Author's note: Hi! This is my first posted story in quite some time. Hope you enjoy the read. This story starts at the end of RWBY volume 8 so please be caught up to at least there before reading or you may have spoilers. This is my imagination of what happened to these characters after that point. I really haven't read much fanfiction, so I'm not sure if there are any other stories super similar to this one. That being said I wouldn't be surprised if there are, but please let me know. I have included some of the summary of events prior within this chapter as I had a friend reading it that was unfamiliar with the show. It is how I feel these characters view their own actions and remember their events. Oh! And regarding the copyright. I obviously don't own RWBY or any of the characters as that's copyrighted by RoosterTeeth and Warner Bros. I'm simply borrowing them for this story, and the plot is the only thing that's on my end. Please don't sue me. Thanks! Read and review. Edit 7/22/2023: This has been revised at least 2 times now for making a more cohesive story in the future.
Birds of a Feather
Chapter 1: The Inconvenient Truth
"Ruby! Yang!" Qrow yelled as his voice was crackling through the earpieces. Nothing but radio silence was heard on the other end.
Robyn glanced at his horrified expression and knew the devastation they were witnessing was real. They helplessly watched the massive metropolitan city of Altas descend onto her home of the lower city Mantle. A once thriving city now a sunken crater, the flooding of water turned it into a watery grave to anyone who was unfortunate to have not escaped. While she was grateful to be on the aircraft above the once prospering city, she felt utter disbelief and overwhelming sadness overtake her. She backed away from the rear loading door as it started to close, and sat on the bench as she put her head into her hands attempting to process what she had witnessed.
"Did they survive?" she said to herself. Her only thoughts were regarding her team, the Happy Huntresses,and the civilians of Atlas and Mantle. There was no communication from Winter saying they had succeeded in their mission of getting everyone to safety while Qrow and her had stopped the Ace-ops and bomb. She couldn't deny her concerns. Her community destroyed in front of her own eyes while she was up in the sky with Qrow who she had dubbed '5 o'clock shadow' and the remaining 3 Ace-ops of Elm, Marrow 'Wags', and Harriet 'Mohawk'.
She suddenly heard the cries of the person next to her. The distraction caused a shallow breath from surprise as she looked towards the dark haired, slender built man to see it was Qrow. Her eyes traced the stubble along his jaw towards his eyes. His face displayed despair as his body hunched forward in a tripod position.
"Qrow," Robyn whispered, her voice catching in her throat. She moved towards him to provide what little comfort she could as she reached out with a shaking hand to gently touch his shoulder. Qrow turned his head towards her to acknowledge her presence, his eyes slowly turning bloodshot. Her heart felt broken as they connected. She instinctively moved to wrap her arms around his waist and buried her face into the side of his clothes at the back of the axilla. It wasn't like her to be unable to control her emotions, but the weight of this loss was more than she was capable of handling. She couldn't think as she couldn't breathe in enough air between her whispered, muffled wails. Her cries only intensified as Qrow reciprocated her emotions by reaching around her body and wrapping his arms at her upper back drawing her into a tight embrace at his chest. His wails resonated with sorrow and loss.
She felt vulnerable as she allowed her emotions to spill forth. The weight of the assumed loss and uncertainty of the future faded as she clung onto him. His presence was a reminder she wasn't alone in the sea of sorrow. They were there together.
Between the sobs she heard Qrow whisper, "It hurts, Robyn," his voice hoarse, "I failed them…failed my nieces…"
Her grip around his trembling form tightened as she felt her tears mingling with his, "We don't know for certain what happened. We can't give up hope just yet." She felt Qrow clutching onto the fabric of her clothes as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. She continued, "We can't just give up hope. We'll find the truth, and make things right. Until then we'll be here for each other." Through their shared pain she felt a bond form with her words. She was no longer responsible for her individual emotions, but Qrow's emotional and mental state as well.
She found herself recounting earlier events searching for an answer. The plan had been for the staff relic to be used to evacuate everyone to safety as per the Atlesian lieutenant Winter Schnee. However, with the use of the staff relic it meant the kingdom of Atlas would fall. Her mission with Qrow and Marrow had been to stop the remaining Ace-ops from dropping the bomb onto Mantle in order to give time to her team of Happy Huntresses and the kids (Ruby, Yang, Blake, Ren, Nora, Juane, Weiss, Oscar) for a full evacuation. Her team had completed their mission when Qrow stopped Harriet from dropping the bomb, and one of the Ace-ops, Vine, had sacrificed himself by using his semblance to contain the bomb as the aircraft flew away. She felt remorse for Vine who had saved them yet minutes later the cities were destroyed.
The relics' existence was a mystery to her, and there was no way to confirm Winter's plan had succeeded. This frustrated her more than anything. Her cheeks were wet and eyes dripping with uncontrollable tears into Qrow's clothes. She pulled one arm away to desperately wipe them with her sleeve, but couldn't block the flood gates. Fiona, May, Joanna…She hadn't seen her Happy Huntresses since before going to the Schnee manor. That disastrous meeting led to teaming up with Qrow and Clover in which they captured the nefarious Tyrion. On the ride back to Atlas an alert had been put out by Ironwood for the arrest of the kids and Qrow. She knew the General would have her arrested the moment they landed. She chose to fight and went against Clover who was trying to apprehend Qrow. She recalled the aircraft crash caused by Tryion who had been freed when she deflected a shot from Clover. She was knocked out upon landing, awakened when found by Atlas military, and taken to jail immediately with Qrow who was the primary suspect for killing Clover.
Qrow had told her most of the events while they were being held captive in jail for what felt like weeks. She wasn't sure as there had been no indication of time in the windowless room. Qrow had chosen to momentarily align with Tyrion against Clover. While Clover had changed to attempting to capture Qrow instead of Tyrion due to General Ironwood's order. In their fight Clover had incapacitated Tyrion, and Qrow had used the opportunity to attack and break Clover's aura. Qrow's attempts to convince Clover to stop led to enough time for Tyrion to grab Qrow's discarded sword and thrust it into Clover to kill him. The weapon was covered in blood and used to frame Qrow for the murder while Tyrion had fled the scene. Qrow had blamed himself for the events that had led to Clover's demise, but knew he wasn't the one that murdered Clover as that was Tyrion. He was just trying to survive. They had shared some stories while parked together in jail. She only escaped with Qrow since Atlas was invaded by Grimm, and some explosion happened on the jail wall freeing them. Now the people she had sworn to protect were no longer present to her knowledge, and she felt the same questions in her mind, 'Did they succeed? Did they escape? Are they safe?'
She had no idea how much time had passed, but found herself becoming exhausted from the emotional outpour. She couldn't shake the numbness that had settled over her body. Their cries dimmed to whimpers, but she didn't release her confidante. She took the best breath she could which slowly helped with calming her, but was unable to stop the tears streaming down her face. There was nothing she could do. Her body felt immobilized by the deadness. Yet as if sensing her feeling of sudden loneliness she felt Qrow's firm hold to steady her. He was her solace during this assumed devastation, and felt herself become at ease despite the weight they felt on their shoulders.
Qrow's jacket was wet with her tears as she released him with one arm again to use her own jacket to wipe her tears within his hold. She gently released her embrace on Qrow as she pulled away slowly, leaving one arm sliding down to hold Qrow' narrow waist. Qrow did the same, but let his arms rest along her waist and arm. He held her to observe her as she stared at his contorted face. The redness and teardrops surrounding his eyes amplified the intensity of crimson irises as his mouth was strained and neck muscles tightened.
She gently took hold of the end of her hanging scarf as she looked at him. "Here," she whispered, her voice full of empathy. "Let me help you," and raised it towards his tear stained cheek.
Qrow flinched as she raised her hand towards his face, and she paused midair with the scarf frozen. His gaze suddenly haunted and distant. His body tensed within her hold as if recoiling from her. She didn't want to encroach on his boundaries and began to retract her hand.
"Wait," she felt Qrow's trembling hand catch hers to stop it in place. She glanced down at it then back to him confused by his sudden change. After a brief pause he continued, "I was just…just reminded of something with your gesture. Sorry."
Her heart was aching for him. "I'm sorry," she whispered back to him, "I know it doesn't change much. I should have considered how you would have felt." Disheartened, she looked away as if to give him space. She sensed a deep rooted fear which he was attempting to retain behind the walls he had built around his heart to protect himself from further anguish.
Qrow squeezed her hand within his as he pulled her attention back to him as their eyes reconnected. She could feel the intensity of his stare. A flicker of trust crossed his features as he began to speak, "It's not you. We just lost so many people. The last thing I want is for my semblance to affect you."
Robyn's heart went out to him as it swelled with empathy they shared. She lightly caressed his back, assuring him that she understood the fears he was admitting. "I appreciate your concern, but I want to be here for you no matter the risks."
She could see the tears forming in his eyes with her words. He hesitated a moment longer as if contemplating the genuine care she extended to him. With a deep breath he tilted his chin down to allow her access to proceed with wiping his cheeks. He guided her hand to his face. Her touch was gentle, almost reverent, as she wiped and dried the glimmering drops of sorrow. He closed his eyes as she did as if allowing her touch to heal a small part of him. His presence was comforting to her despite the overwhelming emotions of loss they both felt. They were mourning the fallen comrades and chosen family they had presumably lost. She lowered her hand with his to their lap, his touch an anchor in their shared moment.
She felt she understood a part of his pain in the moment as they came to an understanding. 'He lost his nieces and the other kids…I lost my huntresses…we lost our chosen families…' she thought as she realized how they were both suffering similarly.
Qrow cleared his throat, "I don't think anything can mend what's actually broken inside right now…" His words indicated the weight of his accumulated loss and haunting fear of his semblance which threatened to consume him.
She paused, reflecting on his words of internal turmoil, and remained steadfast with her presence as she wiped away her own tears. Her voice was resolute yet gentle, "I can't pretend to know the pain you've experienced…but I believe we can move forward through this."
"T-Thanks, Robyn," Qrow responded, having difficulty getting out his words. He seemed to regain his composure after considering her words.
"I understand," she released her scarf to gently squeeze his hand as she spoke, "We all have our own battles to fight, and we can work together to face your fears. Maybe our plan succeeded, or maybe it failed. We don't know for sure yet. There's a possibility we couldn't reach them since they'd already been transported out. Let's not give up before we know for certain they weren't able to make it out."
His gaze dwelled on her as if seeing her in a different light. A feeling of appreciation and gratitude exuded from him as he regained his composure, "you somehow manage to find a way to be there for others…even when it's rough for yourself too."
She felt genuine appreciation, and found her voice with unwavering determination, "Neither of us are alone in this. We all presumably lost someone we cared about, but let's go explore the continent before we make that call."
Qrow took a deep breath as he nodded, "Alright then."
She wiped her face a third time with her sleeve successfully, and turned her body away from Qrow who was slowly calming down while taking deeper breaths. She kept her arm holding Qrow around his waist as she turned to observe the remaining Ace-ops across the cargo bay.
Marrow sat in astonishment, saddened by the events, and trying to make sense of the situation as he cried with Elm who was comforting him. Elm shared her sentiments with tears as she had lost Vine in addition to her home. She felt it was uncharacteristic of previous Ace Ops to show their emotion in this fashion, but didn't question it. Both sitting down against the wall of the cargo airship feeling the emotional weight within the small space press down on them. It was as if the pressure within the airship weighed down upon their bodies.
She turned back to Qrow whose dark rings circled his now slightly puffy eyes. Yet stunning red irises gleaned as they shared glances with hers; both calming the other. Robyn's encouragement had hit home, and she noticed Qrow's demeanor change with the small amount of hope she placed in his mind. 'So what do we do now?' She thought as she stared at Qrow, and he glanced back acknowledging the expression she displayed. The shock seemed to have settled as she started to assess their situation with a clearer head. They were one of several smaller aircrafts to be in the sky near the gigantic Atlas military ships.
She noticed Harriet climb down from the cockpit, look at her two team members, and shake her head. Harriet said, "There are no reports of the General according to any of the other aircrafts around." Robyn felt it disconcerting to see little to no emotion from Harriet with her statements.
Marrow seemed to have calmed down and said, "We should go look for any survivors." It was a hopeful thought.
Harriet was quick to respond, "Like anyone could survive that. There's no way."
"Maybe not everyone was able to evacuate," Marrow countered, "they could have made it out into the tundra."
"We shouldn't waste our fuel looking for stragglers," Harriet replied coldly.
Elm had wiped her tears and was now looking at Marrow, "She has a point. You heard the reports General Ironwood received. The people of Mantle were all in the crater. In the slums with the other fauna."
Harriet seemed to pause for a moment, "Do you think the General got out?" General Ironwood had given her a reason to argue or compete with others, but with him gone it was as if her reason had been stripped from her. She only ever needed a reason to start a fight, but without a leader sending her orders she was at a loss. The Ace-ops had now lost Clover, Vine, their commanding officer, General Ironwood, presumably Winter Schnee, and council members.
Robyn felt anger inside her ignite as she sat up releasing Qrow and facing her body directly at Harriet. She found her voice and threw her hands out into the air, "You're worried about the General?" She could feel Qrow still touching her back, "What about the thousands of people in Atlas and Mantle? What about their safety and their lives?" She felt like the rug had been pulled out from under her as she realized Harriet's only concern was the one person who had caused the most suffering of the people of Mantle for several years.
"He mattered to us," Harriet responded resolutely, "We need to know if he's okay. He was the one who held Atlas together."
Robyn was raising her voice as she spoke, "He was just one person who promised to defend the kingdom then threatened killing innocent people as a means to an end to get what he wanted. There are so many others who might be lost, who might need our help! Our duty is to protect the people, not just one man!" She paused thinking about the situation, "he would probably be trying to kill all of us if he were here now."
Harriet glared at her, "And he would have probably killed you two traitors by now." The tension between them in the small aircraft was suffocating as the group realized what Harriet had stated and implied. An audible gasp was heard.
Maybe it was her imagination, but Marrow almost looked more relieved by the unknown of Ironwood's living status. He had explained briefly to them that Ironwood was determined to get Penny to the vault to open the door to the relic. What had been witnessed on the security cameras of the bomb being loaded into the airship with the order by Ironwood for dropping it onto Mantle had been true. Yet Marrow had been with Winter when their plan had formed of saving the city. Winter had said she was contacting her sister, Weiss, at that exact moment and would deal with the General with the kids. Winter had instructed the three of them to stop the bomb to give more time for evacuation in the cities, and Marrow had agreed willingly. He had mentioned the General had been about to shoot him when Winter intervened and saved him. He felt indebted to her.
She was about to respond to Harriet again when she felt Qrow's hand from her back move to her forearm as Qrow sensing the animosity escalating with each passing moment between Robyn and Harriet stepped forward. She turned her attention to him as he spoke.
"It seems the most likely situation would be to get somewhere safe to land and split ways," she heard Qrow suggest to the others.
"What do you mean split ways?" Harriet yelled across the small aircraft, fuming at the sudden suggestion. Harriet's emotional bucket had been filled to the brim with anger, resentment, and revenge that with the simple suggestion made by Qrow had caused the overflow of her emotions.
"Hare," Marrow said sternly in warning as she had overstepped, "You should hear him out."
Harriet reeled towards Marrow, "You three were prisoners at Atlas!" Her body moved into a fighting stance as she spoke, "You for defying General Ironwood," Harriet pointed at Marrow, then turned her finger to point at Robyn, "You for aiding him," pointing and shifting her gaze onto Qrow, clenching her teeth harder and grimacing, anger clearly in her eyes, "and you for killing Clover! You're not going-"
Robyn felt herself make eye contact with Harriet, "And there isn't an Atlas anymore, Mohawk! As far as I'm concerned any crimes we were accused of ended the moment that chunk of land was destroyed."
"No. It still stands," Harriet was now approaching her and Qrow.
"It looked pretty sunken the last time we all saw it," she responded. She remembered the enormous lake in the middle of the tundra before the cargo ship door had closed. It had been a tiny, light blue dot on the icy horizon.
Qrow also responded calmly, "Not bringing that one back."
This didn't seem to settle well with Harriet in the slightest, "You of all people aren't going anywhere! We're going to the nearest military base, and you're being thrown back in jail! I'm not letting Clover's killer get away, and you're giving me Clover's pin!" She was only a couple feet away from them, ready to start a fight.
Robyn felt Qrow release her forearm and stand up stepping towards Harriet, but she immediately reached out and grabbed his hand to hold him back. She ensured her uncovered index finger connected with his skin. This was a sensitive topic overall. She stared at the remaining three ace-ops. 'Welcome to the truth,' she felt herself smirk confidently as she activated her semblance and a grayish tint moved from her arm to Qrow's hand and forearm.
Qrow was oblivious to her actions as he was clearly frustrated by Harriet's accusations. He leaned forward, and reached into his jacket with his free hand pulling out the pin as he waved it at Harriet, "I didn't kill Clover," he gritted his teeth, "I broke Clover's aura when Tyrion was down, and tried to convince him what he was doing was wrong. But Tyrion got free and killed him using my weapon!"
Harriet was glaring at him, teeth clenched as she spoke through the grit, "I don't believe you!" The two were face to face within a foot of each other as Harriet closed the distance. Then suddenly Elm and Marrow gasped. Robyn's semblance turned from gray to a glimmering green as she held Qrow's hand.
She felt herself smile, "About time ya'll heard the truth."
She could see the look of surprise across Qrow's face as he looked down at her. He clearly didn't realize her semblance worked in this manner, but she realized he had never seen it first hand. Only heard about it when she brought it up briefly, or when she was announcing it with Ironwood.
Harriet's eyes widened at the realization as the weight of her misguided accusations crumbled. She let out a frustrated yell, "No! That can't be true!" A mix of defiance and desperation in her voice. Then backed away, and plopped onto the ground crossing her arms.
Robyn moved next to Qrow as she spoke, "You wanted someone to blame, but it isn't us. I fought Clover in the Manta airship, but we weren't the ones to kill him," she said as her hand remained a glowing green holding Qrow's hand. She released Qrow's hand. It wasn't necessary anymore, and crossed her arms. "As far as I'm concerned, we did as the General requested us to do, which was to apprehend Tyrion to bring him in. Things changed when the General wanted Qrow arrested. We can't change what happened after that, but now you know the truth. The only thing we can do now is move forward."
"The General isn't here, but you're both still fugitives!" Harriet yelled, getting back onto her feet. Her stubborn refusal to accept reality pushed them further apart. The mounting animosity between them was escalating with each passing moment.
It was Elm who intervened quick enough as the mighty woman stood up, and grabbed onto Harriet from behind with wrapping her arms around Harriet's waist and arms. Restraining the smaller woman as she lifted Harriet into the air to prevent her from running. Harriet started yelling and kicking her legs in an attempt to free herself from the stronger woman. Robyn felt sorry for Harriet at that moment. She had lost so many people she cared about in a short time, and clearly hadn't resolved her anger.
"You're right!" Elm yelled over Harriet's screams, "The General isn't here, but they just proved their innocence regarding Clover. They were under arrest because of General Ironwood's command of martial law…but now…" Elm was clearly struggling with the next words. Harriet was screeching, and attempting to free herself of Elm, "The General, Clover…Vine…They are all gone, Hare."
Robyn and Qrow stood silently watching the scene before them until Robyn stepped forward with her arms uncrossed, "There isn't a reason for us to be fighting each other anymore," her voice was soft and caring, "I know you're hurt, and want revenge…but that's not a reason to go after us for your own choices and the sacrifices others made for you. You can join us to go find the others, or we can split ways and you can have nothing to do with us."
"Then I want nothing to do with any of you! I'm heading this ship to Argus! The sooner the better!" Harriet pushed off Elm who finally released her, and she stormed up the ladder into the cockpit.
The group looked at each other. There was a lot to discuss, but the unwillingness of Harriet to participate in the discussion led to her outbursts.
"I'll go talk with Harriet, but our top priority right now is all getting to safety," Elm responded, "It's better to work together. So where are we headed anyway?"
The group stood silently thinking of their options. Each offered suggestions of where to go next from the island of Vytal to Vale to Vacuo. Seeking a destination that might provide them with answers, resources, allies, or the potential of finding the citizens of Altas and Mantle. There was mention of Argus brought up as it was a military base with resources available, and the possibility to connect to the outside world with communication stations. It found agreement amongst them.
"It's a relatively close Atlas military base outside of Solitas," Qrow commented, "And has resources available for all of us."
"Then it's settled. I'll convince the other airships to head to Argus," Elm stated as Qrow, Marrow, and Robyn all agreed with head nods. Elm let out a sigh as she considered the weighted topic she had to bring forth. Elm looked directly at Robyn and Qrow, "Marrow and I will go convince Harriet of this. You two should stay out of her sight."
Robyn nodded as she understood the gravity of the situation. She glanced at Qrow only to note the shared determination evident in his eyes, "We'll stay put," Robyn affirmed, "and won't let this tear us apart."
Elm began climbing the ladder. Marrow sighed as he came to his conclusion, "Guess I should head up there. We all need to step back and have some space. I know it's not easy for Harriet to admit how she feels."
"It's good that she has both of you to help her," Robyn commented, "I'm sure we can work it out when we get to Argus, and maybe she has cooled off a bit."
Harriet was clearly going through as many issues as they were, but wasn't willing to bring down her fortified wall of denial, grief, and fear. Blaming Qrow for Clover's death had given her someone to hate and blame. Now with the truth exposed that Qrow was not Clover's killer took away the immediate outlet. Harriet was trapped with having to work through her own grief as Robyn had rationalized the reactions by Harriet.
Marrow nodded, followed Elm up the ladder, and looked over his shoulder at them before disappearing from sight into the cockpit. The hatch closed behind him leaving only her and Qrow standing in the cargo bay.
"So it's settled then," said the gruff voice of Qrow, "We go to Argus, and go our separate ways."
Robyn nodded in agreement with the plan. Yet something felt off with Qrow's proposal. She turned to look at him and crossed her arms. "So are you implying we go our separate ways at Argus? You're gonna bail on me just like that?" She stated as he turned to face her.
His face had the remnants of puffy eyes and pinkish cheeks, but had returned to portraying very little emotion. He made eye contact with her, but then looked away. After contemplating, he finally responded to her but refrained from eye contact, "I thought it would be better for you if I traveled separately."
"No," she responded flatly.
"No?" he questioned.
"I had you pegged as the want-to-be solo, brooding type," she said, "But not as someone that would leave me behind when we're going the same way."
He sighed and responded, "I just want to make sure you travel safely without interference from my semblance."
She observed his posture noting his eyes held shame from an angle as he avoided making eye contact with her. She caught him feeling guilty of his own plan of leaving without her even though they never established they would travel together, but also realized the contributing factors of his fear of losing someone he felt close to since his previous partner, Clover, happened to die while he walked away alive. She felt reassuring him would be better.
Robyn responded, "Okay…but assuming the plan worked, and everyone escaped…then we're probably both heading to the same location of where everyone might have ended up. Wherever the kingdom of Atlas is would most likely be where my team and your kiddos went too," she reasoned back to him.
"It's not that...it's just...people tend to die when they get too close to me..." Qrow replied.
She observed the dejected expression on his face as it seemed memories haunted him. It appeared he was plagued by the sadness of continual loss that followed him. It had invaded his own outlook of relationships and he generalized it towards situations that occurred. In a way his suggestion felt almost comforting to know he was worried about her well being, and running away from her was a valid thought to keep her safe with his logic. However, she felt it was unrealistic. Her home was gone. All their allies had disappeared and were either dead in the flooded crater or unknowingly alive somewhere in Remnant. He was the last person she could trust here, and even though he had been vengeful in Atlas he was willing to work with her as a team. She needed him as much as he needed her, and she felt an energy surge inside. He didn't have to feel this way, and she was set on changing his mind. She wasn't going to let him walk off just because he was afraid.
"Try me," she responded back fiercely, putting her hands on her hips and staring at him intently.
Qrow appeared baffled with the sudden change, "Try you?" He responded as he leaned back.
"Tell me what you mean with your semblance," she replied intently, staring at him.
Qrow's expression became serious as he sighed with his response, "I guess you could call me a bad luck charm. Misfortune follows me. Grimms appear more than usual. And I have no real control on it."
"There's always Grimm though. It's safer to work together to fight them rather than be split," she quipped back at him.
"Sure, but it's not...," Qrow stopped as he contemplated his next words, and finally said, "It's not just the grimm. It's the people I've lost by just being too close. My semblance isn't something I do, but always there, whether I like it or not, I bring misfortune to those around me." He seemed to observe her face questioning how serious she was, "I put you at too much risk. Sure we caught Tyrion who killed Clover, but then we ended up in an aircraft crash and he escaped," he replied.
"Which we both survived," she added, "Happened to be in the same space when the airship crashed. Your semblance saved you and arbitrarily saved me since we were in close proximity."
"Okay. I didn't consider that...but then we were arrested and thrown in jail," Qrow continued.
"Would have happened once we had landed in Atlas anyway. Pretty sure Ironwood would have screwed me over. I had no more ways of getting what Mantle needed," she said knowingly. It was true. She had tried scouting in the tundra and reasoning with Clover for the supplies needed for Mantle without success. She had run for the position of councilwoman, but was cheated out of it by Arthur Watts and Jacque Schnee. She had then agreed to help Ironwood, but he chose to betray Mantle so she resorted to stealing from them with her team. Ironwood would have found a reason to arrest her without Qrow's presence.
She continued, "Then that wall was blasted through, you fought off the guards, and we escaped jail. We luckily ran into Marrow and Winter in the elevator after we talked in the hallway," she smirked as she responded. She felt like she was having an intense staring contest with Qrow who had finally made eye contact with her. It was almost as if the harder he tried to push her away the more she realized she couldn't let him.
Qrow let out an exasperated sigh, and a small grin etched its way onto his lips, "I guess I can't get rid of you that easily."
"Yup. You're coming with me as my guide," she said sternly.
Qrow leaned forward as he asked, "Oh, so I'm your guide now?"
Her eyes connected with his as she relaxed. She could sense Qrow's resistance beginning to melt away. Her arms crossed in front of her and freed one arm to move as she responded adamantly, "A guide. Duh. I don't know the world of Remnant outside of Solitas. Wherever we are now to anywhere else would be difficult for me to navigate. I need my trusty guide to show me the ropes. Besides you mentioned before you and the kids traveled across the continent to get to Atlas."
His face eased. His deflated posture stood taller with his shoulders relaxed down and back from her off handed compliment, "And what if I lead you astray into the wilds, huh?"
She relaxed hearing his response. Her eyebrow raised, a playful glint in her eyes. "Oh, I'm counting on it," she quipped back, giving him a playful nudge, "The further into the wilds the better."
"And all the other things I told you about my semblance?" he asked, unphased by her playful behavior.
"Never a dull moment around you. Sounds like an adventure I'd sign up for regardless," she responded with a small wink.
Qrow feigned reluctance as he crossed his arms, "Don't say I didn't warn you. We're gonna have to find out if thousands of people survived and where they might have ended up. It's not gonna be a walk in the park."
Robyn chuckled, leaning in closer to him. "And who better to have as my guide through this other than the infamous Qrow Branwen?" she said with playful sarcasm dripping in her voice.
"When you put it that way it makes it sound like I'm gonna be doing all the work. Are you sure you can keep up?" Qrow said, raising his eyebrow in question.
She scoffed playfully, rolling her eyes. "Oh please, I've faced down hordes of Grimm, dodged Atlas security for years, and survived Ironwood's jail with you. I think I can handle whatever comes our way," she retorted as a confident smirk graced her lips.
Qrow seemed bemused by her responses, "Alright. You win. We can go find all of them together," he conceded, his voice filled with a mix of amusement and fondness. "Can I expect you to keep us out of trouble then?"
Robyn put on an innocent expression as her eyes twinkled in the dim cargo hold lighting as she said, "Trust me. I'll make sure we get into just the right amount of trouble. Enough to keep it interesting, but not enough to get us killed."
She could feel Qrow's hardened walls diminishing as he chuckled at her response. They had both been so saddened and angered by the events they witnessed it was comforting to her to have him present and relaxed.
"Yeah? Sounds like a plan then." He responded, "Beats being stuck in this box."
"So where are we going?" She asked, "Winter didn't seem to know too much about the end point of the plan."
"The last holdout for the relics should be in Vacuo. If what Winter said is true then everyone including the kids and Happy Huntresses should be there. If they all made it out that is…" Qrow said as his gaze traveled away, "it's the most likely place to get the relic and people to safety, but we'll have to confirm before heading out that way," he continued.
The thought renewed some hope, but she didn't want to exceed expectations. They could be anywhere in Remnant, yet why not pick Argus for example for the citizens of Atlas instead of a kingdom they were unfamiliar with completely? She was at a loss for how he had come to this conclusion, "But how would they have gotten them there?" She searched Qrow's face for an answer as he looked intently at her.
"There is a possibility everyone might have made it using the relic. There weren't many aircrafts leaving Mantle in the sky when we were leaving. Which means they were either all destroyed, or people didn't need them," he said.
She was still confused, but looked at the positives. If Qrow was saying this was the likely spot due to the relics then she knew there was nothing to lose by going. She was glad he was finally on board with staying as a team.
Qrow leaned away and nodded, "I get it. You weren't told about all the relics or the maidens or what any of them really do. You only learned about Salem which is why you did the broadcast with James."
"I mean the staff apparently caused Atlas to fall, but the maidens? You mean the fairy tales?" she was even more baffled than before.
"The staff can only be used for one thing at a time. So if Atlas fell it means it was used, and hopefully for the right reasons. We have some time until we reach Argus," and with that Qrow sat down on the bench, and Robyn joined next to him. He turned to face her by bringing one leg on the bench in a figure 4 and hunching over it. He began to explain. "So what's your favorite fairy tale?"
"Which one is not to like? There were plenty of them," she answered back.
"What if I told you they were all real? All of them are based on real events," Qrow responded seriously.
"What? Are you serious? They're just children's stories to teach kids morals," she responded although baffled.
"No. They are all real," Qrow repeated.
She felt flabbergasted with the information, and responded, "Take my hand," facing him, holding her hand out for him to take. "If you're going to talk about something I never believed in as more than…interesting stories as a child then this'll be easier."
He looked down at her hand, nodded, and commented, "It must be hard for you to trust others too."
She retracted the offer of her hand to her lap. Feeling a bit embarrassed with how much she depended on it now that there wasn't a barrier between them. Qrow had so far been honest with her.
Qrow immediately reached for her hand, gently grabbing it and pulling it into the space between them. "It's fine," he said. With that she activated her semblance as the grayish tint spread from her arm to his. Qrow continued, "I could hardly believe this stuff the first time I heard it. And I was sober then too."
Robyn's hand changed to red.
"Fine. I was drunk the first time I heard about it."
Robyn's hand changed back to green.
She let out a small chuckle, "You can't lie or it will detect it. So you were drinking a lot then?"
Qrow looked away as his gruff voice responded, "Yeah. More as a way of...coping with certain situations. Then became my only way of drowning it out," his eyes widened as his head snapped back to her, "But I quit when I came to Atlas." Robyn's hand turned red, and Qrow changed his previous statement with added information, "I quit drinking when I came to Atlas with my nieces, Ruby and Yang, and the other kids." Robyn's hand changed to green. Qrow commented, "That's…a way to have a handle on the information."
"It is. It's how I make sure I can trust information given to me," she explained, "So you have been to Atlas before this last time?"
"On classified missions a few times," Qrow answered.
"But sober recently?" She asked.
"Yeah," he looked away from her.
He hadn't been this vocal when they were parked in jail, but this was candid. It might have been that he was too saddened by Clover's demise in jail which kept him from exposing too much or thinking about much else. She gently squeezed his hand, drawing his attention back to her, "It's not something to be ashamed of, ya know?"
From the corner of his eyes he looked at her and said, "I-uh, yeah. I stopped drinking."
"It doesn't mean you have to avoid the topic," she tugged his hand and reached across their hands to his furthest shoulder to turn him back towards herself. Her eyes connected again with his, searching his face for understanding. He looked at her longingly. She continued, "We all make choices to try to move forward, and sometimes it's not the most effective way of coping with it. But you made a choice to change and be a part of a team. It's obvious you care more about those around you, especially your nieces and the kiddos."
Gauging Qrow's reaction she assumed this was the first time anyone had ever stopped him from dodging the topic to talk to him about it. She didn't want to put him down, but let him know she was here for him.
After a period of silence, he sighed, "it's not that simple."
"Didn't think it would be, and I've got time since I'm not heading anywhere without my guide." She tilted her head casually awaiting his response.
He appeared dismissive at first, but seemed to rationalize speaking with her, "If you knew your very presence caused misfortune and could cause things to be worse…" he stated, "Would you want to be around others?"
Though she was staring at him intently, she noticed her semblance change from green to red with his statement. She was too busy looking down at their hands in which Qrow followed her eyes to the red glow below.
"W-what?" He asked, confused.
She slowly started to grasp the reason his statement was false. He had said what he believed to be the truth, but it was incorrect. They were both flabbergasted by her semblance.
"A-are you sure your semblance is working?" He said recalling his statement.
"Yes. I think…I think there is more going on than you give yourself credit for…maybe it's your outlook that changes the outcome of events with your semblance…although maybe more random," she remembered being in the pilot seat of this airship when she had seen the bomb in the other airship ahead of her start to slide out the back of the cargo hold. She could see Qrow on the floor holding what she assumed was Clover's pin when the bomb had changed course and stopped. She brought it up, "like what about the bomb sliding and Clover's pin you were holding? You stopped it from falling out the back."
It seemed to dawn on Qrow her point as he looked surprised. "It's not something I've ever noticed before," Qrow responded candidly.
"You'll have more time to think about it later when we are off this airship. So tell me more about what you were saying with the maidens and relics," she continued.
The distraction seemed to be a welcome change by Qrow's immediate response to her statement. He began explaining the relics and maidens to her. His detailed explanation started with the fairy tales of the 2 gods and their creation, then the maidens and their powers, and how he had found out the truth about Salem and Ozma from Jinn when team RWBY had asked their question. She found herself slowly understanding how Salem was clearly a threat to all of Remnant, and why Atlas had been attacked by the massive grimm horde being led by Salem. She recognized she was holding his hand longer than she normally would for others as she already trusted him and had no reason to continue using her semblance. However, it was comfortable knowing he was telling the truth even though they had built their trust, and it was soothing. She was shocked to find out his seemingly crazy story was in fact true.
"And if team RWBY and the other kids were gonna evacuate a whole kingdom of people…well, I reckon Vacuo would be the stronghold. Safer to put the lamp and staff in the vault, and Vacuo hasn't been destroyed like the other kingdoms," Qrow said as he finished the long set of adventures.
She sat dumbfounded with the information she had received. The General's embargo and ambitious plan for Amity tower although straining was plausible. Beacon had been destroyed, they had already acquired the lamp from Haven, Atlas had been the next place to stash the relics, but they had opened the vault to use the staff for escape. The last place for the relics to be stored would be at Shade academy in Vacuo as the other academies were already attacked or unsafe according to Qrow.
"So let me get this straight. Team RWBY is trying to find the maidens before Salem so they can get the relics before she does, and hide them where she can't get them?"
"Yes," he responded.
"But then why does Salem want the relics in the first place?" she questioned. There was a pause while Qrow seemed to be recollecting a memory.
Then another masculine voice responded, "She wants to destroy everyone and everything."
Robyn and Qrow both jumped at the voice, released hands, and turned to face the person approaching them. Marrow had come down the ladder and was now approaching them from the shadows. He was left unnoticed due to their intense conversation. "She was in General Ironwood's office through grimm," Marrow explained the chilling experience of how she approached Ironwood, psychologically destroying the General, and how that was the tipping point for the General. Then Salem had turned her attention to Team RWBY when Ruby had spoken out to her making what seemed like a personal statement. Salem had caused the young leader, Ruby, to cry while being held by her sister, Yang. It was then the alert for all the kids and Qrow was put out. The information seemed to sadden Qrow.
"So it's true?! Salem can't be stopped?" Marrow seemed to be grasping at any straws available to give him hope.
"As far as I know…we can't beat her…" Qrow seemed to be recalling a previous experience as he put his hand to his chin, "But if she has all 4 relics together, then she can summon the previous gods here. Humanity will be judged a second time. Her goal has always been to divide, and I think it is in hopes of having humanity or this world destroyed by the gods again."
Destroy humanity a second time? It sounded ludacris, but Robyn had held his hand with her semblance active and knew he was telling the truth. If she stayed in Argus it wouldn't be doing anything productive except being a sitting duck for if Salem actually attacked again.
"Yup, I'm definitely coming along. Not like I have anywhere else to go to if this is the case," Marrow chimed in.
She observed Qrow's face with his eyebrows furrowed, a smile absent, and a familiar sadness cast upon it. He looked away hesitantly.
Robyn nodded as she said, "There's no going back now that I know the truth. I know I have something to fight against." She looked directly at Qrow, "We have to try to kill Salem."
Qrow seemed to regain his composure, "didn't you hear what I told you about the lamp? Salem can't be killed."
"Inconvenient, but that doesn't mean we can't try. There has to be a way to beat her, and I'd rather try than wait. Think about it. It's either wait to be killed by her or do what we can to try to change it." Qrow's crimson eyes were unwavering at the proposed suicide mission. She looked back to Marrow. "So how long until we get to Argus?" she asked.
End of Chapter.
I have just realized I started a fanfic with the characters who are the main potential shipping love interests of Winter. XD Welp, should make them all hug it out for Winter, but that's just an after thought. Thanks for reading! Review sharing your thoughts. Hope you enjoyed it.
Edit 3/5/2023: I was working on Chapter 2, and rewatched a few of the scenes from V7-8. I realized there were small to moderate changes overall that I could make to be truer to the characters, improve the details, and be easier to read. Its about a 1000-2000 more words. Thanks again for your comments. It helped.
Edit 7/22/2023: As I was writing out more chapters and making sure there was a cohesive flow I realized I needed to alter some of the details in this initial chapter. Once again I added a couple more moments between our leads. This has overall gained probably 3,000 words since original post. Enjoy the read.