Just off the west coast of Vale, on and Island known as Patch, in a small little run down house with wooden panels falling off and a broken front window, the sound of music was blaring from every inch and corner. Around it, several dead patches of grass as well as plastic cup after plastic cup along with a usual glass bottle either shattered or still with some liquid inside it. It was a Saturday night and for the local alcoholics, that only meant one thing. It was time to get as drunk as humanly possible.
On the inside of the house, the sound of music only intensified. Red solo cups were every, many of them still wet and reeking with the smell of liquor. Not only that, but the air was just as bad as the cups. If one wasn't use to it, the smell would make one gag until they threw up it was so bad. Everywhere an eye could see, there was a glass bottle spilling out or empty. Men and women were both screaming, dancing around like a bunch of bafoons. If the television hadn't of been broken weeks before, it would of definitely been broken tonight.
The host of this wild and crazy party was none other than Andrew Barq. Before he and his wife had gotten a divorce, he never even dared to smell alcohol. Afterwards though, the man who once always had his beard shaved and brown hair so dark it was almost black combed back and out of his face let it all grow out without so much as washing it. His hair became long, brittle, and so greasy he could fry and egg with it. Not to mention his beard which was so bristle like it hurt to even rub against it. He went from a fancy dress suit to nothing more than rags which he called his best clothes. But he always said that divorcing her was the best decesion he ever made. Either that or he is always extremely under the influence when asked.
While he and his wife had spent over ten years together, not including the time they spent as students at Beacon Academy, they did in fact have a child who was now thirteen years old. And that child, she could not completely despise Huntsmen and Huntresses more because of what she observed about them from just her parents. In her mind, every Huntsman was a drunken coward. And with tonight, that feeling just grew worse and worse. Mainly becsuse it was her weekend to spend with her father which meant one simple thing.
It meant that once again, young Kris Eve was sitting on a couch that was torn and stained with much more than just alcohol. She hated her father's place but no doubt hated her mother's far more. She would much rather live in a hole completely homeless than with either of them. Of course she loved them, they were still her parents and she would always love them no matter what, but both of them had a certain problem that bothered her more than anything. They never once listened to her and never ask how she feels about a subject. Neither of them could even tell her what her favorite color is.
Hearing the sound of people partying growing louder, Kris turned up the heavy metal rock music she was playing in her headphones from her scroll. She always had a pair of headphones or earbuds wrapped around her neck, more important than those though, she always had makeup on. Well, if she left her mother's house she had makeup on. She would spend hours every morning just to put mascara on before she left to go check the mail. To her, makeup was like a normal person's underwear. She felt completely naked and vanurable with out it.
With the voices and cheers overcoming her music even on its highest volume, Kris groaned heavily and brought her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and hugging the dark green skinny jeans tight. Just a couple more hours and she could leave and go to another living nightmare.
Seeing people start to dance in front of her, even getting on the small coffee table which was also a mini fusball table, she let her right hand let go of her legs and go behind her back to pull up her black hood over her red hair. She tugged on it a bit more, making sure it went over her green eyes as she lowered her head into her legs.
"You know," Someone reached down, grabbing her headphones through her hood and pulled them off slightly. After burping, he continued to speak. "A place like this isn't a place for a kid."
Kris' head immediately snapped upward, her eyes narrowing at the man in front of her. Unlike the rest of the men and women here, at least he seemed to be holding his own. She growled softly, pulling her white and green headphones around her neck before flipping her hair back.
"Hey now," The man held his hands up in defense, holding a flask in a hand which had two rings on it. "I don't mean ya any harm." He sat down next to her, running a hand to push his black hair back and out of his face before flashing a smile. "You just seem lonely all alone here by yourself."
Kris hardened her glare before quickly looking away, her hands going to her headphones to put them back on. "Go away. I'd rather be alone than talk to you."
He blinked a little at her, tilting his head at the music blaring from her headphones. "You know, you'll go deaf like my niece if you keep listening to music that loud."
She growled, shutting her eyes as she started to pull them over her ears. "I said go away." She grumbled before growling as she felt her headphones sliding back down around her neck. "What?" She snapped, looking over at the man who was blinking at her, a single finger pushing her headphones down.
He quickly took his hand away, unscrewing the cap to his flask. "I said I was going to talk to you." He took a swig from it, gulping it down with satisfaction.
Her eyes narrowed at him, quickly looking away. "You never said that and I don't want to talk to a drunk idiot in the first place."
He chuckled softly as he put his flask away, leaning on his legs. "Not a fan of whiskey I guess." He then leaned back against the couch, stretching an arm across the back of the it. "Don't worry. You'll understand it one day."
"No I won't." She quickly spat back, slowly looking over at him. "All of you are stupid for drinking. All it does is create a terrible smell and make you act more stupid than usual." Her eyes were slowly starting to narrow as she spoke.
He just gave a faint smile, looking over as a group of people clapped several glass bottle together. "It does more than that." He looked over at Kris. "It's a way to numb the pain of life. When you grow up, you will understand. The world isn't as nice as you kids think it is. By being drunk," He glanced down at a few empty red cups. "It's a way to make all the stress and pain go away. With seeing the world and its darkest deeds, you have to find a way to cope with it. Sure, most people are strong enough to keep going with out needing to do anything, but some others need something to take so they can keep moving forward. We're not machines," He looked over at her with a smirk, his cross necklace flickering in the light. "We are only human and we'll make mistakes and fall. Bad things will happen. We just got to find a way to keep going." He reached behind him, taking out his flask and opening it. "This is the best way for me." He took another long sip from it.
Kris just stared at him blankly before growling softly. "Go away. You reek of whatever you're drinking."
He gave sigh, his shoulders dropping as he screwed the cap back on. "Damn, tough crowed." He mumbled just as Andrew popped his head into the room, swaying a bit as his hands held onto the edge of the wall.
"Yo! Qrow!" Andrew chuckled softly, trying not to stumble too much as he tried to stand completely still. "Perry is gonna eat a fish whole! Completely raw and everything! He didn't even cut its head off! Ya gotta come see this! Ya too, Christmas!" He said before stumbling forward then turning around and rushing back into the kitchen while bumping into things.
"Sure thing Andy!" Qrow called back before giving a smile and looking over at Kris. "So your name is Christmas, huh?"
With a grumble, Kris crossed her arms. "It's Kris. Call me Christmas again and I kick you where I shouldn't."
He chuckled as he stood up, stretching his arms. "You're a feisty little one." He took a few steps before looking back at her. "Well, are you going to come or what?"
She shook her head, her hands already going to grab her headphones. "No. Bad enough you people eat animals, but eating them raw is just worse and disgusting. I'd starve before I would even think about eating another living creature."
He blinked a little at her before shrugging, taking out his flask and walking away. "Suit yourself kid." He grinned a little, mumbling under his breath so she couldn't hear him. "Suit yourself Christmas."
She watched Qrow walk off, turning a corner and going into the kitchen. With a very heavy and deep sigh, Kris slid her headphones back over her ears. She then gave another sigh of relief at the sound of her favorite song while shutting her eyes as she pulled her hood back over her head and went back to hugging her legs. Just a couple more hours. That's all. Just a few more hours and she could leave these drunken fools for wealthy fools.