Things could have gone worse.

Nora was pretty sure they could have gone a bit better, sure, but they certainly could have gone much worse. They just barely managed to avoid a fight, nobody got hurt, and they had found a solution to dealing with Mercury and Emerald.

Not a perfect solution by any means. In truth, it still grated her a little that they were ultimately just…leaving them here, no punishment, no apology, no nothing. But like Jaune had said, it was better than the alternative.

She heard a thud as something fell to the floor, and a pained groan followed soon after. She winced, feeling her heart sink a little lower.

Qrow had come home stumbling through the door last night, his breath stinking of alcohol. Not the first time it's happened, she knew he drank, but ever since they were separated it seemed like things were so much worse. Qrow wasn't the same. Something had changed, and she was pretty sure it wasn't just what Jinn told them. That was a part of it, sure, but there had to be something else.

Shaking her head, she pushed herself out of her seat at the kitchen table. She across the room frowning sadly once she found Qrow, passed out on the floor. She grabbed the blanket from the couch, gently placing it over her shoulders.

Qrow had saved her life. And Ren's, and Jaune's, and Ruby's too. He had made sure they all got to Haven safely. And he had given her a much needed boost of confidence once she had woken up in the hospital. She looked up to him, and she hated seeing him like this.

Something's gotta be done about this. And soon, too. She was worried about him.

Ruby wandered into the living room, bleary eyed and yawning as she stretched. She smiled when she saw Nora. "Good morning, Nora! What, are you making breakfast or something?"

She shook her head, pointing down at Qrow. Ruby's smile evaporated, and she sighed, out of exasperation or disappointment, Nora couldn't tell. She expected something more though. Qrow was her uncle, shouldn't she at least talk to him? Ever since they got to Argus, it seemed like Ruby was doing everything she could to ignore her uncle's obvious problem.

And nothing was going to change if that continued. She grabbed Ruby's shoulder, trying to get her to wait. She pulled out her scroll, finally tired of just watching him spiral. What happened when we were separated? She asked. It can't just be what Jinn said, can it? I get why he would be broken up about it, but it's like he's given up.

Ruby sighed. "I think it's just a jumble of everything. He spent his whole life working for Oz. He looked up to him, trusted him. And the entire time he was being lied to." She paused. "And…at Brunswick, I think he blames himself a little. For not recognizing the Apathy. For being too drunk to wake up in time. We were supposed to leave at dawn, but he never woke us up. Maybe he thinks if we left earlier, we would have been able to avoid Tyrian, or maybe we wouldn't have been so affected by the Apathy."

Nora frowned. But you had no idea how long Tyrian had been there. He might have just followed you anyways if you left earlier. Besides, all of you got out okay, and Tyrian is dead. Everything ended alright."

Ruby shrugged. "I know that. So do the others, even if we are a little…exhausted from Brunswick. But my Uncle…well, you've been with us for the last few weeks. You know how he is. He blames himself for everything, big or small. And he drinks to try and ignore it. He thinks he almost got us killed because he was drinking, and that makes him feel bad, so he keeps drinking and that makes him feel worse, because he knows that's what he's blaming himself for in the first place. And I can't do anything about it because it's been everything I can do just to get us here! We almost gave up at Brunswick. We would have stayed there, wasting away like the farmers until Tyrian swooped in to snatch the Relic, and probably me too. And we haven't had so much as a minute of peace since coming here, either."

Nora…hadn't really thought about it like that. Obviously, Ruby had probably wanted to help her Uncle. But really, when had she had any opportunity to?

Well, they did now, at least. They had a day or two of relative peace, until Weiss approached Cordovin, and they enacted their little plan. Hm…but what to do? Someone would have to talk to Qrow, and Ruby…

She glanced over at the younger girl. It was like she said, Ruby was exhausted. Worn out from Brunswick, and trying to keep them all together, all the while dealing with her Uncle further spiraling. She needed a break, not more pressure.

Her eyes lit up, as an idea began to form in her head. An idea that solved more than just one problem. She tapped Ruby's shoulder again. Hey, would you and Yang be down to go out and grab something to eat later? That place Jaune found is pretty good.

Ruby frowned, caught off guard. "Uhm…I'd have to ask her, but I guess, yeah. Why?"

Nora shrugged. Why not? Besides, like you said, you're all exhausted. It'll give us all more time to relax a little before we go to Atlas.

"Huh," Ruby frowned. "That's not a bad idea, actually. I'll ask her once she wakes up. Just let us know when you wanna go out."

Nora nodded, giving Ruby a thumbs up. Good. Step one complete. Ruby and Yang would both be out of the house for a while, giving her a chance to have a talk with Qrow privately. Of course, someone else would have to go with Ruby and Yang, or else they'd just come right back. And she had the perfect idea for who…

First though, work on the others. Blake would probably stay out of the living room reading, and so would Ren. They wouldn't be a problem. It wouldn't be hard to convince Jaune to hang out with Saphron and Adrian while she went out to run some errands, and Terra had work. Maria and Oscar also wouldn't really have any reason to leave…wherever they were staying. How many spare rooms did this place have anyways?

Whatever. It didn't matter to her so long as she had her time to talk with Qrow. All that was left was Weiss, and Nora had a feeling that if she had a discreet talk with the heiress about her plan, she would be more than willing to give her an hour or two.

Mercury and Emerald…well, she'd just take them out for a nice lunch. And hope Yang wouldn't kill her when she got back.


"Do not talk about Beacon unless they bring it up first, do not mention anything before Beacon involving Cinder, Don't mention Cinder period, especially around Jaune, and for the love of all creation stay away from Yang!" Emerald kept her voice just below a shout, careful not to let her words leave their room.

Mercury grinned. "Uh huh. Anything else? Want me to tie myself up and hide under a bed until they're all gone too?"

Emerald nodded. "That would be ideal, yeah." She answered. "But I know if I force you to sit still for five minutes you'll chew threw the ropes and find some way to fuck it up even worse."

He laughed. "Oh for sure. Don't worry, I promise I'll be on my best behavior." He paused. "Shame we won't get to put that rope to use, though. Kept that with us ever since Evernight."

Her face reddened immediately, and she quickly used her semblance to hide the fact. She felt her heartbeat quicken. Did he…?

Her eyes widened, and she slammed a hand into the side of her head. He means in a professional sense. We're going legit, so we won't have any use for tying people up. For a second, she thought he meant something a bit more…exotic.

Get your head out of the gutter, she chastised herself. Now was not the time. She cleared her throat, letting the illusion fade as her face returned to normal. Mercury didn't seem to notice, thankfully. "If it means we can stay, I'd throw out pretty much everything we brought from Evernight." Not that much survived the crash, outside of their weapons and Mercury's bag.

She paused. "Although maybe keep the rope," She mumbled. "You know, just in case."

He frowned. "In case of what?"

"I don't know!" She threw her hands up in the air. "You never know when a rope might come in handy."

Mercury shrugged. "If you say so. I'm sure there's a closet somewhere we can shove it in." Good. It was always good to have some rope, in case of an emergency. Then again, she didn't actually know what kind he had. If it was really rough, then that probably wouldn't work very well. What would, then? A ribbon? Where the hell would they find a ribbon? Didn't one of the kids from Beacon have one wrapped around her gun?

A pair of fingers snapped in front of her face, grabbing her attention. Mercury was frowning. "Em? Are you alright? You're acting weird."

She shook her head. "Nope. I'm perfectly fine." She could sort out the details later.

Mercury didn't look like he believed her, but before he had a chance to argue someone knocked at their door. Thank the brothers, She thought to herself, getting up from her bed. She needed the distraction. She pulled the door open, and her eyes flashed in surprise. "Nora? Do you…need something?" Why the hell would Nora be knocking at their door?

The mute shook her head, grinning. She held out her scroll for Emerald. Nah. I'm going to get a bite to eat in about an hour at a place called Olive's Garden. Wanna tag along?

Emerald looked back at Mercury to make sure he could see what Nora wrote as well. Judging by the look of utter disbelief he shared with her, she guessed he did. They looked back at Nora. "You can't be serious," Mercury said.

Nora nodded. I am.

"Why?" Mercury blurted. "Why would we even think about this? How can you think this is a good idea?"

She shrugged. I'm bored, and I don't wanna sit around here all day. Everyone else is busy, so why not you two? She lifted her head in thought, before typing out some more. As for what you two get out of it, lunch is on me.

Mercury straightened immediately, something flashing in his eyes. "And what exactly is Olive's Garden? Some kind of fast food place?"

Nora grinned triumphantly, shaking her head. It's a cafe. They've got great chicken.

"Son of a bitch," Emerald muttered under her breath.

"Cool," Mercury said. "We'll be there."

Nora nodded, grinning. Remember, I'll meet you there in an hour, She typed, before shutting the door and leaving them alone.

"What the hell?" She hissed at him.

He frowned. "What?"

"What do you mean what?" She erupted. "You just told her it was a bad idea, then as soon as she brings up food you're sold?"

"Essentially," Mercury said, beginning to smirk. "Honestly, it's not a bad idea. At least Nora is relatively civil to us. You wanted me to stay away from the others? What better way than stretching our legs and getting out of the house? And we get a free meal out of it."

Hm. He had a point. The less time he stood in proximity to Yang and the others, the less opportunity they would have to let their patience wear thin. And Nora had been reasonable, all things considered.

Besides, she learned a long time ago to never turn away a free meal. "Fine," She relented. "We'll go. I'm hungry anyway. But that doesn't mean you can antagonize Nora either," She warned. "She might be more open to letting us stay than some of the others, but that doesn't mean she's happy about it. The less people you piss off, the better chance we have of actually surviving the next couple of days."

He rolled his eyes. "Hey, I told you I would be on my best behavior, didn't I?"

She glared at him, crossing his arms. He snorted. "Alright, fine, I'm serious. I'll be good."

That's probably the best I'm going to get out of him, She thought. "Whatever. We got an hour to kill, so buckle in."

Mercury shrugged, grabbing a few tools from his bag and removing his right prosthetic. They sat in a comfortable silence. She enjoyed watching him work. He was so focused, so precise, so careful. He handled Talaria more gently than she had ever seen him handle anything, like something precious for him to hold. It was interesting, seeing him act so differently, so relaxed, in a way he almost never was.

And if nothing else, she was at least treated to a very nice view.


Yang groaned, arching her back as she stretched. "Ah, that's the stuff."

"Yaang!" Ruby complained.

"What? We've been cooped up in the Cotta-Arc's place since last night," She said. "It's good to get out and move."

She meant it, too. She was going stir crazy. Her options were to hole herself up in the room they were staying in, or venture out into the rest of the house and run the risk of being forced to be around Mercury and Emerald. In the interest of good faith, she had figured it would be a better idea just to steer clear.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "Yang, we've been here barely a day. We've been traveling for weeks. You really don't think it's nice just to relax for a little bit?"

"I would if it were actually a chance for us to chill," Yang said. "Tell me with a straight face you've been able to actually enjoy our time here, Ruby."

She shifted nervously as they walked. "Jaune's been happy," She answered evasively. "He hasn't seen his sister in forever."

"And I'm glad for him," Yang said truthfully. "But it's a little harder for the rest of us. At least, I know I'm not going to get any peace of mind till we're out of the city and Mercury and Emerald are well behind us."

Ruby sighed. "I know. I didn't get any sleep last night. I kept waiting for…something to happen." She paused. "But it never did. And to be honest, I expected a fight to break out as soon as Jaune told us, but we avoided that too."

"Barely," Yang pointed out.

Her sister shrugged. "Still. I don't think things have to be as bad as you think, Yang. Mercury and Emerald are willing to change, or at least try to change, and you're willing to let them. You don't have to spend all day inside."

"Maybe not," Yang conceded. "But I'd prefer not to have to deal with Mercury and Emerald all the same."

Ruby let the conversation fall after that, thankfully. She didn't really want to argue in circles about a matter that was already settled. They were leaving. Mercury and Emerald were staying, and both of them would leave each other alone. She was fine with that.

But after Haven, after Brunswick, the very last thing she wanted to do was think about Mercury and Emerald. She wanted a break. And Nora had gratefully given her an excuse. "This is just what we need," She told Ruby. "A couple hours out in the town, grabbing lunch with a friend. It'll be nice."

Ruby opened her mouth to agree, but came to a sudden halt. Her face paled, her eyes widening. She cleared her throat. "Um, Yang?" She asked timidly. "The place Nora said to meet her, she said it was the place Jaune took us to yesterday, right?"

Yang frowned. "Yeah, so?"

Ruby didn't answer. She just held up a finger, slowly pointing ahead of them.

Huh. They had reached the cafe sooner than she thought. She could have sworn it was a little further. Oh well, that wasn't really a big deal, why would Ruby be freaking out? She squinted her eyes, scanning the tables in search of Nora. She shook her head. "It's Nora. You'd think she'd be hopping up and down with a giant sign so she…she…"

Her throat suddenly dried. "Ruby."

"Yang?" Ruby asked nervously.

"You're seeing them too, right?"

Her sister nodded. "Yeah," She squeaked. Sitting at a table by a window on the far side of the cafe, Mercury and Emerald sat chatting without a care in the world.

Yang sighed again, shaking her head. "I was looking forward to this," She complained.


Yang marched through the cafe door, wordlessly taking a seat across from both Mercury and Emerald.

Emerald yelped, jolting in surprise at the sight of her, and Mercury raised an eyebrow. "Can't really say I expected to see you here of all people," He said. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're probably equally surprised."

Yang nodded, managing to keep the scowl off her face. "Tell you what, you go first. Why are you two here?"

Mercury shrugged. "Argus is a big city. We can't go out and eat?"

Emerald smacked him lightly on the arm, shaking her head. "Nora asked us if we wanted to come here," She answered. "Told us to meet her here in an hour."

"What, and you just came?" Yang asked. "Why?"

"Why not?" Mercury countered. "We were bored, and Nora gave us something to do. Plus, she said she'd pay for the food. Apparently this place has good chicken."

"I just…didn't think you'd want to," Yang said. Or that Nora would. She knew Nora was trying to ease tensions between everybody, but this was a bit much. She grinned. "Is a free meal all it takes to get you to do what I want then?" If so, I might finally have a way to shut him up.

"Hey, don't go taking the high road now," Mercury smirked. "You came here, same as us."

"Maybe, but I came for some good company, not the food," Yang said. "So I guess both of us are leaving here disappointed."

She began to scoot out of the booth, but Ruby finally caught up, sliding in next to her and blocking her escape. "Actually, I think we should stay," Her sister said quickly.

Yang frowned. "I'm sorry, what?"

Ruby didn't answer her. She just pulled out her scroll, handing it over to Yang, refusing to meet her eyes.

It was opened to a conversation with Nora. Well, sort of. Ruby had asked Nora why Mercury and Emerald were there, and she had given her answer.

Yeah…sorry about that. I needed you all out of the house. Qrow…well, you've seen him. Somebody needs to talk to him, and I didn't want it to have to be you because you've already got so much going on. Trust me, I can do this. It'll be fine. I just need an hour or so without getting interrupted, that's all. And…if you can maybe find a bit of common ground with Mercury and Emerald so you don't kill each other in the next few days, well that's just an unexpected bonus.

Yang shut her eyes, letting out a long sigh. She handed her sister back her scroll with a grimace. She has a point, a traitorous voice inside her head pointed out. Uncle Qrow is getting worse, and at the very least we can trust Nora isn't going to give up until she gets through to him. Plus, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if we just had lunch with Mercury and Emerald.

She opened her eyes, sporting an obviously fake smile on her face. "You know what, Ruby?" She said through gritted teeth. "I agree. Since we're here, we may as well sit and eat."

Mercury frowned. "What is this?"

"I have no idea what you mean," Yang lied.

"This," He gestured towards her and Ruby. "You were about to run off, why'd you change your mind? I doubt it's because you're our biggest fan."

Yang groaned. "Look, you came here for free food, didn't you? Quit arguing and eat."

Mercury narrowed his eyes, but finally shrugged. "Sure. But you're paying."

Her eye twitched, and her fingers clenched into a fist. "Fine by me," She growled.

Mercury and Emerald were blessedly silent after that, content to not prod her any further. She shook her head. Nora owes me big time for this. And so did Uncle Qrow, once he got his shit together. Let's just hope whatever she says gets through to him first.

She held out her arm, waving over a waitress. She was a small girl, a few years younger than herself. Closer to Ruby's age, actually, no more than a year younger than her at most. She was obviously overwhelmed, sweating as she moved from table to table. Finally, she noticed Yang calling her over, quickly walking over with a forced smile on her face.

"HI, welcome to Olive's Garden!" She greeted in a sickly sweet voice. "How can I help you to…to…" Her voice trailed off, and the smile fell from her face as she saw the other two sitting at their table.

Mercury's eyes flashed with delight, and a wicked grin spread across his face. "Well now, this is a surprise." The waitress flinched, horrified. "For you as well as us, I'm guessing. You gonna stand there gawking, or are you gonna say hi to your old friends?"

Yang frowned. "You know this lady?" That was bad. Anyone who could recognize Mercury and Emerald could be a problem.

Emerald shook her head, as confused as she was. "I have never seen this person before in my life.

Mercury nodded towards the waitress. "This was the tail I told you about, right before Jadis sent her thugs. She must have ran with the others when we gave them all a chance to bolt."

"I wasn't there," The girl spoke up, her voice cracking with terror. "I left almost as soon as I told Jadis."

Mercury raised an eyebrow. "Huh. You are smarter than I thought."

"I never told anyone," She whispered desperately. "No one. I never went to the police, I never went to anyone who might want to know you were here. I never said a word. Please, just leave me alone."

"He will," Yang promised. She glared at Mercury. "Won't he?"

Mercury shrugged. "We just came here to eat. Jadis is dead. Unless you do something supremely stupid, after having demonstrated that you're already a bit more clever than your former employer, then we shouldn't have any problems."

The waitress almost collapsed from the relief, letting out a sigh that took all the previous tension away with it. "Oh thank the Brothers," She said.

You wouldn't be if you knew them, She thought absently. At least this could be salvaged. The poor girl was obviously too terrified to do anything, thankfully. She wouldn't say a word.

I can't believe I'm thinking in terms of helping cover them up. She tuned out of the conversation, as Ruby and the others spoke with the girl, giving their orders.

I've changed, She realized. They all had since Beacon. And yeah, she had known that on some level before, but now…

If this was before Beacon, she wouldn't have even considered compromising with Mercury and Emerald. She'd go straight to a fight like she had at Junior's bar, and she'd probably get her ass kicked for the trouble.

She slowly clenched and unclenched the fingers of her prosthetic. Almost dying does tend to put a new perspective on things, She mused. Ultimately, she thought it was a good thing that she changed. Her dad was right, she treated her semblance like a child would before.

She just wished she could have gone a little longer without having to change. You only get to live once, after all. She would have liked to be able to enjoy Beacon a little more.

Yang frowned. This isn't going to work. Nora meant well, but too much had happened for there to be any real sense of…friendliness with Mercury and Emerald, no matter how sincere they were.

The fingers of her prosthetic extended, opening and closing into a fist. It was beautiful, really, and worked great. But it would never replace her real arm. No matter how good it was, it would never be quite as responsive as the original. And it's their fault I'm like this.

"Brothers, that thing creaks," Mercury remarked.

Yang blinked. "Are you…are you talking to me?"

He rolled his eyes. "Who else would I be talking to? Your arm, blondie. It sounds awful. Do you do any maintenance at all?"

She scowled. "I clean it," She defended.

"With what, a rag?" He snorted.

Her silence sent him into another fit of laughter. "You do! Brothers, that's gotta be the best thing I've heard all day! Don't you have a bike or something? And your weapon, you had to have made that. You can take care of those, but you can't take care of your arm?"

"I hadn't thought of it yet," She snapped. "I never needed to before. It's hard to sit down and think about all the little things you need to do when you're trying to stop the end of the world."

He shrugged. "You had a flesh and blood arm, before. Now you don't, you better learn quickly to take care of it, or it'll give out on you when you're relying on it." A dark look crossed his face, but he quickly banished it with a shake of his head.

She almost growled. Asshole. Who does he think he is, judging her? He was part of the reason she was missing the damn thing in the first place! Brothers, she just wanted to punch him right in his stupid little-

"The joints," He said, snapping her out of her mental tirade.

"I-what?" She stuttered.

"Focus on the joints," He repeated, and for once no trace of mockery bled into his voice. "They get the most use. For you, the fingers are gonna be a bitch for sure, the wrist too. Pay special attention to them."

"Uh…thanks?" Was he…was he giving her advice? Why? What could he possibly gain from it?

He smirked at her puzzlement. "What, you think you're the only person who's lost a limb before?"

She shook her head. "No. But since when do you offer advice as opposed to playground insults?"

Mercury shrugged. "Since my entire being here kinda hinges on it. As I have so gently been reminded by my dear friend here, I may as well play nice for a couple days."

Well…that was unexpected. An olive branch. From Mercury of all people.

She didn't have to accept it. They could just sit here in silence for an hour or so while Nora talked some sense into her Uncle. They'd only be here another day or two, and then in all likelihood they would never see each other again. No one would blame her if all she did was the bare minimum to keep their shaky peace.

"Say, how do you deal with dirt getting in the crevices?" She asked. "It's always a bitch to wash out."


Nora frowned. He's still asleep. Just over an hour later, and Qrow was still sprawled out on the floor, snoring carelessly.

She sighed, shaking her head. At least they were alone now. Mercury, Emerald, Ruby and Yang were all gone, distracted through her masterful plan. Terra was working, Saphron brought Adrian along while he did some chores, and the others would give them a bit of privacy so they could talk.

But what to say? The time had finally come, but she wasn't really sure how to approach it. All she really knew was that she wanted to help him, like he had helped her. She just had no idea where to start.

But I still have to start somewhere.

Without giving herself anymore time to talk herself out of it, she stooped down, shaking Qrow gently by his shoulder. He groaned, squinting his eyes shut and shooing her off lazily. "Go away!" He murmured.

She rolled her eyes, shaking him a little more forcefully. When that didn't work, she resorted to good old reliable, pinching him as hard as she could on his shoulder.

He jolted up with a yelp of pain, his hand slamming down on to his arm, quickly rubbing the sore spot. "What the hell was that?" Qrow demanded groggily. He frowned when he recognized her. "Nora? What was that for?"

She shrugged, gesturing vaguely around him. This. What you're doing to yourself.

He didn't seem to get it. "I must have fallen off the couch at some point. Didn't think anyone needed the floor so bad they'd have to assault me to wake me up." His tone was annoyed, but ultimately teasing.

Drama queen. Nora pulled out her scroll, quickly typing out a response. That's not what I meant. You fell off the couch because you stumbled in drunk off your ass. Again. Which wouldn't be the biggest deal in the world if it weren't for the fact that we've only been in Argus for maybe a day, and you've spent practically the entire time drinking or complaining about not having a drink.

Qrow snorted. "I drink. This isn't news to any of you. Don't see why it's a problem now."

Because now it's gotten out of hand, She typed. I don't know if it has something to do with just what Jinn told you, or what happened at Brunswick, or just everything that's gone wrong ever since Beacon, but it's different now. You seem lifeless. Like you're just trudging along with the rest of us out of habit more than anything else.

"Isn't that exactly what I'm doing?" He asked bitterly. "What else is left for me? I was supposed to be looking out for you kids. Protecting you. And once we got to Brunswick, I didn't for a second consider any Grimm. Or even that anything was off, outside of a few farmers dying off. I'm a Huntsman. Killing Grimm, identifying them isn't just my job, it's my life. I should have known about the Apathy. Should have guessed that Tyrian would try hitting us while we were on the move."

"But I didn't plan on either, because I was too busy feeling sorry for myself after what Jinn told us." He scowled. "It almost got them killed. It almost got Ruby killed, and I was too hungover to do anything more than try and make sure Tyrian didn't come back out of the well. Her teammates were the ones who had to go down into the tunnels to get her back, while I just sat there doing nothing."

Her brow furrowed in frustration. So your solution is just to drink even more? When that was what almost got her killed in the first place?

Qrow laughed. "Why not? Look at me, and look at yourselves. I spent my entire life either fucking one thing up, or doing another for someone who lied to me. Me and Oz, we're yesterday's news. If Salem can be beat, then it's not going to be us who figures it out. Oz has had centuries, and he's got no cigar. It'll be you. You kids don't need me. You certainly don't need him."

She growled, stomping one foot on the floor and pointing furiously towards herself. I needed you.

He tilted his head in ignorance. "What?"

Nora wished now more than ever that she could just scream at him! As it was, she had to meticulously type out each word of her argument, every character her finger touched filed with frustration.

I needed you, She repeated, so he could actually understand. You saved me, and ALL of us at Oniyuri. We would have died otherwise. You kept us safe, all the way until Haven. Hell, you kept us safe before we even knew you were here! But even ignoring that, even if all the ways you helped us by killing Grimm, or fighting off Tyrian didn't matter, then I STILL would have needed you.

When I woke up at the hospital, it took me a minute to realize what had happened. For a little bit, I was devastated. I couldn't speak, I had almost died, I thought my life was basically ruined. Then you took me outside the hospital, sat me down and spoke to me. Outside of Ruby just telling me what happened, you were the first person I actually spoke with after waking up. Or listened to, I guess. And you told me EXACTLY what I needed to hear. That I didn't have to speak to be a huntress. That I could still be there for my friends, that even if I wasn't quite the same, I was still Nora.

She hesitated briefly. I'm not mad at you because you're drinking. I'm definitely not mad at you because of what happened at Brunswick. I'm not…I'm even really mad at you at ALL, honestly. I just want to be able to help you, the same way you helped me. By letting you know that no matter what happens, you're still Qrow. You're still Ruby and Yang's uncle, you're still the person who watched over us from the moment we left Patch, and you're still the man who saved my life.

Qrow let out a heavy sigh, slumping his shoulders. It was a long time before he spoke. "My entire life, kid. All of it, flipped on its head in less than an hour. I don't…I don't know how the hell to get past that. Nothing ever happened to me I couldn't ignore or drown out in alcohol."

I didn't know how to keep going either, She typed. Until someone showed me it was at least worth trying.

Slowly, the edges up a smile tugged at his mouth. "Well I suppose I have to give it a shot now, don't I?" He asked. "Can't have some kid showing me up."

Nora grinned. I guess you will.


Another week, another chapter. I love writing Nora. It's so much fun.

If you enjoyed this week's chapter, feel free to leave a comment, I love reading what everyone thinks!

As always, I crosspost on AO3!

Next Chapter: Tuesday, August 20th