Hello!

I know, I know, it took longer than usual, but I had a cosplay contest at the end of October (got 2nd place this time) and I'm doing another one in like two weeks, on top of making patterns and prototypes for my Etsy shop, so I didn't have a lot of occasions to write big chunks of text at once like I usually do, and for an emotional chap, that's kind of a problem… On the bright side, I am now almost done with the dress Ruby wears at the dance in V2! It'll be on Etsy soon if anyone is interested, the shop is called AtelierNanou.

Good reading!

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The Grimm ran between the trees, oblivious to the destruction it was causing, when all of a sudden its head rolled on the ground, before dissolving into the air and disappearing completely, soon followed by the rest of its body.

Qrow sighed and put away his scythe, the Grimm hadn't been particularly hard to kill, but fighting without damaging the banana trees around them greatly reduced his movements. But hey, he had faced worse, and in the end only two trees had been really damaged, the rest had just been a bit shaken.

With his work finished, he headed for the shed just outside of the plantation, where the farmers were waiting for him. They had been quite suspicious when he came to see them, a human coming to help out Menagerie must have been a first, and a lot of Faunus didn't trust humans because of past experiences. But that didn't bother him, he knew their mistrust was not unfounded, and who was he to tell them they were wrong just because he meant well?

"Done, it shouldn't bother you anymore." he told them.

"Thank you. We would have never been able to get rid of it on our own." a man in his twenties with gills in his neck thanked him.

"Yeah right, since when does Menagerie need a human's help?" a young teenage girl at the back of the group complained, considering her age she was probably there for a summer job.

Qrow pretended not to hear her and wished the farmers a good day before leaving.

It had been a long time since he had done a normal mission, at least two years, and even then it was two or three missions a year at most, everything else came from Ozpin. It may have been a selfish way of thinking, but he liked people coming to thank him afterwards, it helped him feel useful. Being a spy for Oz was important for global security, of course, but when he spent weeks traveling from village to village, sleeping on the ground in the forest, risking his life and gathering information from just about every group of dangerous people in the world, and that in the end when he finally came home absolutely nothing happened…

He had spent years, more than ten years of his life, just doing one mission after another, coming back to Patch only two or three times a year to say hello and report to Oz. He didn't even really have a home to go to, he just stayed in Taiyang and Summer's guest room or in a hotel. He didn't mind too much, he liked the nomadic lifestyle, and with his Semblance, he preferred not to stay in one place for too long anyway. But with the constant spy missions, it felt like he was forced to travel, like he was just lucky that what he was being forced to do was what he liked best. Talk about luck…

No home, no hobby, friends selected by someone else, and the only loved one he hadn't met through Ozpin had been dead for years. Now that he had left the group he had nothing left, not even what he had before entering it. Not even the certainty that all his efforts had been for something.

At least here, even though protecting a banana plantation seemed ridiculous compared to preventing Queen of Grimm from destroying the world, he at least was sure that he did something useful. Maybe he should do that from now on, lots of small missions for small villages, so he could continue to travel while making himself useful, at his own pace and according to his own will. He was thirty-six, more than old enough to decide what he wanted to do with his life.

As he walked through town, Qrow saw out of the corner of his eye several children watching him, hidden behind trees and houses, staring at him curiously, whispering not very discreetly among themselves. He chuckled. They were young, if they were born here it was probably the first time in their life that they saw a human, of course they were curious. When he was at the edge of town, Qrow turned and waved goodbye to the children who had followed him, and tried not to laugh as he heard them jump up and run away realizing he had spotted them.

As soon as he was out of sight, he turned into a crow and flew to the camp, where Yang was training with Rook. She had started training with the tantôs, and she was doing quite well. Of course she could only use one at a time when they had clearly been designed to be used at the same time, but since she had spent her life with swords and daggers in her hands, it was not too hard for her to adapt, she just couldn't use her new weapon to its full potential.

It was too bad, but the only way for her to use both tantôs at the same time would be to use a prosthetic for her right arm. With her connections and the money she made from her missions, she could easily afford a very good one, but if she didn't feel the need, no one was going to force her, and she managed already very well without it anyway.

Yang leaned to the side to dodge a punch, and countered with a sweeping arm swing that hit Rook in the throat and would have sliced it if she hadn't focused her Aura on it for protection. Even Huntsmen didn't usually push their Aura so hard during training, it must have been because she used to train with Yang, surely Raven hadn't taught her daughter to hold back just because it wasn't not a real fight, it wasn't her style.

The fight went on for a while longer, until Rook was too tired to continue. Yang had outstanding stamina even without her Semblance, while Rook was more of a surprise attack type and finished quickly with a few well-placed arrows, it was more suited to her job, when she killed someone she had to do it quietly, quickly and efficiently, sometimes even without fighting at all to leave no trace. She was excellent at that.

By dint of bickering and focusing on Yang, Qrow tended to forget that the 'Green Rook' was one of Anima's best assassins, with dozens of clean kills behind her, sometimes even important people with high-level bodyguards and security measures. And even now she had managed to negotiate the right to stay on Menagerie for them, the most suspicious group of humans in the world.

If she had gone to Beacon, Ozpin would surely have recruited her as a spy, she had all the necessary qualities, skilled in combat, stealthy, good negotiator, very protective, everything he loved.

Maybe if they had made an effort to get along from the beginning, they could have organized themselves better, and avoided finding themselves in this situation.

"Hey!"

Sweaty and lying on the ground, Rook pointed to the bag Qrow was sitting next to. He pulled out a bottle of water and tossed it to her, and she thanked him with a thumbs up. She looked exhausted, while Yang was only a little out of breath and was even doing a few stretches, just to show off.

"Tired already?" she asked with a smirk as she touched the tip of her right foot with her left hand with the leg stretched out in a split above her head.

Rook raised her middle finger to her without even looking at her as she took several sips of cool water, then got up and headed to her tent, probably to change clothes before heading into town. She was drenched in sweat.

As soon as she left, Yang stopped stretching and came to sit next to Qrow, crashing to the ground next to him. As expected, she was just as exhausted as Rook, she was just too stubborn to admit it.

"So, how's it going with your new weapon?" he asked her.

"It's okay." she took a few sips of water, "It has less range than a sword but more range than my dagger so I have to get used to the in-between, but otherwise a blade is a blade."

Qrow nodded and let her catch her breath. The sun was already quite high in the sky even though it was still early in the morning. It was a peaceful, secluded and isolated but not hostile place, with glorious sunsets and a jovial, bustling town not too far away. Might be a good place to settle down.

"Hey Qrow, can I ask you a question?" Yang asked after resting a bit.

"You just did." he teased, causing her to roll her eyes, "Sure, what is it?"

Yang hesitated for a moment, "Well… Have you ever turned into a bird while being injured in human form?"

Qrow put his hand to his chin to think. He had never thought of that. He had often injured himself on missions but he didn't remember transforming while he was still healing, and he had never checked to see if the scars on his skin were also hiding under his feathers. He also didn't know if the reverse worked, if he got hurt as a bird, would he be hurt as a human? Maybe he should check, just in case.

"No, I don't think I did." he shrugged, "Why?"

Yang didn't answer and looked away, slightly tilting her head. She had the same kind of expression as Ruby when she wanted cookies but didn't dare ask because it wasn't time, or Tai the first time he had asked Raven to go to the dance with him. Sometimes he forgot that she also had family on that side.

"I…" she hesitated, then rubbed the back of her head with a guilty smile, "I might have forgotten to tell you that I can turn into a bird too?"

.

.

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After a moment of silence, Qrow got up without a word and walked to his tent. He returned a few seconds later with a large, unopened bottle of vodka. He sat down next to Yang, and very calmly opened the bottle and drank it. Entirely. In one go. Although a little curious, Yang said nothing and waited patiently for him to finish.

When the bottle as large as his head was drained to the last drop, Qrow just threw it behind him, and neither he nor Yang reacted to hearing it smash against the rocks lower in the mountain.

"Okay. Tell me that again from the beginning."

Training was going well. Falcon was good with blades, although with one arm and her Semblance it was more practical for her to fight with her bare hand.

At this moment, Qrow was tying the tantôs crosswise in her back. Why didn't she keep them in her belt like her sword, no one knew but her, but Qrow assumed it was just a matter of style. She was starting to have too many accessories to just add them on top of each other without worrying about how she looked. She wore Raven's black glove and red armor on her left arm, the straps of the scabbards attached to her back went over a leather short-sleeved vest and around her arms like a backpack and were connected by another strap above her chest. The purple scarf she had bought at the market was hanging from her belt, hiding her dagger on her left hip, and she wore the golden aviator goggles that Oceane had given her as a headband above her bangs, ready to be lowered over her face as a mask during her missions. Just a few more useless accessories and she would look like a real Huntress.

Oceane took a few sips of water and bent over her notebook again. She took notes on the progress of the training, with a list of the stages to pass and the points on which they should focus. The whole section about fire was crossed out, an arrow pointing to the word 'tantôs', and a question mark was next to 'other elements'. It was the last problem on her list, unlocking her use of the other elements, and so far they hadn't had much of a result. Yet, according to the kid herself, she could feel wind and lightning trying to get out, but they disappeared as soon as she tried to use them. She was getting closer, but she was still stuck…

Once Qrow was done tying the tantôs behind Falcon's back, she drew one and twirled it around in her hand a few times, then did it again leaving a trail of fire behind the blade. A little childish, but she had to admit it was very beautiful to watch, and it could be unsettling for the enemy in a fight. She then began to make combat movements, Qrow moved away and came to sit next to Oceane. Normally, Rook would train with her at that time, but she had just gone to town to give fighting classes to children who wanted to become Huntsmen, she would be away all day.

"She's doing well, too bad we don't have enough Dust to test the Dust chamber." Oceane said, writing it down in her notebook. They had Dust, but certainly not enough to test a new weapon, and Menagerie wasn't very well stocked.

"Looks like a toy version of Raven's sword…" Qrow replied with a chuckle. He wasn't wrong.

"And that surprises you? That girl practically worships her dear mommy, of course she would like to do everything like her."

"Speaking of which…" he began before taking several sips from his bottle. Seriously, how many did he have? "Did you know that magic could be hereditary?"

Oceane frowned. Ozpin had never mentioned that as a possibility, but then again he tended to keep a lot of things to himself, "No, I never heard anything like that." she glanced at Falcon who was fighting with an imaginary opponent, "If you ask, I assume that's the case?"

"Take a guess." he nodded at his niece and drank from his bottle again.

Hereditary Magic… There was nothing hereditary about the Maidens' powers, otherwise they would be much easier to track down, and if a Maiden's child could end up with their own powers somehow, Ozpin would have told them and would have sent them in search of the children in question. What other kind of magic was there…? Something that could have gone to Falc-…

"She can transform?" Oceane exclaimed, and Qrow nodded.

"Yup. Into a falcon, of course." he sighed.

Oceane was speechless, although thinking about it, she shouldn't be so surprised, there was no known precedent of people gifted with magic other than the Maidens so everything was possible. Raven could turn into a bird, why couldn't her daughter do the same? It was still amazing…

"Why didn't she say anything sooner?" she finally asked. She had to keep a cool head and focus on what they were going to do with this information.

"Because she hasn't transform again since she lost her arm." he explained, "But with all the progress she's making with her magic right now, she must have figured it was time to think about it." Logic. One missing arm could mean one missing wing, Rook didn't know about magic, and Qrow wasn't physically present to answer her questions. And she obviously wasn't going to ask Ozpin about it.

"And has she tried already?"

"Nope. I told her I needed a drink first to digest the info." Oceane barely resisted the urge to drop her head into her hands, "That and she told me something I wanted to talk to you about first." he added after a few sips.

"Oh because there is more?" she asked with a sigh.

"Raven apparently told her that it was because she became a Maiden while she was pregnant that the kid inherited the transformation. I thought you might be interested."

Oceane's eyes widened. Cherry had left only a few weeks after Raven, but had died before Falcon was even born? That meant she died within a window of only a few months. Cherry was not the best fighter in the world nor the most resourceful person, but to think she would get killed so quickly after leaving? Besides, if she was in the Branwen tribe, Raven would have been there… Did she have something to do with it? No, she had just done everything she could to cut ties with the group, she wouldn't have voluntarily taken the risk of becoming a Maiden, especially while pregnant, she wouldn't have put her child in danger by fighting anyone in this state.

Maybe Cherry had gotten in trouble with someone there? They were bandits, and since Raven was pregnant, she wouldn't have been able to help her. And Cherry's last thoughts would then have gone to her and her future child, they were good friends after all. It was a pretty solid theory, even if she had no way of verifying it.

"I see…" Oceane finally said after a moment of reflection, "So Raven finds out that she is pregnant, leaves for her tribe, Cherry follows her, gets killed, her powers go to pregnant Raven who already has a power, and so much magic at once rubs off on the baby who naturally ends up with magic power."

"Basically, yes." Qrow confirmed with a tired chuckle, "I'm pretty sure Oz doesn't even know that's possible, with all the possibilities it opens up we would have heard of it by now."

Oceane nodded and suppressed a shudder thinking of what ill-intentioned people would be able to do if they learned that magic could be hereditary… As if human trafficking wasn't bad enough like that.

Falcon flipped backwards, kicking her imaginary opponent who was attacking her from above, then jumped forward to slit their throat as soon as they fell to the ground. She stayed still for a few moments with her arm still outstretched, then straightened up and sheathed the tantô behind her back before walking towards the two adults with a relaxed step and her hand in her pocket, as if she had not just imagined herself killing somebody. She really looked a lot like Raven, and it was undeniable that she took after Taiyang, but surprisingly, her attitude was sometimes more reminiscent of Qrow's. It must have been the Branwen genes.

"Hey Qrow, can you come to help me train? Please." she added quickly at the end of her sentence.

"Sure."

Qrow stood up and lifted his sword over his shoulders as he walked towards the center of the board. Their fight was very dynamic, both moving quickly with fluid and precise movements, Qrow's giant sword contrasting with Falcon's short and thin tantô, creating a well-paced cacophony of metal noises.

Oceane reopened her notebook and wrote the word 'TRANSFORMATION' in bold letters on one page. It was unexpected, but it was probably the key to unlocking the rest of Falcon's powers.

Maiden's powers did not depend on the Aura to be used, but according to Ozpin they did somehow attach on it, and since Aura was the manifestation of the soul, if a Maiden's soul was confused it was normal that her powers were confused too. It had been the case with Cherry, she never wanted to be a Huntress but had no choice, she was insecure and hated fighting, and it reflected in her powers, they were weak and hard to control, in combat they bothered her more than they helped her, as if they knew she was out of place. With hindsight it was obvious, but at the time, Oceane, like everyone else, thought she just lacked determination, courage, training…

Falcon didn't need to train to unlock the rest of her powers, she just had to sort through her head and her heart, and there was a lot to sort through. It was why Oceane had treated their stay here more like a vacation than a workout, why she insisted on taking a lot of breaks, having a regular and relatively light planning, and making her spend time talking and blowing off steam with the only family she had. They couldn't take her to a psychiatrist without everyone looking crazy so they had to help her on their own, in the safest and most peaceful corner of the world surrounded by people she trusted and to whom she didn't have anything to hide by making her do activities she liked, and it seemed to work since she felt that she was getting closer.

Maybe spreading her wings again was just the last push she needed. Just as it might have been for Cherry if they'd bothered to listen to what she had to say…

Normally, long explanations didn't bother Yang, when something was explained to her it meant that she was learning, and when she learned she became stronger, smarter, more efficient, only good things! But now…

"… And don't turn back too close to the ground, you'll just bust your legs on it. And-…"

"Qrow. I already know how to transformation works. Mother explained it to me when I was a baby." she cut him off with a tone dripping with boredom.

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense." Qrow muttered, scratching his neck.

Yang rolled her eyes. They had been there for well over an hour, sitting on the edge of the cliff while Qrow told her everything he knew about their transformation power. Except that she already knew all that, she was born with this power, she had used it for as long as she could remember, and she had already had the same explanations from her mother. She had listened quietly so far because she was hoping that Qrow would know if her missing arm was going to have any effect on her bird form. Of course he still had all his limbs, but maybe a broken arm or a scar, just to compare? But no, he didn't know, he had never had to transform while recovering from an injury, and he couldn't see if any scars were hidden under his feathers.

"So what do we do? Do I just try it now?" she asked, trying to sound calm, even though her hand was shaking on her lap.

She'd managed to keep that thought in the back corner of her mind so far, trying to convince herself that she didn't need to know if she still had her two wings, that most people lived their whole lives without ever flying… then she began to pity them as the memories of her aerial walks came back to her. She felt so free when she was flying, she had the sky all to herself, an infinite three-dimensional playground without a single obstacle in her path, an unobstructed view of the forests of Anima that stretched as far as the eye could see, verdant in the spring, white with snow in the winter, and endless shades of red yellow and orange in the fall, her favorite, the deafening sound of the wind in her ears…

She missed it too much. She had to know.

That didn't mean she wasn't terrified of what could happen if she couldn't fly…

"Well, it's not like we have any other way of knowing." Qrow shrugged as if nothing happened. In the end he wasn't of much help… She should have just tried on her own without telling anyone, it would have been faster, and less embarrassing if she failed.

Yang sighed loudly and walked towards the edge of the cliff.

Leaning over, she could see the almost perfectly vertical rock wall, and at the bottom, so far down that she could barely see it, jumbled boulders with sharp edges, probably there from an ancient rockslide. Her hand was shaking, her stomach was tight, and her legs refused to move. Still, even without transforming, she already had in mind a good dozen ways not to die if she fell, whether by using Gravity Dust, by planting her tantô in the wall, by using flames and her Aura to break her fall… But despite the absence of real danger, she was scared. Why was she scared? She knew she could transform, she just had to do it, take a look to her right, if there was a wing, great, and if not…

Her left hand instinctively landed on the stump of her right arm and squeezed it as if afraid it would go away. What would she do if she couldn't fly…? It wasn't that bad, was it? It wasn't going to kill her not to fly. And if she never transformed again, she wouldn't risk Ozpin ever finding out. The Semblance of the Burning Falcon was supposed to be fire, if anyone saw her transform it would be way too suspicious, Ozpin would make the connection to the power he gave Raven, he would figure out that Qrow was also involved, and he would send people after him and Rook and-…!

Yang slowly backed away from the edge. Maybe it was better if she didn't know at all, if she never used her transformation again and stayed on the ground like everyone else, if she kept a low profile and blended in like she should have done from the start. Like her mother had tried to do by going home to the tribe and hiding from the world that she had a child. It was safer…

No! She wanted to fly! She needed to fly! She was born with this power, it was in her nature! If she still had her right wing she just had to be extremely careful! She would always hide to transform and if anyone saw her she would slit their throats before they could tell anyone else! She didn't have to worry! She was strong, nothing could stop her!

But first of all she had to know if she still had her wing, that was the most important thing, she couldn't plan anything or make any decisions until she took care of that. All she had to do was jump off the cliff. She had done it hundreds of times, sometimes even in much worse conditions, it wasn't going to kill her. And whatever the outcome was, she would accept it and adapt just like she always had, just like she had adjusted to having only one arm. It was easy.

So why was she still shaking? Why was her heart beating so fast? Why did trying to rationalize end up making her panic even more? And why did it look like the bottom of the cliff was getting further and further away?! The ground wasn't supposed to move, it was already far enough!

Suddenly, something brushed her shoulder. By reflex, she drew her dagger as she turned, her eyes red and on fire, and found herself face to face with Qrow, who didn't even look surprised to see her pointing a weapon at him and simply looked at her with concern and sadness. With pity.

Yang put away her dagger and turned her head, clenching her fist. She didn't want his pity, she wasn't a helpless kid, she didn't need his help, she could do just fine on her own!

This time Qrow put his hand completely on her shoulder, and even had the nerve to sigh. She expected him to lecture her on… she didn't even know what, her attitude maybe? Her bad mood? Or just because she was taking too long? He had to wait in the heat of the sun for her to jump, he must have had enough. No need to remind her that she was a burden, she already knew that!

"Yang." Qrow called in a surprisingly firm voice. It was the first time he called her by her name since they were here, he wasn't going to take the risk that Rook and Oceane could find it out, but he never called her Falcon either. Yet it had practically become her real name now, everyone called her that, he was literally the only person in the world who knew her real name. So why did she feel it would hurt to hear him call her Falcon instead of Yang? It was far less insulting than calling her 'kid' or 'firecracker'.

But Yang… That was also the name given to her by her mother. The only information he hadn't shared with others. A secret even more important than anything related to magic. Their little secret to just the two of them. If he stopped calling her that… it was like no one knew who she was before she was Falcon…

"Take a deep breath, okay?"

"Stop. Take your breath, just like in training."

Yang lowered her head without even looking at him. Tears welled up in her eyes and she didn't want to let him see her crying like a baby. So many memories came flooding back at once, all the times she got scolded for pushing herself to hard in training and hurting herself, all the times her mother came to comfort her when she had a nightmare, all the times they had raced together through the clouds…

She forced herself to do as she was told and took several deep breaths. Slowly she stopped shaking, and her throat cleared. She was still frustrated, but it was getting better. It was always better when she wasn't alone… She shyly looked up at her uncle, he still looked worried but not angry. He never got mad at her, no matter how hard she made things for him. And he was always there when she needed him. Even when she pushed him away, he waited patiently for her to let him approach.

Her mother was gone, but Qrow wasn't.

"Can you… can you jump with me?" she asked shyly, so quietly that she barely heard her own voice.

Qrow smiled and ruffled her hair, "Of course."

"I'll always be there to catch you. I promise."

He took her hand and stared fearlessly at the edge of the cliff, with a relaxed posture and the most serene face she had ever seen him, as if he was just going for a walk. Yang squeezed Qrow's hand like a stress ball, probably harder than she should. Her heart was beating faster than ever, her hand was still shaking, and the sweat made her feel cold at the slightest gust of wind despite the sun beating down on them vertically.

"At three?" Qrow offered, seeing her still hesitate.

Yang nodded with a determined look. She was not alone.

"One…" she began, her voice still shaky, from fear as much as excitement.

She had someone to catch her when she fell.

"Two…"

She had no reason to be afraid.

"Three!"

And they jumped. Together.

Ever since he was given the power to transform, Qrow loved being in free fall in human form, the wind in his hair, the breathtaking view, the feeling of freedom… It was a revenge for all the times he had considered jumping off a cliff before he could transform. Raven would never have let him, of course, but he had thought about it.

Right now, however, he was far too worried to think about having fun.

Falling beside him, Yang held his hand firmly, staring at the ground that was getting closer and closer with a terrified but determined look. Qrow let a smile appear on her face, she might not realize it, but she had already done the hardest part by jumping. Her wing did not depend on her, it was not an effort to make, but having the courage to jump, to dare to face the possibility that she had lost a wing, it came from her. He really didn't know if she still had her two wings, and he didn't want to risk giving her false hope, but to him, she had proven what she was capable of. If it had been him, he would never have had the courage to try, he would have just assumed he would never fly again and left it at that. But Yang wasn't as cowardly as he was, she didn't let herself get discouraged, she got up and kept going, with or without help. Just like her mother.

To be honest, when she cut him off because his explanations were useless, he hesitated to go get Rook to take care of it. She had spent way more time with Yang than him, and even though she couldn't transform like them, she was much better than him at motivating people. But when he saw Yang shaking at the edge of the cliff, he changed his mind. Not only was turning into a bird something they were the only ones in the world who could do, but more importantly, it was him Yang had turned to, not Rook who she had lived with for four years, him, her uncle, the only other Branwen left, the person who held her when she was crying her mother's death, the only family he had left. It wasn't the time to stay away to 'protect' her like he did with his friends, he had used this excuse enough and Yang was not his friend, she was his niece, his family, a child for whom he cared more than anything, a little girl he had sworn to protect. She needed him there even if his explanations were useless and even if she was tripping over her shoelaces because of him. She was counting on him.

Because of the wind she wouldn't hear him if he called her, so he squeezed her hand briefly to get her attention. She looked up at him, on the verge of tears as much from apprehension as from the wind that stung her eyes. He understood that she was scared, but they had already fallen halfway down the cliff, if she wanted to be certain about her transformation, it was now or never. So he gave her a last encouraging smile, and let go of her hand. He didn't move far away though, he immediately spread his own wings and continued to go down beside her.

Yang looked at him apprehensively for a moment, then her gaze shifted back to the approaching ground, and her eyes filled with more determination than ever. The ground was only a dozen of feet away when she clenched her fist, closed her eyes, and dove for a split second before suddenly shrinking, and spreading her wings.

Her two wings.

Qrow felt a wave of relief wash over him as he saw a magnificent falcon soaring low over the rocks, performing enthusiastic acrobatics in the air and nearly crashing into the cliff before returning to play in the sky as if to catch up in a few minutes with the four years she had spent pinned to the ground, freed from the weight of her fear and her doubts. It hadn't even been a full day since Qrow had known Yang could transform, yet he felt as light as if he was flying again for the first time in years.

Seeing Yang flying towards him at the bottom of the ravine, he turned back into a human, just in time for her to leap to his neck, hugging him with her one arm in a crushing hug. They stayed like that for a long time, maybe even a whole hour, where Yang alternated between squeals of joy and cries of stress because of the adrenaline slowly going down, while Qrow hugged her close to him, stroking her back, also with tears in his eyes.

So many times she had cried in his arms, from anger, rage, frustration, sadness, loneliness, and he could do nothing but wait for her to calm down and watch her suffer, while trying not to cry too so as not to make things worse.

But today she was crying tears of joy, so he could let it out.

"I'm proud of you kid…" he whispered as he gently ran his hand through her curly hair.

Yang's arm tightened around his neck a little more, "Thank you Uncle Qrow." she replied just as softly, burying her face a little deeper into his shoulder.

The sun was setting, the sky was painted a soft mix of orange and pink, and a falcon was flying graciously through the red and gold clouds as if it were the first time it had flown, it wouldn't going up until you could barely see it only to picket back down like it was trying to break the sound barrier, it had already circled the mountain four times, and sometimes it was hiding behind a cloud and stared at the three humans before speeding off like a child wanting to be caught.

"That's a good thing done. Can we go have dinner now? I'm starving." Oceane said, heading towards the campfire.

"Give her another five minutes, she hasn't flown in a long time." Qrow pleaded as if he was the one who didn't want to stop playing.

Oceane shrugged and began to scribble quietly on her notebook, while Qrow continued to watch the falcon in the sky with a face full of pride and longing.

Robyn sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I hate you. All of you." she said with an emotionless tone.

"What? Why?" asked Qrow.

"Because you are insufferable! The Gods, the Maidens, Ozpin, Salem, all your magical bullshit, it's already hard enough to wrap my head around, and now Falcon can suddenly turn into a bird for some reason?! I WAS GONE FOR ONE DAY! GIVE ME A BREAK!"

To make matters worse for Robyn's frustration, Qrow laughed, "You know how kids are, they grow up so fast."

Robyn felt a vein throb in her forehead, "And now you're making fun of me?"

"No, not at all." Qrow denied, insolently innocently looking away, and his face softened when he saw Falcon playing in the sky. Even without seeing her face, you could tell she was having a blast, she wouldn't be coming down to eat for a while.

Deep down, Robyn was a little sad to have missed that. Falcon had never told her about this power, even after Qrow informed her about the magic and all that, and since even he didn't know, that meant she had suffered in silence for four years. And not only had Robyn been unable to help her, but her little apprentice didn't even turned to her when she finally decided to ask for help. Okay, Qrow was more reliable than he looked, and since they had the same power, it made more sense for her to go see him… But still, she felt like she just missed her child's first steps…

"I wish I could fly too…"

"You can always ask Oz, you have a bird name too after all." Qrow joked.

Robyn rolled her eyes. She had to reveal her real name to Qrow and Oceane when they started doing missions for the town to avoid misunderstandings, since she had used her Huntress license to introduce herself there. Which had also allowed her to see her colleagues' licenses.

"Speaking of which, I was wondering, why is your name spelled with a Q?" she asked.

"Why is yours spelled with a Y?" he answered immediately with a smirk, as if he expected her to ask the question and had prepared his answer in advance.

"Hey, there're plenty of people who spell it like that, you can't say the same." she scolded him.

"You're right. I am one of a kind." he boasted, which annoyed Robyn a little more.

"The kind that has a literal birdbrain?" she scoffed, "At least that explains why there's a typo in your own name."

This time Qrow actually seemed offended, "Hey! It's not a typo, it's done on purpose!"

"Oh yeah? And what is the reason for that then?" Qrow opened his mouth to respond, then closed it and looked away blushing, "That's what I thought." Robyn said smugly.

"Oh come on, you're just jealous because you're the only one here with a bird name who can't fly."

Robyn felt the vein in her forehead throb again, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure sure." Qrow smirked, "And I suppose you don't mind if I go and cruise the clouds in the setting sun with my favorite niece while you stay here on the ground sitting in the dirt?"

"Oh I don't mind at all. In fact, I'm even going to help you."

Without any hesitation, Robyn pushed Qrow off the edge of the cliff with her foot. A few seconds and a cry worthy of a horror movie victim later, a crow came up to shout at her, which she ignored, before flying towards the falcon who was having fun flying through a cloud from side to side.

He kinda asked for it.

There! What do you think?

Yang's missing wing was a topic that deserved it's own chapter, and it needed to be at a time and place where she felt safe enough in case it failed. It also served as a much needed bonding experience with Qrow, because in the end, they haven't spent that much time together. I always planned to let Yang keep her wings, I wasn't gonna make her face one of her biggest fears just to crush her down immediately, it was more about overcoming her fear, and Qrow finally actually being present when she needs him. That's also why Robyn isn't very present in the chap except for the conclusion, she was letting them some space. And yes, I did have fun making her kick Qrow off the cliff, and fighting about their bird names, it was so easy it just wrote itself you know.

We also learn a bit more about Cherry, how Raven became the Spring Maiden, and why Yang has her transformation power, I told you in the very first chapter that there was an actual reason, and we get to see a bit of it here. But there is still one big question … How did Cherry die? Will we ever know or did Raven take that secret to the grave? Am I too dramatic about it? Probably … You were supposed to read that with an ominous voice by the way.

Finally, while writing this chapter, I got an idea for a spin-off, then another, then another… You get the idea, I might write some non-canon-to-this-fic bonus stuff, just for fun. I've already got two or three ideas, but if you have some don't hesitate.

See you soon!