the bars. We were sitting having a drink, he was telling me some stuff about Germany, and all these other soldiers were formed up next to us. Your mayor starts giving his speech to welcome them back, and it's like I felt something. I knew full well there was a war on. I mean, just from what people had said in front of me I knew, but I was listening to him talk and it's like I could feel it. I could feel there was a war.'

'Herr Dietrich has a bravado about his words. But I get what you mean. Would you say it felt familiar to you?'

'In a weird way, yeah.' Mauber flipped through the clipboard again and wrote something down.

'Does it feel far-fetched that you would already know war?'

'I mean...not really. If I've been that intrigued by it, which I have, then that'd make sense. But again, I can't know for sure right now.'

'No problem, but as with the dreams, it's something else you can keep in mind.'

For much of the rest of the afternoon, they continued in this manner; Mauber would ask some questions, Qrow would give (or try to give) an answer and they would discuss it further. At a point, they just started passing the time until Jonas returned from the police station. Presuming he was just taking his time. All the while, Qrow had a tight grip on the side of the couch. He looked at his hands again and again, before starting to think about the miracle in depth. He knew it must be all over his body, because how else would he have been protected from the swipes and weight of the bear?

As they came to the end of talking about how Qrow felt in Germany more generally so far, Mauber excused himself and took a break. Leaving Qrow on the couch, he moved out to the practice kitchen and began making himself a coffee to keep alert, something he often did while working anyway. As he waited for the water to boil, he wandered over to the next room and switched on the wireless, turning the volume down to keep it from Qrow. The door to the room Qrow was in had been he had closed anyway. As he poured the water, he listened to the words that began creeping out, a handful of static adorning them.

'Der MÜberwachter Rundfunkdienst bringt Ihnen jetzt einen Rabatt auf einige der beliebtesten Seriensendungen von Herrn Brüner.'

After a short drumroll, a flurry of trumpets pierced through the static, and the first bars of the German national anthem was played. As the music ended, a round of applause, cheering, and whooping followed. As it died down, Brüner's voice could be heard.

'Meine deutschen Mitbürger, was für ein schöner Tag in unserem freien Land ist es, mit einem weiteren Update über den Äther zu kommen.'

Mauber smiled as he stirred his drink.

'Ich möchte mir etwas Zeit nehmen-to address the rumors circulating.'

Mauber, shocked, slapped the side of the wireless and cursed. Brüner's voice had slowly been dubbed over by a commentator with an American accent.

'Das bekomme ich, wenn ich in der Freizeit zuhöre...' Mauber muttered. The broadcast continued.

'...to address the rumors circulating regarding some of these "covert allied groups" operating on the front, out of the occupation zones.' A protracted silence held for a minute. 'I can assure you there are no such groups.' The audience laughed. 'As far as any of my colleagues or those who I know from the underground know, these rumors are false. Our comrades on the front are still the only ones fighting. Any such information is likely disseminated by the enemy to provoke myths of unannounced intervention.' Mauber chuckled slightly and slowly shook his head. He had finished his drink, but leaned on the counter and listened further. 'We must not, as per government advice, extort anything which may be of value to enemy intelligence. What we must do is continue to give our boys the support they need.' A round of applause followed. 'For that ensures a Free Germany. That is what I and all my colleagues in the underground fought for all those years.' The applause continued, along with cheers that grew louder. Mauber grinned slightly, before taking a sip of his drink and turning the volume down all the way.

As he left the room, he glanced back at the wireless. Then out of the doorway in Qrow's direction, before looking back at the device. He stood gazing at it for a little longer, before shaking his head and leaving.

...

Mauber entered and saw Qrow sitting on the edge of the chair, his hands in his lap.

'Took your time, didn't you?' Qrow said.

'The radio, I often put it on when I'm busy. Now, we were...' The sound of rapid knocks came from downstairs. 'Jonas.' Mauber said, smiling.

Both he and Qrow got up and headed downstairs. It was still light outside the front windows of the practice, but a faint later afternoon glow had begun to set in. Sure enough, there was a shadow outside the frosted glass of the front door. Mauber walked up and opened it. Swinging open he saw Jonas' face and smiled.

'Jonas! What did...'

Behind Jonas, whose face was rife with concern, were two men in grey uniforms. One stood with his hands clasped behind his back, the other with his cap in his hand. Both immediately looked at Qrow as he came into view through the door.

'Offiziere.' Mauber said, straightening himself out. The officer with his cap off, and a glistening crop of straight hair where it would have been, gestured at Qrow loosely with a gloved hand as he spoke.

'We're going to need to speak with you.'