RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth…

Warcraft belongs to Blizzard Entrainment.

Chapter 7: Familial Bonds

After setting the exhausted Qrow on the couch, Taiyang made his way to the front door and closed it with a soft click. He knew where this conversation would go, and he did not want the girls to eavesdrop on them.

Stepping into the living room, he took in the sight of his brother-in-law. Qrow looked haggard and Tai did not spare a thought as to why. That blue dragon outside must have run him ragged before it found its way to the house.

After making a call to their local school to let them know that Yang and Ruby will not be attending class today, Tai took a seat next to him and stared outside the window where Alexstrasza and the children were. They were standing in front of the giant sapphire blue dragon, which was sprawled out in the front yard, its head alone was bigger than his now shattered truck. Tai felt like groaning as he now had to go through the hassle of getting a new one; those crooks running the companies were demanding more and more each day for their new models.

But the first thing he needed to know was what the new arrival was planning to do. Tai was not so trusting of the thing as it was clearly unhinged when it snapped at them like a wild animal, despite Alexstrasza stating that he was the most intelligent of her kind.

Then there was the possibility that he could just take what he wants and leave. As of currently, Alexstrasza was the only one who could stand up to him and she was still recovering.

If it came down to a fight she would lose.

"So…" Qrow took a swig from his canteen before slumping back into the couch and Tai nearly frowned.

This was Qrow's tough guy act that he liked to do. He would first act like a harmless relaxed drunk then he would suddenly become far more serious mid-conversation the second he disagrees with something he hears. It was a clever tactic and often worked on people who did not know him or were not fighters that did not intimidate easily.

It worked so often that Qrow had forgotten that Tai was neither of those things.

"Care to explain what's really been going on while I've been running around for Oz?"

Taiyang sighed and ran his hands over his face before slapping them on the soft couch cushions.

"Not much to explain, you can see it for yourself."

"I see a giant lizard that almost froze the both of us solid and a lady who can make fireballs while turning her arms into scaled reptile claws."

Tai could hear the subtle accusation in his friend's tone but gave no reaction. He knew Qrow and knew what he was going to suggest in just a few minutes. Taiyang held no regrets about keeping this from him.

"So, you want to know how this started them?" Tai offered.

Qrow sat forward, going into the second phase of his tough guy act. Not that he wasn't tough, but Tai had long since outgrown being intimidated by him.

"Tai, this is serious. You saw what that thing out there can do. Not to mention now he's bigger than the house."

"I know," was all Tai gave in response.

He felt Qrow's hand on his shoulder. "Tai, come on. I just want to know if my family is in any trouble."

Tai turned to the scruffy huntsman and saw the worry written on his face.

With a grunt, Tai decided to stop the nonsense. "You remember what I told you when you came here?"

He gestured to the woman outside the window, talking with the children and the blue dragon.

"About her?"

"Yeah," Qrow said with no form of laxity in his voice. "Let me guess, it was all made up? She didn't rescue you?"

Tai shot him an angry glare and Qrow stayed silent, his way of asking for an elaboration. Taking a small breath, Taiyang began the story.

"It wasn't all a lie. Most of it was the honest truth. I was out in the fields with the girls, and they were playing catch. Yang hit the ball too hard and sent the ball into the woods, Ruby ran after it. When we caught up to her, she said she found a dragon and forgot to get the ball."

Taiyang scoffed and gave a sardonic smile.

"Of course, I thought she was being a kid. Imagination all over the place. Turned out she found an actual dragon," Tai pointed his finger at Alexstrasza. "Her."

Qrow looked out the window and examined the woman who was cheerfully talking to Yang and Ruby. Her cloths and body were like any other person, despite her resemblance to Summer there was nothing there that could convince Qrow that she was not human. Yet, he could clearly remember the arm that changed into that of a reptile before she covered the yard in fire. Qrow thought she was a Maiden at first, but when the flames touched him and he felt nothing, he knew this was something different.

"So, she's like the big fella?"

Taiyang nodded and proceeded with his story. "We found her in the forest. She was just as big as the blue one, except she was red and covered in jewelry. The reason I told you that we went our separate ways before was because she was asleep at the time. You remember the trench I told you saw?"

"Yeah? That still her fault?"

"Yup, but not on purpose. It was the result of a crash landing, the end result of some fight. The trench had some weeds growing over it when he found her later, so I'm guessing she was out of it for a few days at least. When I saw her, I took the girls and walked in the other direction. I wanted to get as far away from her as I could."

"I'm guessing that's when the Grimm jumped you?"

"Was it that obvious? Yeah, they ambushed us, and I had the girls climb up a tree so I could take care of them. Yang fell down and I caught her and that forced me to fight one handed."

Tai saw Qrow flinch at the idea. Taiyang was a brawler and brawlers needed both hands for their fighting style to be effective. Qrow knew that and likely understood the bind Tai found himself in during that fateful day. Even for a huntsman of Tai's caliber, he still needed the basics in order to defend himself.

"I can see why you would have trouble, but even then, you should have been able to get Yang away."

"I would have if one of the mutts didn't go after Ruby at the same time. Even if I managed to get Yang to safety it would have been too late to save her sister."

Taiyang looked to the floor and closed his eyes as the memory of Ruby's scream rang in skull. He forced the memory away and continued.

"I was basically dead at that point. Either I go down defending my kids or let them drop to save myself and you know which I would choose."

Qrow did not respond, but he did not need to. Tai had lost plenty of people throughout his life in Mistral and could not stomach the idea of loosing more. The loss of Summer nearly killed him, and the loss of one of the girls would be the final nail in the coffin.

"I'm guessing she came in and saved your sorry behinds. Cut the Grimm to pieces with claws or something?"

Tai managed to crack a smile at the memory. The sense of pure relief he felt when those crimson flames died out was like water to a desert wanderer.

"Ruby screamed when a Beowolf sneaked past me and climbed after her. That woke Alexstrasza up and she saved us by turning the Grimm to ashes. Covering everything I could see in fire."

Qrow furrowed his brow before asking another question. "How'd she do that? I'm pretty sure I would have seen any sections of the forest that were cleared away recently. Large scale fire damage isn't hard to spot from the ground let alone the air. It doesn't make a lot of sense for her to cover the forest in fire and leave you alive much less the trees and grass."

"That's the thing, it doesn't, at least from what we know about semblances and even Ozpin's magic. Her fire burned the Grimm away but left us good as new. I swear that even the plants looked like they got a breath of life shot into them."

Qrow stayed silent, but Tai could already guess what was going through his mind. He was contemplating if Alexstrasza would be useful in their conflict with that witch. Taiyang was all for sticking it to that monster, but Alexstrasza had gone through enough. When the topic gets brought up, he would fight Qrow with everything he had on that.

"Weird." Qrow said as he looked out the window to see the girls chasing ghostly blue images of dragons. The big blue dragon just watched them lazily as he looked ready to take a nap. Alexstrasza just looked like she was having a ball.

"So, how come she's not all scaly and you know gigantic like her blue friend anymore? And why does she resemble Summer so much?"

Tai took a breath and looked at the family portrait where the last remaining image of his wife sat. Smiling and happy with her family.

"When we found her, she was like that. Big and everything you would expect from a dragon. After she killed the Grimm, Ruby said she saw Alexstrasza shrinking."

Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Shrinking?"

"That shouldn't be surprising to you since we both saw that winged blue crocodile out there inflate like a balloon."

To that jab, Qrow shrugged, "Fair enough."

"Anyway, despite my better judgement, I decided to head back on Ruby's insistence. I found a crater in the spot where she was sleeping, and she was unconscious at the bottom of it."

"I'm guessing she changed into a human at that point?"

"Something close to a human. In all honesty she resembled an exotic Faunus that somehow inherited two animal traits at once. I climbed down and brought her back home with me. And she's been living with us ever since."

Qrow crossed his arms as Tai laid back against the couch mattress. "Since she was out cold, that means she was really hurt."

"When she woke up for the first time, she was shaking like a twig. Whatever happened it nearly crippled her, so yeah, I wasn't lying about that either."

Tai made sure to sound as passive aggressive as possible. Qrow had become distrusting of those around him ever since Raven decided to fly the coop. Placing the majority of it in Ozpin, who Tai could tell had worked his little games on Qrow a little too well for Tai's liking. Some day that would come to bite them, but for now they had to focus on the matter at hand.

Qrow blinked as he realized where his train of thought had been leading him and he looked ashamed. "Sorry, man. I just want you all to stay safe."

"I know, but I am the one staying here while you are flying around Remnant. I trust you to keep your feathers attached for all that time, the very least you can do is to trust that I know how to tell if someone is a threat. We're both from the rougher ends of Mistral, and while you were in a forest I was in the streets. You can acknowledge we both know what we are doing."

Qrow raised his hands defensively, "Okay, okay. Sheesh. I'm sorry. I'm… I'm just… ugh."

Qrow fell back and just stared at the ceiling and Taiyang wasted no time in joining him. For about half a minute they stayed that way. Silence clearing their minds of the tumult that had plagued them for the past few weeks.

"It just feels like there is too much to keep track of." Qrow admitted.

"Makes me agree with Soldier Boy sometimes," answered Tai. "Feels like we need an army just to cope."

Qrow chuckled. "You'll never hear me say that even in private. Jimmy's methods are for the public not for this shadow war."

Tai sat up to and fixed his friend with a serious stare, a stare that contained all the fury built up from the loss this war has caused him. The loss of both his wives, one due to abandonment and the other death. Taiyang had a fierce temper, but he had learned to only use it when there was something suitable to vent it on. And what he was about to say was what the rage found tempting.

"You say that, but sooner or later this won't be a war in the shadows. One day she'll get tired of the games and just go for the Kingdoms. We both know she's got the numbers, and despite her being as old as Oz, I'm willing to bet her patience isn't nearly as limitless as he likes to believe. Sooner or later, it will be just war."

He didn't like the concept of war, but some part of him wanted it, if only to give him a free pass to tear as many Grimm apart as he could without having to care about the consequences.

"I know, man." Qrow huffed. "I know some day she'll opt for the direct approach instead of trying to whittle us down. Ozpin is ready for that."

Tai held back from rolling his eyes. That blind faith in Ozpin honestly annoyed him, but he didn't give voice to his opinion.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I hope you're right."

"Or else we are all screwed," he thought.

"Back on topic," Qrow said with a far more relaxed tone, giving Tai some relief. "Did our shapeshifting reptilian friends say where they come from?"

Taiyang shrugged. "She says they come from another planet."

Qrow's eyebrow raised in skepticism. "Another planet? So what? Their alien dragons?"

"Basically. Either that or another dimension, but she said that's unlikely. Their world is called Azeroth and unlike our world, they still have magic."

"By magic, you mean magic magic. Like what Oz can do?" Qrow was sounding more surprised by the moment.

"Yeah, but not everyone can do it. But that's a moot point."

Qrow rubbed the back of his head and took a tired swig. "So, how'd they get here?"

"All she told me was that she and her family got into a fight and big blue there messed up some kind of super spell that threw them all here."

Qrow chuckled, showing some humor for once. "Must have been one hell of a brawl if something like that had to resort to magic that could send you to another planet."

Taiyang did not share in his friend's amusement for the misfortune of his guests. "Honestly that is what worried me the most when I first took care of her. She bathed the forest in fire and brought it to life rather than reducing it to cinders. And that was when she was close to passing out. I was frightened by what she could do if she were at one hundred percent."

"So, what changed? Because you seemed perfectly happy with her when I got back?"

Taiyang blinked as he recalled Ruby's bleeding arm after she fell off the guest bed. That pained look on her face sent a spike though his chest.

"Ruby got hurt. Her arm was bleeding because of a fall. Alexstrasza saw it and her first instinct was to patch it up. She made a fire and put it on the cut. The wound closed up before my eyes and it was like nothing happened. After that, she refused to eat, saying that she did not want to take advantage of our hospitality."

Qrow grunted in derision which Taiyang agreed with, it was a nice gesture but dumb in practice. "How generous."

"I know. After I managed to convince her to eat again, she started to help out with the girls. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and so far, she hasn't given me any reason to doubt her."

"Uh-huh," Qrow mumbled glancing outside to look at the woman. "Could you explain why she looks so much like Shortstack? I mean, after saying that she can shapeshift, you can't tell me that's just a coincidence."

Taiyang chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "That might be my fault. You see, when she said that she was going to travel Remnant to find a way home, I pointed out that she looked too unusual to go anywhere on Remnant unnoticed."

Qrow took his turn to chuckle. "What? The fact that she looked like a weird Faunus? Come on, Tai. You know there are wackier people out there with just their semblances alone."

"It's not just that." Taiyang paused as she tried to recall the original form the red dragon took when they first met. "She was quite the striking figure…"

Qrow smirked and was about to say something, but Tai raised a warning finger. "Make any jokes and I will shove that canteen down your throat."

Seeing Qrow back off, Taiyang continued. "Anyway. Her original look was something that was meant to be presentable. To show off who she was, given all the jewelry and the decorative armor that came with it. But even without those things, she had the look of someone who stood out in a crowd. You know what I mean? Those people who just naturally draw the eyes of others."

Tai's brother-in-law smirked again. "Yeah, we call them pretty people. Raven got more than a few glances her way whenever we went out, or did you forget?"

Taiyang groaned and waved his hand. "Don't remind me."

"So, why Sums?"

"Oh, it was mostly because when I pointed out how unusual she looked, she saw the family portrait with Summer on it and used that as reference." Tai gestured to the dragon in the shape of a woman that laughed with the children outside. "And what you see is the result."

Qrow looked closely at Alexstrasza, securitizing her appearance in a way that Tai was sure would make most women feel insecure, or at the very least uncomfortable.

"I can see it. Close enough to resemble her but not enough for people to suspect anything shady. Good thing she left out the cloak, else people would think you were hanging with her cousin or something."

Tai let out an awkward chuckle as he recalled Summer saying that it was a family tradition that they have cloaks on when they leave their homes. While Summer was never very open about her family, she never lied when it came to the principles and traditions she followed.

"She didn't leave the cloak out, I had to tell her that it was something exclusive to Summer. Last thing I need is someone Summer knew spreading rumors about me."

Qrow smiled. "Yeah, and she really got around huh? Bet you she knew at least one person from every family on Patch and more than a few in Vale."

"She just had that effect on people. It was easy to like her, that was probably why Raven got so annoyed with her."

"That and my grouch of a sister wanted to be the leader. You know how she thinks."

Tai's smile turned to a frown. "Yeah."

Qrow's eyes widened for a moment, realizing they were going into unwelcome territory, he steered the topic back to where it had all started. "How many do you think there are on Remnant now? Any more big, scaled friends you want to make?"

Tai lost his frown and took on a contemplative look. "About five, I think. Although even she isn't sure on that considering she didn't get the luxury of seeing just what happened."

Qrow thought about it for a moment and his face turned serious. "Since they got here in the middle of a fight, does that mean there are any we need to watch out for?"

Tai thought back, recalling those long sessions of questions he shared with the dragon woman. He asked her questions and she in turn asked him questions.

"If I remember right, only one. Each one has a different color. As you can see, we have the red and blue dragons here."

"So, what's missing?"

"A black one, a green one and a bronze one."

Qrow furrows his brow but shook it off. It confused Taiyang as well. Why would one of the colors be bronze?

"And which of those might be a problem?"

"The black one."

Qrow blew out some air before grumbling. "Hmm. And how tough do you think that one is? Since it took on four others."

Tai shook his head from side to side in contemplation. "I'm not convinced he is that much stronger than the rest of them. Alexstrasza said that something happened during that fight that made each of them more than a match for him."

"So, you're saying that these two could take him without any help?"

Taiyang shrugged. "When I asked that question, she said that it was a matter of who managed to find who first if it was one on one. I think she was implying that she was pretty much close to even with him."

"I'll make a note of that when I report this to Ozpin."

Tai's features immediately hardened. He was expecting it to come to this, but the notion of that schemer getting involved in this made him angry.

"You don't have to report this to him, you know."

Qrow looked at his friend with a confused expression. "What do you mean? Obviously, I do. This is something we've never seen before. Dragons, Tai. Actual fricken dragon, who can talk, shapeshift and use magic. You think this is something I should keep from Ozpin?"

Tai looked Qrow in the eye. "I do."

Qrow met his stare with one of his own. "Why? I know you've still got beef with him because of what happened to Summer but…"

"This has nothing to do with that," Tai said, nearly snapping at Qrow.

"Then what is it!" Qrow said, standing up from the couch. "Why don't you want him to see this? Out of all everyone on Remnant he's the best person to handle this."

Taiyang stood up to meet Qrow. "I don't care if he's a damn dragon expert. I don't want him involved."

"Why not? You know he has everyone's best interests at heart."

Tai felt his temper rise and turned away from Qrow. "Because I don't trust him. Not to mention if he finds out then the rest of the Headmasters will too. What do you think will happen then? You think they'll help get Alexstrasza and her family home? I doubt it."

"Come on, man. If you just give them a chance."

"No," Taiyang spun on his heel and looked Qrow in the eye. "Even if I stopped seeing Ozpin as responsible for what happened to Summer, you cannot convince me they won't try to turn this to their advantage. Ironwood, Theodore, Leo, and especially Ozpin put Remnant, or should I say, the war with Salem first."

Taiyang shook his head and waved his arm to the picture of their dead leader. "For dust's sake Qrow. Why do you think Ozpin tried to ban Summer from helping out the villages around Vale?"

"Because the effort to keep Salem's Grimm from spreading was more important. Summer should have understood that."

Taiyang clenched his fist. "At the expense of innocent people who need huntresses like her to protect them."

Tai, realizing that he was only escalating the argument, took a breath and waved a hand dismissively. "Even if that's right, it was her choice. He had no right to try and restrict her like that."

Turning away again, he gave his verdict on the matter. "I am not getting Alexstrasza, or her family involved in this war."

He looked out to see the happy trio alongside the tired looking beast. Those faces filled with joy would vanish in an instant if he allowed the dragon woman to get involved in this conflict. Her heart of gold would compel her to help and there would be nothing he could do to stop her. Just like Summer.

"You can't be sure that's what he'll do."

"I can," Tai said, not turning around, "He did that with us right? He picked us because he wanted our skills. He was subtle about it. Special treatment, pardons on whenever we got in trouble. I know for a fact he will do the same with them and she's been through enough."

Qrow looked at him quizzically. "What do you mean by that?"

Tai looked back at Qrow, making his friend blink at just how tired Taiyang appeared. "Ozpin isn't the only big bad protector around now. These dragons are supposed to protect their world from threats. However, it seems to be a thankless job."

"All the more reason to tell Ozpin, he can help them get back."

Taiyang shook his head. He placed way too much faith in Ozpin. Qrow was never there for the subtle acts Summer had caught and told Tai about. All the small manipulations that were all geared to giving that old man more control. Qrow has faith in Ozpin, but Tai doubted that it was truly the same the other way around.

"No, they deserve some peace before they go back."

"What do you mean by that?" Qrow asked, becoming slightly exasperated. "What's brought on this concern? I know you're an empathetic guy by why go this far?"

Tai looked out the window again, seeing the bliss on the woman's face as she watched his children play with ghostly swords that clashed with real clangs but passed through flesh like smoke. He imagined the contorted agony she must have shown as her eggs were carried away from her.

"They just finished with a war of their own," he said with a sigh. "And she ended up becoming a prisoner of the invaders."

Qrow looked serious but not to the point where he would see Tai's point, so he continued.

"While she was locked up, they forced her to breed."

Qrow's eyes shot wide as that simple phrase carried with it all the implications of what had been done to Alexstrasza.

"Not only that, but she was held in a dark cave, chained up for years. She couldn't see her kids as they were taken away to be used as war beasts. They were reduced to animals Qrow. Can you imagine how she must have felt?"

Qrow stayed silent for a moment, then asked. "How did they catch her?"

"She never gave me the exact details, but they had something that gave them the edge over her, I'm sure of it. And when she fought back, she said that they would crush some of the eggs and smear the yoke on her face."

Tai saw Qrow's fists clench and did not blame him. Tai nearly blew up in anger when she eventually told him. It was an emotional moment for her.

"The day she got out was the day she came here. That exact day. She's been traumatized by it. I catch her waking up at night when I head down to work on the truck."

Tai took a moment to still his emotions before stating his verdict one last time. "Imagine if someone did that to Summer or one of the girls. No matter how tough you are, that situation is genuine hell for any woman. Even Raven would break no matter how strong she thinks she is."

"So, when you said you wanted her to have some peace, you mean you just want her to recover from this?

Tai looked down, feeling the guilt in his own little agenda behind this. "Well, that's most of it."

"Hmm?" Qrow tilted his head in suspicion. "Got something else you need to say?"

Tai stayed quiet for a moment and then looked at his brother-in-law. Was it so wrong to be a little selfish for your kids?

"I just want her to be around for the girls," he admitted looking out the window, seeing the three of them together, smiling happily. He found he could not bear to tear them apart. It had only been a few months and they all looked so perfect together.

"Tai, you don't mean…"

Tai cut Qrow off before he could say any more stupid comments. "No, I am not doing that. This is for Yang and Ruby, not me. Losing Summer hit us all very hard. Few took it harder than Yang and I. Ruby was still too young to get it, thank dust, but that doesn't change the fact that their mom isn't here anymore."

Tai threw his arm in the air and swept it around the living room, "The girls need someone they can look up to other than me or you. Especially Yang now that she knows about Raven."

"Yeah," nodded Qrow, recalling how he was barely in time to save his nieces' lives from the pair of Ursai, all because she found that old photo of their old team hangout. What infuriated the man was that Raven preached about caring for Yang but never stepped in to help.

"Losing Summer f####d me up, you know that. I know it's selfish, man. I know that." Tai sat on the couch in shame. "Please. Just let them have this. Don't bring Ozpin into it. At least not now."

Qrow looked like he was about to say something when they both heard the door open.

Alexstrasza watched with delight as Yang and Ruby clashed with the spectral blades Malygos had conjured for them. While the swords would hit each other as of they were real, when they touched anything other than each other, they became as harmless as water vapor.

Yang won consistently, but Ruby had a fiery spirit and refused to give up, even when she lost in the opening swing.

"Haha, I win again," cheered Yang as she danced away from her sister.

"Grr, I'll beat you!" Cried Ruby as she went all in again.

Alexstrasza looked to her fellow Aspect, and felt her spirits lighten upon seeing Malygos watch them with a peaceful expression. His love for family was enough to rival her own. Such a loss could not have been more tragic to any other of their number.

As she watched the girls pass by the window, she saw Taiyang and Qrow in the middle of a discussion that showed them not exactly getting along. Tai was throwing his arms around angrily while Qrow looked just as upset as his friend.

The Dragon Queen had the odd feeling that the conversation was not going too well. Turning to Maygos, she spoke in their native tongue of draconic.

"Watch over the whelps for me. I must attend to their father."

Malygos shifted slightly before answering. "Playtime shall be fine, sister. They shall be safe as relics with me."

Alexstrasza strolled up to the two children and patted their small heads. "I'll be right back. You behave with Malygos. He went through a lot of trouble to find me and he's very tired."

"Yes, ma'am," said Yang with a polite tone and a straight posture.

"Don't worry, Aunty Strasza, Uncle Maly will be fine with us," Ruby said with youthful enthusiasm, almost making Alexstrasza laugh at the nickname.

Malygos gave an amused snort from his large dragon form as the nickname registered and the Dragon Queen was even more pleased to see that he liked it.

Leaving the children and her fellow aspect behind, she walked to the door of the house and with a click, she stepped inside to see Taiyang sitting on the couch with Qrow standing next to him.

"Apologies for interrupting," said Alexstrasza as she closed the door behind her. "I noticed that you two were having an important discussion, and I could not help but suspect that it concerned my brother and myself."

The two men looked at each other, Tai gave Qrow a serious look before jutting his head towards her. She had spied on enough humans to know that such an action was a signal for the opposing party to act. In short, Tai was telling Qrow to deal with it.

"I'm just overwhelmed with everything I'm being exposed to here. I mean. I came here to hunt a Grimm and I found a magic dragon from another planet. Then I found out that another dragon is living with my nieces and looks like a human."

Alexstrasza gave him an understanding smile as this was not unreasonable. "Is there anything you would like to ask me in order to help you feel at ease?"

Qrow rubbed the stubble on his chin for a moment, then he glanced out the window and a question came to mind. "Are you sure it is safe to leave the kids with him?"

Qrow pointed out the window, where Yang and Ruby were talking with Malygos. Alexstrasza could not hear what was being said, but she was glad her sibling had regained enough sense not to be so easily set off. Often when she visited him with some whelps, she would need to watch carefully for any signs of his trauma resurfacing to turn him violent. But he was far more volatile back then. Whelps always gave him a sense of peace. It pleased her to see that human children offered the same feeling for him.

"They are in no danger," she said with no hint of doubt.

"Really?" Qrow asked tilting his head in scrutiny. "Given that I've had to fight him all morning, and that he nearly wrecked the house, I would disagree."

"Both you and the building are intact are you not?"

"That does not change the fact that he tried to kill me," Qrow said accusation clear in his tone.

Alexstrasza did not lose her smile. "He was searching for me. I have heard no reports of any deaths by his claws. Pray tell, when you found him did you strike first?"

Qrow blinked as he did not expect that rebuttal. "You already knew about him?"

"No," answered the Dragon Queen. "But Taiyang was kind enough to inform me of your mission to hunt a strange beast and I found references in the newspaper. Farmers frightened by strange shapes skulking around at night and hired trackers sharing their stories. I did not read of a single human death. Now, can you answer my question?"

Qrow grumbled as he conceded. "I guess I did take the first swing at him, but what was I supposed to do. It wasn't like anyone told me what was going on?"

"I am not questioning your judgement; I was simply pointing out that Malygos has no interest in mindless violence. He never has."

"Then would you mind explaining why he attacked us like some sort of animal when he got here? He nearly killed the both of us and froze over the entire yard." Qrow said swinging a hand to the blue dragon. "I get that he defended himself from me, but what about Tai? That was unprovoked."

"Not to mention he wrecked my truck," Taiyang said in a demoralized voice, then he realized something. "You knew it was him from the start. Why did it take you so long to step in?"

"I didn't know immediately. He takes on a wide variety of forms due to his damaged mind. Normally I don't have an issue since he almost never leaves his lair, but I forgot how abnormal they were after coming here. Since I was not sure, my focus was on protecting the children."

Taiyang appeared to accept that answer and Alexstrasza turned to Qrow. "As for why he attacked, I can only assume that he believed I was being held prisoner. He had you at his mercy and he did not strike you down."

"Yeah, I was stuck and all he did was yell in my face," Taiyang remarked.

"So, you're sure they're safe out there?" Qrow asked again, glancing out the window where Yang was playing with the white beard on the dragon's chin, while Ruby somehow managed to climb on his nose.

"I promise you that he will not allow them to be harmed."

"It's just that you said he was a bit unhinged. Is there something we should know to avoid triggering him?"

"I recommend avoiding the topic of his past. He does not far when asked about such things."

"How did he end up like this?" Taiyang asked and Alexstrasza realized that she had never discussed such matters with him before.

Her smile faltered slightly. "His mental state is the result of a great tragedy that befell all of us many, many years ago. A war broke came to Azeroth and we were called to help end it before it consumed the world. During the war we all gave up a portion of ourselves as part of a plan to gain the upper hand over our foes."

Her smile turned sad as she recalled her final conversation with Neltharion, the real Neltharion, before the madness of the Old Gods took him away from them forever. "In the end, we lost a brother, one that Malygos was especially close to, and then he lost his entire flight, along with his love, Sindragosa."

Taiyang and Qrow looked at each other and a sense of understanding blossomed between them. A look of pained empathy found itself on Taiyang's face.

"By flight, what do you mean?" Qrow asked.

"It is the type of dragon he is. I am leader of the red dragonflight while my siblings are the leaders of their own flights. Malygos is the leader of the blue dragonflight."

"So, when you say he lost his flight, you mean he lost his family?" Asked the scraggly man.

"Yes, and many of the blue dragonflight were of his blood. There are precious few remaining, and it took me some time to find them and bring them to him. However, none had the courage to face him in his manic state."

"So, what's changed?"

Alexstrasza's smile returned with its warmth. "Just before my arrival on your world, that which was taken from us during the war was returned. I believe that it may have helped heal his damaged psychic. Giving a sense of having something returned to him that was taken away during those terrible days. While he is not the Malygos he once was, he is far more coherent and less volatile than before."

She looked outside to see Ruby balancing on his nose, only to slip and fall off the side of his snout. Qrow and Tai made to move, but stopped as Ruby just floated in mid-air, completely bewildered. Small sparkles appeared around her as she was rotated straight up and gently placed on the ground.

As the girl jumped around with excitement, Tai and Qrow breathed a sigh of relief.

Alexstrasza had to keep from laughing as she spoke. "Even in his maddened state, he has always enjoyed the company of children. I would often take my own whelps with me when I visited him. Their presence had a calming effect on him."

She then giggled. "It is good to see that Yang and little Ruby have the same effect on him. I haven't seen him this passive in centuries."

Tai sat back down, and Qrow reached for his canteen but stopped halfway. "So, what are your plans then? Now that he's in the picture are you going to leave?"

Alexstrasza gave the question some thought. It was true that she could have Malygos experiment with the same spell that had sent them here, but that did not seem like a good idea with just Alexstrasza to cover for any blunder he might make. This was unknown territory in regard to magic and while Malygos was unmatched in that field, he might go too far out of a sense of guilt for stranding them here in the first place. If the other Aspects are on Remnant, it would be safer to seek them out before making any attempts to leave. If only you ensure that any mishaps Malygos makes are contained.

The Dragon Queen looked out to see the slight upturn on her fellow dragon's lip. He was happy. For the first time in millennia, he was happy. She could not bring herself to take that from him just yet. Perhaps this could help bring back the Malygos she once knew. If it did, then some more time spend away from Azeroth might be a worthy exchange after all.

"At the moment, I plan on searching for the rest of my kin. If Malygos is here, then it is likely the rest are here too. I shall find them before we return to Azeroth."

"And while you do that, do you plan to live here?" Qrow asked pointing a finger at the floor, earning a slight scowl from Tai.

Alexstrasza shrugged. "Until I am fully healed, I plan to stay in your residence, however that is dependent on you and Taiyang, this is your home. After I am restored, I shall take my leave. We dragons do not need much to get by."

"You can stay for as long as you want." Tai said quickly and standing up. "Even after you're recovered you can stay. I know the girls would love to have you around."

Alexstrasza could not help but beam at the thought of spending more time with the children. However, she would need to make some sort of contribution in order to earn her keep once she is able to return to her true form.

"Your generosity continues to surprise me. I shall consider it."

A soft buzzing noise could be heard from Taiyangs pocket. Reaching in, he pulled out that strange device he called a scroll, even though it looked nothing like an actual scroll. He pressed his thumb on the screen and brought it to his ear.

"Hello?" He said into the device.

As he got a response, she found such things to be fascinating. It reminded her of the titan technology that Tyr had shown them on the Dragon Isle.

"Yeah Chris, everything is fine. Qrow was out looking for that mystery Grimm and the unlucky bastard managed to find it."

Alexstrasza noticed the disgruntled look on Qrow's face at the word unlucky. Must be some sort of inside joke used at the man's expense. Both humans and dragons made use of such social cues.

"Yup, then he managed to drive it to my house, and we managed to corner and flatten it. One hell of a fight, the thing nearly got us."

Tai stayed quiet as this Chris person gave a response.

"Oh, okay, see you soon," he tapped the screen and tucked the device in his pocket.

"What's up?" Asked Qrow.

"Our big blue friend attracted some attention when he froze us solid. Sheriff and his pose are on their way to see if we need help."

"Shit," said Qrow turning to Alexstrasza. "Can you convince him to turn into something smaller? No way in hell are we gonna hide something that big from one of Patch's sheriffs. Not when he's got his trackers with him."

Alexstrasza looked amused as she said, "Of course."

Ten minutes later, the local sherif came by and found the results of the carnage wrought by Malygos. What was left behind after the quick battle was enough to convince the man and his associates that there was indeed a desperate struggle here.

The ground had been torn up by something with extremely sharp claws, trees had been knocked down creating a path from the forest that surrounded the north side of the house. And the evidence that confirmed that the mystery ice Grimm of patch had been present was the spikes of ice that littered the front yard.

Then there was the imprint in the dirt of something massive that just appeared to vanish into this air. As they were under the assumption that this was a Grimm that they were dealing while, they took this as a sigh that the Grimm in question had fallen here and then disintegrated, leaving the impression.

Chris then left with the news that the stalking Grimm of Patch had been killed. He warned Tai that some news reporters might be on their way to get an interview, so he might want to shave.

Alexstrasza found it chucklesome that the two men who had lost to Malygos would be rewarded for it. As for the Spellweaver, he now resided in the form of a blue owl that sat atop her shoulder.

The reporters did come and Taiyang was sweating like a frost giant in Kalimdor's desert. The girls were interviewed two and they gave stunning reviews of how their father and uncle fought. Alexstrasza was pleased that Ruby and Yang remembered their promise to never tell anyone that she and Malygos were dragons.

Ruby didn't like that she had to lie about Malygos being a Grimm, but she did it so she could keep nasty people away from her Aunty Strasza.

After everything was done and the dusk had come, and the family were all enjoying a movie together in the living room. Alexstrasza sat with them on the couch as she studied the story and its characters with the wisdom of a historian who lived through the history she was studying. Malygos just stared at the screen from his perch at the top of the couch, his mind, while rattled, was still interested in the tale being spun before him.

Taiyang sat opposite Alexstrasza, with the children sitting between them. Ruby sat close to Alexstrasza and Yang sat closer to her father.

As the family enjoyed their film, Qrow stood alone at the top of the stairs. Pulling out his scroll he dialed a number he dialed a hundred times before and would likely dial a hundred more times before he died.

Putting the scroll to his ear he waited for the ringing to end, when it did, he heard the voice of Glynda Goodwitch.

"Qrow?"

"Hey,"

"Did you complete the mission?" She asked immediately. "Ozpin was considering pulling you out."

Qrow frowned as Tai's words from before bounced in his head, but he ignored them.

"Yup. It took a while, but I found what was causing all the panic on Patch."

"That's good to hear," Glynda said with some relief in her voice. "Peter would not shut up about grabbing his axe and heading over there to help you."

Qrow smirked. "He would have slowed me down, but yang and Ruby would have loved him."

"How are they? I heard on the news that a Grimm attacked your home. Was that the one you were hunting?"

"They're fine. It wasn't too much trouble after…"

Qrow paused, he found himself conflicted. Should he tell the truth and inform Ozpin, or should he keep this a secret for his family. He glanced down the stairs to the sound of the girls laughing, then he heard the dragon woman laugh along with them.

Was Taiyang right? Would getting Ozpin involved ruin this precious peace that had somehow found its way in their home after the loss of his team leader.

"Qrow?" Glynda called from the scroll.

"I… umm. It wasn't much trouble after I joined up with Tai. I spent most of the morning scrapping with the thing. I goofed and led it to the house and Tai helped me finish the job."

"Oh," Glynda said, sounding pleasantly surprised. "It's good to hear that Taiyang is getting better. I was worried that he was still not in fighting shape."

"Nah, he's been doing good for a while now, especially after he got someone to take care of the girls while he isn't around."

"Really?" Glynda queried and Qrow found her tone of voice odd. "That's good to hear. Despite everything I was worried about those children."

"Yeah, she's a good woman. They're in good hands."

Or claws, he thought.

"What sort of Grimm were you dealing with?"

"Huh?" Qrow asked.

"What kind of Grimm were you fighting? Was it a dust infused Grimm like Ozpin thought?"

Qrow thought for a moment before answering. "It was a failed experiment if I had to guess. Damned monster looked like a combination of a Deathstalker and a giant Creep. And no, the thing couldn't use dust, some idiot ran into the thing before I was sent here and rammed a dust crystal into it."

"Ozpin will be relived."

"I'm sure he will be." Qrow said with a hint of sardonic professionalism. Whether Glynda recognized it or not was impossible to say.

"When will you be returning to Beacon?"

"I'll leave in the morning. I need some proper sleep for once."

"Get some rest Qrow and spend some time with your family. See you tomorrow."

With that the line cut and Qrow tucked the scroll away. Staring down the stairs, he wondered what his choice would mean for his loved ones. Whatever comes, he would face it with them. So, he stepped down the stairs to join them.