Ruby was quickly greeted by an attendant upon entering Haven Academy. The woman smiled plainly and bowed at her.

"Ah, Ms. Rose. Welcome to Haven."

Some of the students milling around whispered with each other, mostly in Mistralian she did not understand. Ruby tried her best to ignore them and awkwardly returned the greeting: "Erm, hello. Headmaster Lionheart said someone would lead me to his office. Is that you?"

"Just so. Please follow me."

The whispers grew more pronounced as they left the entrance hall. Ruby became decidedly uncomfortable with the attention the further they went; civilians was one thing, but these were all people she might work with one day. They were also all older than her. Yet she somehow managed to walk with her head held high. Be it the confidence boost from actually being a Huntress or being on a mission. She just knew how to do it.

Her guide spoke up after a while, clearly attentive to the atmosphere: "Please forgive the students. We heard a great deal about you from the news, but little else. It's not often a Huntress this young comes visiting."

"Ah, it's fine. I don't mind," Ruby lied. A Huntress had to keep up appearances. If Raven could fake it till she made it, then so could Ruby!

She belatedly returned a blond monkey faunus' cheerful wave, only to finally wilt when he winked at her. That was a bit too much for her teenaged self. Ruby returned to the conversation to distract herself: "I heard a lot about Haven and was curious what life is like here. It looks like fun."

"Oh, it is. Though the students will probably disagree whenever classes loom over them."

Ruby giggled at that, suddenly glad that she got around classwork. She was always more of a doer, not a learner. Sitting still for so long was hard.

"Are you a student, too?"

"Not anymore," the older woman answered with a soft shake of her head. "I only made it through first year. Now I work mainly as an aide to the combat instructors. It took me a year or two to stop being bitter about it, but I enjoy the work now. And I only have the greatest respect for those who continue on to be hunters."

She seemed mellow at least. Ruby let out a quiet breath she was holding; accidentally insulting someone was really not what she meant to do, thank goodness her guide was not offended. But Ruby went for less dangerous questions next just to be safe; they chatted a bit about the life of someone working at Haven, then the younger woman shared a bit about her passion for engineering.

They arrived just before she could get really warmed up; the aide stopped in front of a large set of wooden doors, bowing once more and motioning Ruby forward.

"Please go ahead, the headmaster was already informed of your arrival. He will have to greet students from Beacon and Shade soon."

"Thanks," Ruby chirped. She made to go, but stopped and turned back. "Actually, what's your name?"

She may just imagine it, but it felt like the woman's expression grew a tad warmer. "It's Hana," she answered. "Now go on, Ms. Rose. Or may I call you Ruby?"

"Of course!"

They exchanged smiles and Ruby turned back to the doors. She felt better about herself now, nowhere near as intimidated at the prospect of meeting another headmaster. After knocking twice, Ruby pushed open the door without hesitation.

Her first impression of the office behind was warmth. It was mostly wood and decorated in earthy hues, with several potted plants arrayed around the room. What really caught her attention was the neatly organised desk standing front and center, though; there, facing the door, sat Leonardo Lionheart.

He was broad-shouldered and wore a predominantly brown robe, his head crowned by a thick yet immaculately groomed mane of greying hair. The same went for his voluminous beard. Sharp eyes rose to meet Ruby and he stood at once, opening his arms in greeting.

"Ah, there you are! I was quite surprised when you called last week. I didn't expect a Huntress based in Vale to take such an interest in the other schools."

Ruby closed the door and shuffled forward only a little awkwardly to shake hands with him. He had a firm grip, firmer than Ruby herself.

She only answered belatedly, still a little overwhelmed: "Ah, well. You know, my partner is born Mistrali, so I was kinda curious. And when I'm already here, I thought I should see Haven, too. Professor Ozpin said something about expanding my horizons, too." And that was not even a lie.

Lionheart's brows rose, but then he chuckled at the last part. "Is that so? It certainly sounds like something Oz would say. I had no idea that incredible girl was born here, though. I feel I would have heard of such a prodigy." He left a short pause to muse. "What was her name? Hikari? Yes, it does fit."

Ruby shrugged at that. She only sat when he motioned for her to do so, adjusting her posture on the comfy leather chair. "She never said much about it. I think she moved to Menagerie a few months back."

"That makes sense; as fond as I am of my country, it is not kind to us faunus."

"But you still made it this far," Ruby argued; she was a little surprised he would say it so easily. "Huntsman and even headmaster! That's amazing, isn't it?"

He chuckled indulgently, inclining his head. "Quite. It's always nice to have one's hard work appreciated. Although I will have to correct you on one bit, Ms. Rose. The majority of hunters are in fact faunus."

This was news. Ruby looked at him in wonder and received a faint smile from Lionheart.

"A surprise, I know. Even Haven and Atlas have a rough 40-60 split of graduating students, the fourty percent being faunus. Beacon sits at the opposite, 60-40, and Shade sees about 70-30 in favour of faunus students. The majority of applicants who pass license exams are faunus too. We come by these options more rarely and thus work far harder to make the best of them. Many more faunus have to grow strong to survive in this harsh world of Remnant, so we adapt. Of course certain people won't like if these statistics are brought up."

He effortlessly slipped into lecturing mode. Ruby nodded along, amazed by the simple yet clear breakdown. She never considered it from this angle before, but the headmaster made perfect sense.

"I think I can see it," she agreed. "I mean, I guess I was always a bit of an odd one out with my whole family being hunters, but yeah."

Lionheart nodded in turn, still smiling. "Another misconception, actually. Quite a few children of hunters end up becoming hunters themselves. Not the majority by a long shot, but you are certainly not alone."

"What about you, er, sir?"

He waved her off. "Oh, none of that. I will never demand a fellow hunter call me sir. All is well as long as we respect each other."

That was a little awkward, but Ruby nodded regardless. Lionheart continued seamlessly: "As to your question, I am the son of a humble baker. My mother is a novelist. I always thought I would inherit the family business, but certain events unlocked my aura at ten years old. From there on I could only ever think of the possibilities."

Ruby nodded along with great interest. She rarely heard where others came from because it just did not come up.

"What kind of events?"

The older man's brow scrunched at that. "Let us say that they were not particularly pleasant for me and leave it at that."

"Oh. Sorry."

Only now did she realise why he was so vague about it. Ruby felt very dumb, even when Lionheart waved off her apology. "It is quite alright. We all have our burdens to bear."

Just as he said so, an alarm on his Scroll began to beep. He turned it off, expression apologetic. "But as pleasant as our little chat was, I need to head out now. You heard about the joint training initiative Oz proposed?"

"Yeah, I did. I was around when he thought of it."

"I see."

So saying, the headmaster rose. Ruby did the same and looked up at him as he continued: "Well, feel free to tour the academy at your own leisure. We can provide a guide if you wish, too. I have no reason to refuse a bright young mind."

That was kind of him. Ruby smiled and nodded. "Thanks. I'll look around a bit on my own. Maybe we can do an actual tour tomorrow or something?"

"That is perfectly fine."

They shook hands again and parted ways right outside his office. Ruby was alone now and grew increasingly giddy. Not only did she have a super duper secret mission, she also got to see one of the most prestigious places in all of Remnant from the inside.

She thought of asking for Hana as a guide for a moment, but felt that would impose on the older woman's time too much. So instead Ruby picked a corridor at random and started to walk. She did not lie earlier, Haven interested her a lot. She may have only ever dreamt of Beacon, but each of the four academies would have been alright in the end.

There were far less students around now, what with the first and second years gone; Lionheart took them all along. Ruby knew that foreign students would flood the area soon, some of them even faces she had at least seen at Beacon.

Ruby made best use of the quiet to poke around; she toured the various empty auditoriums, almost interrupted an ongoing lecture, and decided to rather check out the indoor gyms afterward. From there she moved to a set of arenas for sparring as well as Dust labs. The forge and attached workshop kept her for much longer, though; she was too fascinated to just leave after she stumbled over the place.

Thankfully, the forgemaster took her interest with pride and fielded the entire cavalcade of questions about his equipment. They got to talk about her own a bit as well; this managed to remind Ruby of the unfinished sabre back at home. The middle-aged man listened curiously as she explained its properties; he was built like a bear and with beard to match, but fully human.

"My friend uses light a lot and has some sun themes, so I read up a bit. From there I got to black holes and I just found it too fitting, so I named that one Event Horizon. Lumina doesn't want to spend a ton on maintenance, so I kept it simple with just two modes. Sabre mode and flintlock mode. The bullets are common calibres so she can restock basically everywhere for cheap. Oh, and I put a tank of Gravity Dust into the body. It switches from push to pull and hits whatever she points the tip at."

The older engineer stroked his beard in thought, having listened with great interest. His assistants did the same even while they maintained equipment or carried supplies around. Once it was clear Ruby finished, he nodded sagely. "I've gotta say this does sound like a mighty fine weapon. Whoever commissioned it is lucky indeed."

Ruby fidgeted awkwardly at that. "Well, uh, I kinda volunteered to make it. My friend doesn't have one, you see? So I thought to myself, well, that's just not right."

"And rightly so!" He answered with the same excitement, if far louder. His booming laughter startled some of the students out of their work. Ruby could not help but smile as well; she even managed to brace in time so his jovial clap to her shoulder did not make her stumble. He grinned down at her.

"Ah, it's good to see such a bright mind in the next generation! Don't you lose that spark, you hear me? No one's got an appreciation for some good, solid engineering anymore. They'd all rather buy some crap off the assembly line and call it a day!"

This, Ruby could wholeheartedly agree with. She nodded eagerly.

"It's not even bad quality, but the standard stuff just isn't enough for a hunter."

"Aye, lass. Finally someone who gets it!" He clapped her shoulder again while Ruby beamed under the praise. "If ye need someone to bounce ideas off of, ya know where to find me. Was fun talking to ya, but I've still got some stuff to finish by tonight."

"Sure. Good luck with that!"

They said their goodbyes and Ruby left the building with a bright grin. Her path quickly led to a third gym, this one outdoors; mostly tracks and other stuff one could not do inside. The entire thing was built on a stone terrace overlooking the city of Mistral.

Ruby stood at the edge for a bit to take in the sights. Measured wingbeats drew her attention to Raven a minute later; she settled on Ruby's shoulder and cawed imperiously. The message was clear enough, so the younger woman went back inside.

It was a little odd how people paid more attention to her with the bird on her shoulder. Some actually approached Ruby, asking to pet the raven; she predictably turned her head away, so Ruby told them no and that her friend did not like being touched. It was true enough.

Once they entered the lobby behind the entrance, Raven took wing. She fluttered across the room and settled on top of the statue dominating it: a person holding onto a brass scale, the entire meaning of it lost on Ruby. She met Raven's gaze and nodded ever so faintly. Some others also admired the majestic and well-groomed bird, but no one else understood why she tapped the scale with one claw.

Once she was certain to have been understood, the bird returned to Ruby; the freshly made Huntress then had to listen to a lecture about 'not letting her pet shit up the rooms' from a nearby janitor. She quickly apologised and fled out the front door.

From there Ruby decided she had enough excitement and went to find her hotel. It was booked for a week, more than enough time to finish the job. Maybe she would even have some left for a vacation afterward?

Either way, once inside without Raven, her aunt portalled in with Qrow. It was better for nobody to associate this bird too closely with her. The three of them held a quick war council, now that Ruby understood Haven's layout. She enjoyed her visit, too.

"Now I'm getting a nap until sundown," she ended cheerfully, "then we'll rob them!"

The twins both stared at her in silence, long enough for Ruby's excitement to crumble. Did she say something weird?

"...I blame this on you," Qrow groused.

Raven just shook her head. "I disagree, that is all Summer."

"Fair enough."

"Huh?"

Ruby was just confused by this, prompting a bedtime story about Summer Rose's criminal energy. It would have been emberassing, had this not been about her mother; Ruby soaked up every word like a sponge. It turned out that the older Rose had a lot of juvenile crimes under her belt. Nothing serious, but she was apparently the most cheerful pickpocket the twins ever met.

"You should have seen Raven's face the first time Summer stole her stuff!" Qrow joked, all the while nudging his sister. Raven herself grumbled, though she could not quite hide a fondly embarassed smile.

Ruby was amused and intrigued; the mental image of Summer as a paragon of virtue may be shattered, but knowing she had flaws of her own made her feel a little more real. Perhaps, with a little luck, they could spend more time together, too.

Her silent hopes were answered once the two left to give her some peace and quiet. Ruby found herself on a sunlit meadow with her mother about as soon as she fell asleep. They did not have much time, but every minute was precious. Ruby recounted the heist plan in a few sentences, then went to prod for more about what she just learned.

"Did you seriously steal Raven's things?"

To her surprise, this did not prompt sheepish denials or even just confirmation, but an arched brow. Summer slowly nodded. "Oh, I did. But who told you that?"

"Qrow said you did," Ruby commented, somewhat forlorn about what apparently was a lie?

It took a moment, but then her mother broke into laughter. Bright as a bell, thoroughly confusing Ruby. Summer continued to giggle for a while and once it finally subsided, she wiped tears from her eyes. "Oh sweetie," she cooed, "he didn't tell you what 'things' I took, did he? I stole Raven's bra about every other week. By second year she went without to stop me, so I took her panties instead."

"Oh." Her ears grew hot in shared embarassment with her aunt. "That's... bold?"

Summer just huffed, clearly unconcerned. "Oh, you don't know half of it. Be a dear, grab all three of them in one room, and ask them about that double date we had in third year."

That was news. Especially... "Wait, double date? Like, you and Uncle Qrow?"

"Yup." The older Rose threw her daughter a winning grin. "They won't tell you anything about it and I just realise I probably shouldn't go into detail either." She winked. "Let's just say we had a lot of fun and the twins made us swear on threat of death to never tell anyone. Too bad for them I'm dead already!"

She laughed again while realisation slowly dawned on Ruby. She made some gagging noises to properly vocalise her thoughts on her family's sexuality.

"Okay, that's enough mother-daughter bonding! I've got a magic lamp to steal, bye!"

She somehow willed the dream to end, but Summer's hysteric laughter followed her into waking, if just for a moment. Ruby sat upright in bed, cheeks flushed with heat. She firmly shook her head and leapt into the bathroom to wash the remembered words from her memory. Then she called her aunt and uncle, who brought dinner with them. Pizza, to be exact. A jumbo-sized pizza for each of them.

Ruby could not look them in the eyes throughout the meal. She tried hard to play it off, but the memory was just too fresh. Unfortunately for her, they noticed as well.

"Did something happen?" Raven called her out once they were done eating. At first Ruby muttered something noncommittal, but quickly realised that neither twin was convinced or deterred. Then she sighed.

"Mom told me what 'things' she took from you."

Raven blushed ever so faintly, which was more than enough confirmation. Qrow heaved a sigh. "Damn it, Summer."

"She also said something about a double date in third year," Ruby went on miserably; she noticed that both twins twitched in response. "And I really don't want to know any more than she implied."

Silence settled over the room for a moment.

"Qrow?" Raven asked softly.

"Yes?"

"How about, once this is over, we find a way to break into the afterlife. Then we kill Summer double-dead."

Ruby did want to argue the point, but she could kind of understand the sentiment and kept her peace. Qrow shrugged in response to his sister. "I dunno about the killing, but she definitely deserves a spanking."

This drew another groan from Ruby, though Raven shook her head. "You know that's not a punishment for her."

"Can we please stop talking about this?" Ruby whined at them. "I seriously don't wanna know!"

Qrow huffed and ruffled her hair. "Sorry about that. How about we go commit grand theft instead?"

"Yes, please!"