Staring down towards the ground, Qrow looked on with a confused face. "Hey Rube's, who wrote this?" He asked, scratching his head in pure confusion before looking over towards said girl. In response, she walked over to the dragon who was laying down next to Qrow and crouched next to him. "This little guy right here." She answered whilst giving him small pats on the head. "You want me to read what a blind dragon wrote?" He suddenly asked. Ruby froze in place and stopped what she was doing. "So. I can still read, right?" Qrow looked down at her slightly confused face before sighing. "Yes Rube's. You can still read." He told her and watched as she started to do a silent cheer, trying desperately to not disturb the dragon next to her.
"Ooh, I have an idea. I'll just ask him." She spoke up with a face of accomplishment before moving in front of the dragon. "Rube's, he can't talk, so you can't just ask him." He explained with a sigh, but instead Ruby just ignored him in favour of lightly shaking the resting dragon. The only indicator that he had woken up was when he stretched his legs and wings. "Hey there bud, can you tell me your name?" Ruby asked, and in return, the dragon stared at her then looked towards Qrow.
"I told her it won't work. She obviously ignored me." The dragon looked back to Ruby and shook his head. "Can I name you something then?" She asked instead. He tilted his head before nodding once more. And Qrow bore witness to one of the most intense stare downs he's had the privilege to watch. The stare down going on for so long that Qrow started to feel a slight bit out of place. After another five minutes of the constant stare Ruby blurted out a name, "Gore."
Qrow looked and felt very disappointed with his favourite niece. "Rube's. Gore is the name of his species, not his actual name." Ruby stood up and stomped her foot, crossed her arms, and put a pout on her face before turning to look at her uncle. "His name is Gore cause I said so. And you can't say anything about it." She stuck her tongue out at him in defiance. Qrow looked confused before looking over her shoulder to the dragon who just slowly nodded, acceptance clear on his expressionless face.
"Fine. Fine, his name is Gore. Let's just go back inside and tell everyone then." Nodding her head, she started jumping around giddily before turning to Gore and making grabby hands in his direction. "C'mon Gore I'll take you inside again." Qrow could see the pure horror morph onto Gore's face, and after staring him down, a smirk broke out and he walked into the house.
~~~~
Seeing them walk back in Tai noticed a small yet very smug smirk on Qrow's face and Ruby was just happily waddling along with a small smile on her face whilst Gore had the same look he had on when Ruby carried him downstairs. "Rube's, I don't think he likes getting carried around." Ruby looked at her dad and just lifted Gore higher until she was rubbing his cheek with hers.
"Of course he likes it. He always wants me to carry him around. Isn't that right Gore." Even though Gore didn't have eyes, Tai could see the desperate look in them. "Rube's let's put him down and go sit on the couch for a bit yeah." He told her, watching as she put him down and gained a sad look. "Fine, but he's gonna be so sad without me." Tai just couldn't help but sweat drop, "I'm sure he's going to be fine, and he can sit on the couch with you if he wants."
Everyone started to head over to the couch, Ruby jumped over the back side of it landing next to Yang who looked ready to sleep again. Gore walked over and climb up onto Ruby's lap, curling up and trying to sleep once more, Ruby looked at him and got stars in her eyes as she started to pet him making it that much easier to fall asleep. Glynda had sat next to Ruby with a small smile as she watched her play with the sleeping dragon on her lap.
Then with an amused and slightly mischievous smirk, Qrow plopped himself down next to her, arm behind her laying on the back of the couch. She looked at him with a straight face, "What are you doing." Qrow just gave her a smug side eyed look "What, is me resting my arm near you too much. Am I just that irresistible." Qrow's smug aura quickly changed to one of embarrassment and nervousness. The reason, you may ask. Glynda had taken what he said as a challenge, deciding to sit closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. Looking up and seeing him basically steaming, she smirked at her victory. Tai walked by with a small chuckle before sitting down on the last chair available as well as picking up the remote.
"Alright, what are we feeling today?" He muttered to himself before flicking through the channels.
[~TimeSkip~]
Almost two months had passed since Gore was introduced to the Rose/Xiaolong family, and morning had ascended onto the wood cabin. The forest surrounding the building being eerily quiet, all except for a lone Raven that circled in the sky. The bird gave out a Caw before diving down and coming to a glide, finally landing on a nearby branch. It stopped for a second to scratch its feathers with its beak before freezing in confusion at the sight before it.
Through the window leading to the kitchen of the house, was Yang and Ruby. A stool pushed up to the counter, Yang stood atop it whilst reading a cookbook with a serious look on her face. Seeming to be counting something. Ruby sat on the countertop by the sink with a jar of cookies in hand, Gore resting by her swinging feet as she discretely slipped him one every now and then. The birds eyes seemed to widen however, when Yang turned the stove top on and proceed to touch it full palm to surface.
Yang jumped in surprise when the door to the kitchen from the backyard was opened. Gore moving up and around Ruby to stare over her shoulder towards the new person in the room. Red piercing eyes scanned over the two, stopping on the cautious stance of the monster before moving back over the blonde girl.
"Child, what are you doing?" Her cold voice carried across the room before settling on the frozen Yang. "H-huh?" The girls voice betraying her as she let out a squeak of confusion with her answer. "Yang was making morning food." Ruby answered in her stead, a cheery smile on her lips as she munched another cookie. The woman seemed to mull over the answer for a few seconds before slightly nodding to herself.
"I see, and where is your father? He should be the one to do this, not your sister." She asked the girl, her attention now on Ruby rather than the recovering Yang, a weary glance sent towards the sentry wyvern behind her. "Uncle Qrow says dad needs more sleep to help with mom." The girls smile dying just a bit, then all of a sudden, her smile grew wider as she pointed towards the cookbook next to the stove that was still on.
The woman walked over and grabbed the book off the counter before turning the stove off and gesturing Yang off the stool. "But then me and Yang found dads cookbook open which must mean he wants us to learn to cook so him being sleepier doesn't mean we miss food." Excitement seemed to wash off of her as she bounced on the spot.
The woman stared down at the book in her hands, a gaze of consideration in her eyes as she looked back towards the door. A scowl morphed onto her face, making Yang take a step away from her and for Ruby to tilt her head curiously, something the woman picked up on. "You got pretty hair." Ruby randomly shot out. The scowl on the woman's face morphing into the smallest of smiles.
Her eyes trailed over the two children in front of her, then with a head tilt of her own she stared over at Ruby. "Thank you, Little Gem. Now tell me, how long has dad been oversleeping?" She asked, a small quirk of her lips as she watched Ruby start to struggle to count with her fingers. "Ten days. I think." Yangs meek voice spoke up. The woman's gaze moving over to the young blonde making her shrink into herself. She mulled over the answer before sighing to herself and massaging the bridge of her nose. Then with one last look at the door, she shook her head to herself and opened the book.
"Who are you anyways?" Ruby's voice managed to cut her off from her inner thoughts. "Hm?" She hummed back in confusion. "I've seen pictures with you and Dad and Mom and Uncle Qrow. But they don't talk about you." She added on, her curious head tilt managing to force another smile from the woman. She seemed to stew on the question, attempting to find the right way to answer, or if she even should.
"I'm Raven. Qrow's sister."
[~TimeSkip~]
Qrow walked the path to the Xiaolong household with a tired trudge to his step. A good two weeks on a reconnaissance mission, just to find absolutely nothing. Whether or not that was a good thing was still up for debate. But he's just lucky he hasn't had to stay out on the field for too long. Oz had decided to be a bit lenient with the mission frequency ever since this whole Gore Magala incident, which also was basically right after Summer's funeral. Lucky him.
This shit was killing him, the days had started to blur together out there, one after the other of the constant nothing was getting to him. But now, he could relax for a bit. Chill over Tai's in the day, have a few drinks, mess with Glynda on his down time, tell a few stories to his adorable nieces, watch as their faces light up in amazement, feel ultimately better with himself, then pass out drunk on the couch and repeat. Shit didn't get better.
When he opened the front door with his usual smirk plastered on his face, he never thought it would get wiped as fast as it did in this situation. His sister, in the flesh, was stood directly in front of him. And yet, any small, or admittedly very, very large amount of anger that would have burst out from him, was killed in his throat.
Ruby was hanging from the woman, practically attached to her back as she munched on a pancake right into her ear. A plate was in Raven's hand with her own one and Yang held her own whilst stood next to her. The only thing keeping him calm besides the confusion, was the relaxed state Gore seemed to be with his sister so close to Ruby.
"Hello, dear brother." She greeted, where usually would be a smirk of amusement at his confusion, was instead a grimace from her own situation. "Sis. The fuck?" A gasp of shock left Ruby's mouth followed by a cough in surprise as Raven flinched away. "Bad word Uncle Qrow. Bad very bad." She shouted in disbelief, her look of horror being copied by Qrow as he quickly walked up to the girl.
"Sorry, my bad Rubes. Now come here leave your Aunt Raven alone. She isn't used to human interaction. Kinda a loner if you ask me." Qrow told her with a smirk. Reaching out to the girl and taking her off of Raven's back. "Very funny, now why is Tai not taking care of the gremlins." Raven asked, deciding any pleasantries between the two siblings was not worth it.
"Like you're one to talk. Either way, leave the guy alone, first one left and the second one... also left. He's dealing with shiiiiiii- stuff. Dealing with stuff." He explained, a wary glance sent between the two children with them both. "Well. Tell him to suck it up. He's got other stuff to do than mope in his bed." She told him, taking a bite of her own pancake whilst moving to the living room and sitting down, Yang following after and sitting next to her.
With a sigh, Qrow entered the room after, Ruby relaxing in his arms having finished her own food. "Once again, don't think you're allowed to talk about, parental responsibility." He mumbled getting a glare and sneer from Raven. "What's that supposed to mean?!" She questioned, her glare getting sharper after seeing his disbelieving stare. "You're... You're not serious right?" He asked.
"OH I'm sorry, would you be referring to how I returned to my birthplace and camp to which I was the leader and at that point, sole surviving factor?" She asked. Her brow raised in questioning, yet he could still see the bait left out for that question. "Y'know what, I'll bite. No shit that's what I'm talking about." A smack was earned to the back of his head getting a smirk from the slightly fuming Raven. "Bad word. No." Ruby mumbled from his arms.
"Alright you terrors. Go to your room for a bit, sibling talk real quick, you know how super-secret this is." He told the girl whilst putting her down, getting a nod of understanding and silly salute before setting off to her sister who had stood up. A weary look being sent to the two from the blonde girl. "C'mon Yang and Gore. Play awaits in our room." Ruby cheered whilst charging off, Gore and Yang slowly walking behind her.
When the creatures tail disappeared from their sight, Raven's glare settled back onto her brother as she stood and gripped the handle to Omen in annoyance. "Go on then, brother, state your problems with me going back." Her glare and seething snarl being the only thing showing her annoyance. Her tone not fluctuating in the slightest. "You had a kid Raven! I'm sorry for not exactly painting you with the essence of perfection after your little disappearing act!" Qrow being the exact opposite as his voice rose and his words getting a bit of sharpness to them.
"Would you have preferred it if I took her with me? Is that what you wanted?" She countered. Her hand leaving the hilt of Omen to instead aggressively jab at his chest. "Take her from you. From Tai?" She added. "Fuck no! What I expected was for you to stay and take responsibility!"
"I did take responsibility. My responsibility was to the tribe. To my people. Not this illusion that that bastard concocted for us to follow." Confusion took over for a few before things started to settle in place. "You left… everything. To spite Ozpin?" A silent rage started to brew in Qrow's gut as he watched his sister sneer at him. "I left, because I couldn't stand watching you lot brown nose that immortal shit stain and then continuously try to coerce me into doing the same. I left, because I thought if I could do anything right by that kid, it would be to leave her in Tai and Summer's arms. But you and her just HAD to keep playing hero. Couldn't stop for a few years and be a normal family for her. You just HAD to be at that fool's beck and call."
"He… He did everything. Everything to try and put us on the right path. Give us people to trust. Give us a family that wouldn't use us. He saw what could be and helped us get there. And you threw that all away. That isn't on him." The feeling continued to fester whilst Qrow attempted to calm himself mid argument.
"I tried Qrow. I really did. I spent a good thirteen years away from the tribe. In the arms of this so called 'Family' you keep pretending is perfect. You think I did that because I thought it was funny? You think I did that on a whim? I wanted to stay. I really did. It kills me every time I see that little pigtailed brat. All of you, even Tai, as loathed as I am to admit it, meant everything to me. But if I did. I know for a fact that I would have killed that grey haired bastard myself before he got one of us instead. And guess what happened."
Silence enveloped them both, glares being thrown by both of them. Yet confusion took over any festering rage in Qrow as he quickly wiped away the tears that were building up in the corners of his eyes. "Fucking hell Rae." He turned away from her, resting his head against a wall as he tried and failed to regather his thoughts. "Qrow… " Any confession or extra words that would have been spoken between the twins was instantly snuffed out and cut off.
A loud step from the stairs resounded from the living room. "Get out." Tai stood there, his hair dishevelled and a tired glare on his face. "Just get out of my house. I need to make food for the kids." His tired gaze straying from her as he went for the kitchen. "It's 12:30 Tai. Just wait for lunch." Qrow told him, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder when he watched Tai stop in his tracks.
A sneer formed on Raven's face after taking in Tai's state. Then with a scoff, she headed past him and to the back door. Opening it, she stood at the exit before looking over her shoulder at the still glaring Tai. "You got two weeks. Get your shit together." She told him, watching as his glare turned feral and Qrow had to hold him back from charging.
"Or what!? You going to continue to stay away?!" He almost shouted, instead the words were just filled with anger and hate directed at her.
"Or I step in." The door closing behind her and she disappeared into the tree line.
A sigh sounded out in the kitchen as Qrow headed for the cabinets and scrounged for any for of alcohol he could find. "Just. Go check on the kids Tai. That'll calm you down." Qrow suggested, not getting anything in response besides the sound of footsteps. Leaving Qrow to stand there and stew in his thoughts. Then with yet another sigh to himself, he fished out his scroll and brought up Ozpin's contact.
'I'm moving away from the field for while. Might see if Tai can help with a teaching Job. Just got some stuff to deal with.'
His message ending and being sent whilst he stood in the silence of the kitchen. His argument with his sister running rampant before it was broken with a ping from his scroll. Opening it and staring at the message, he couldn't help but curse his semblance and his sister. A single message on display with the Wizard's response.
'Why?'
Yo, Yo, Yo. I'm ngl, I've been hit with a lot of ways I want to take this story. And due to the fact that this is both a remake and technically remaster of the original I got on my Wattpad account, I can officially say that I want it to take a few different directions. My Ruby is going to be different, some situations are going to have more explanation, more time before beacon, hopefully stronger and more fleshed out relationships rather than just Wham and it's happened. Just more.
I want to take everything I've learned and may still learn, and then put it into my favourite book I made. So if you do stumble across this or go to the my wattpad version. This goin be different.
And so for my own piece of mind, was the argument to short? I feel like it was but at the same time wasn't. Cause I don't argue with people mich, way too much effort to be doing that constantly. So I'm relying on feedback from you lot if I do something wrong.
One thing though, no clue why, but I got a lot of free time in works. TBH it's the only reason you're seeing the this chapter. BUT I decided to finally push past that first layer of anxiety and sent one of my drafts to my work email in order to work on it. Hopefully I'll continue to do this and start using this free time to write. Because I do enjoy it. It's just when I'm at home with my entire arsenal of shit to do. I can think a few more entertaining things to do than sit and brainstorm for a fanfic. Especially when my crackheads of friends are online.
Either way either expect the same frequency of upload or expect an influx. Expect realism or have hope. Up to you. See you in the next one.