Ughhhh. I'd love to say I had a relaxing week off from writing but that'd only apply if the weekdays weren't spent in some incredibly rough meetings. The worst part (in my mind, anyway) is when you do a 3-hour meeting with an insolvency practitioner and then they expect you to have lunch and chat with them as well.

Painful.

It was a garbage week, lol. But it's at least looking like it'll all be wrapped up within a few months. I'm hoping to have it wrapped before October but might be closer to November or December. I just want it to be over and done with so I can focus on writing and reducing my stress.

I also feel like I'm writing worse due to having so much on my plate. Just want the business to end so I can get on with what I love.

Cover Art: Aristeo Storm

Chapter 43

There was no planning around the launchpads, but Qrow trusted that, since it had happened in the past already, the members of Team STRQ would all end up landing close to one another. Or, failing that, they'd bump into each other before anyone else. It was what happened in the original timeline so it made sense it would happen again.

But as Qrow soared high into the sky and tracked Raven, Summer and Taiyang, his stomach dropped. They were being sent further away, and at odd angles – Raven and Taiyang were headed in the same rough direction in what would assuredly be an infuriating fact for his sister, but Summer was going off to the side and Qrow might as well have been on the furthest edge of the forest possible from them.

What happened!? Why are we landing so far apart? Is this Ozpin's meddling? Is my Semblance fucking around with me!?

The answer was much simpler.

Painfully so.

In the past, they'd landed close by and teamed up, but they hadn't come to Beacon as friends, and that influenced things in small ways. They'd not talked before being on the same team and the two of them had stuck together as siblings. That meant he and Raven had been on launchpads next to one another. Importantly, Summer and Taiyang hadn't been friends either and had been on other pads as well.

None of them had been close to one another at the launch site – so while the pads weren't random chance or malfunctioning, the simple fact was that they'd accidentally chosen different launchpads to what they had in the past. Now, they were being scattered in what might as well be random directions.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Qrow swore and flapped his arms about to adjust himself, so he was falling feet first. "Just my luck for not thinking of this! Okay, fine. Got to find them."

He marked their rough locations in his head, used to doing so from the sky thanks to his bird form, and created a mental map. It was nothing he hadn't done before, and if he could track down two runaway kids in the dark in a forest then he could sure as hell find his teammates. Qrow hit the canopy and punched through it, hitting the ground with an explosion of dust and a nasty chunk of aura torn away.

Some people had landing strategies. Qrow called those people fancy. And it'd have been a shit test for Beacon if half the candidates failed solely because they didn't have a way to slow themselves down from an air drop. It didn't happen all that often.

Releasing a deep breath, Qrow got to moving, instantly picking his way towards where Summer fell while trusting Raven and Taiyang to end up together. Taiyang would be hunting for her even if Raven wouldn't be, but he and Summer were the outliers.

The few Grimm that got in his way died with trivial ease. Genuine seventeen-year-olds could deal with them, and he had two decades experience over them. Here and there, he caught sight and heard others meeting up – some even calling out if anyone wanted to team up. Qrow cheated on that front, drawing out his scroll and just calling Summer. She answered on the second ring.

"Qrow!? Is this even allowed?"

"No rules against it from what I heard. Where are you? You and I are teaming up."

"We are!? I mean, yes! Great! Um. I don't really know where I am exactly, but I can make my way to the tall mountain. The base of it, anyway. Shall we meet there?"

"Yes. South side, okay? Wait for me and whatever happens don't show yourself to anyone other than Taiyang and Raven. Got it?"

"Got it! It was always the plan to have us four on a team, wasn't it?"

"It was. I'll see you there."

The moment the call ended, he called Taiyang as well, only to get no response. He must have been in a fight. Or he'd set his scroll to silent for the exam. Raven was no better, annoyingly, so he sent them both a text to meet him and Summer at the mountain. Things would have been simpler if they'd planned ahead for this, but he – in his stupidity – had assumed things would just play out as they did before, and the rest of them hadn't known team allocations would be random like this.

"My fault," Qrow admitted, carving through the neck of a Beowolf and jumping past its falling body. "No one else to blame, not even my Semblance for this one. I got arrogant and now I'm left to pick up the slack."

If nothing else, it was a learning experience.

Some things would play out the same as they did in his time – Mountain Glenn, Salem, probably the Vytal Festival – but other things could change by even the smallest margins. Such as which launchpads they chose, or maybe even who ended up on what team. By taking pads other people had used in the past, he might have fucked up their teams as well.

Luckily, they'd never know he'd changed the past like that, but he'd still gone and done it. Gretchen and Peter might have entirely different teams now. Maybe they'd be better teams or worse, but it was his lack of foresight.

It shouldn't change who passes or fails, though. Skill plays a larger factor in that than random chance of where you land. The skilled candidates will be the best at adapting and succeeding no matter what.

And if there was one thing Qrow had in abundance, it was skill.

/-/

The problem, as it turned out, wasn't so much a lack of skill on his part as it was on others around him. Qrow had been travelling for some seven minutes and run across three sets of people, some alone and others in pairs, and even one set of the books needed for graduating. Sadly, someone else had also seen it, and Qrow didn't want to run afoul of a disqualification rule by attacking them, so he moved on.

Not everyone shared that philosophy.

The sounds of combat weren't in themselves unusual in the Emerald Forest, but there was a marked difference between huntsman on Grimm and huntsman on huntsman. It was something an experienced huntsman picked up on, the cadence of gunshots and the absence of bestial sounds. The scream helped, followed by angry shouting.

Someone had decided to attack their fellow combatants.

And he couldn't just ignore that.

Even if he had to meet with Summer, there was still Willow and Gretchen out in the forest who could end up injured or worse, and he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if that happened. Cursing, Qrow adjusted his path and came to a slow jog, crouching low as he approached the combat.

Sure enough, there was one person downed and two others approaching a lone person – Peter Port, no less. The wiry lad that would one day go on to become one of Beacon's premier instructors was standing over his downed companion with his musket gripped in two hands like a club, and his opponents were fanning out to challenge him from two sides at once. They more than had the edge, and Peter wouldn't be able to take both of them on while also defending a wounded combatant.

Did us choosing different launchpads cause this as well? I've no idea if this happened the first time or not. And Peter might end up never making it as a teacher if he gets hurt here.

Qrow let out an angry breath and threw himself into the clearing. Peter technically had a partner now in the downed huntress, so Ozpin shouldn't feel the need to stick them together. A quick glance at the wounded teen showed it was an arm and leg wound, but nothing that ought to cripple her. Qrow didn't recognise the girl, but then he hadn't recognised Peter either, so that didn't mean anything.

"Oi!" Qrow shouted, making sure the aggressors knew he was there. "What's all this? Do you really think Beacon is going to take on people who attack their fellow huntsmen? Use some common sense, why don't you—" He cut off, leaning back wildly to dodge the shot haphazardly sent his way. It looked like diplomacy wasn't an option. "Bad choice, friend. Two of you and two of them; you should have teamed up."

"We already have friends we agreed to team with," said one of the guys, turning to Qrow with a sword and shield. "Keep the other pinned," he told his friend. "I'll handle this show-off."

Qrow cocked an eyebrow and snorted. If this moron thought he could take him on, he had another thing coming. Hopefully, Summer would be fine for the few short minutes this would take.

"Qrow!" Peter yelled, as sword and shield charged in. "His Semblance affects his shield!"

Good information to have, even if it wasn't strictly needed. Qrow hopped back as the guy slashed a feint and then lashed out with his shield, smiling so cockily that Qrow would have seen a gimmick coming even without the warning. The shield looked normal, but the telltale shimmer of air around it told him it wasn't. When the man thrust it forward, a wall of air generated either by a hidden mechanism or a Semblance burst outward, catching Qrow and knocking him back a few paces.

If he were shocked, that might have given the guy time to catch him with his follow-up thrust, but Semblance-tricks like that only really worked on people in the first year or so. By the time you had proper aura control and a little experience, you weren't going down in one hit anyway, so the best it ever did was score a cheap hit.

Qrow didn't even give him that. Parrying with Eagle, Qrow diverted the sword to the side and threw Talon, knowing full well the shield would come up to contemptuously block it. Everyone with a shield fought the same way for the most part, making them predictable but also reliable. With Qrow's sword engaged and the knife out his grip, the boy felt safe blocking his own vision with the shield.

He wasn't. Stepping in, Qrow slid his hand under the shield and gripped the bottom, then pulled out to angle the shield outward. The bottom edge came out, the top edge went in, and a quick jerk upwards send that top edge cracking into the man's face, hitting the bridge of his nose and knocking him back with a startled cry.

Typical first year mentality. No one ever understood your own weapons could be used against you. Neither had Qrow, at the time, and neither had Yang or Ruby or just about anyone. Fights in Signal were too safe, too fair, and that was because they had to be since the kids didn't have the best aura control yet.

Beacon was where the training wheels came off.

Lashing out over the shield, Qrow grabbed the man's hair and yanked his head painfully to the side, checked his hip into the shield, and suddenly reversed his pull, punching the guy in the face. He obviously wasn't used to a fair fight suddenly ignoring the fact they each had weapons and spacing and a referee to break them apart whenever they got locked or messy.

Qrow practically abandoned his own weapons to show the kid why even when Qrow specialised in a scythe, he'd still been good enough to be Taiyang's sparring partner and Yang's teacher. A quick one-two to the jaw had the shield clumsily coming back up to buy time, and Qrow smirked and grabbed it with both hands, rotated it to break the boy's grip or break his wrist if he didn't let go, and then tore it away from him and cracked the edge into his face a second time.

Was it cruel to take a boy's shield and beat him to a paste with it when you were more than twice their age and experience? Yes. Yes, it was. As one-sided as it looked, the fight might as well have been bullying. There was no glory in it, but, like any huntsman worth his salt, Qrow had a dark and angry place in his heart reserved for those who attacked their allies. All huntsmen were on the same side. That was a creed they lived by.

Snapping out a kick, Qrow caught the disarmed boy in the jaw and sent him sprawling back with a crackle of fading aura. The other, who had been left to deal with Peter, looked on in shock and dismay.

"Take him and go," said Qrow. It was tempting to fight him as well, but then they'd have the conundrum of what to do with two unconscious kids. Leaving them would surely mean abandoning them to die to the first Grimm that stumbled across them, and Ozpin and the teachers would see it.

It was better to let them go so he didn't have to deal with them.

The other boy dragged his friend up and away. "We won't forget this!" he threatened.

Qrow snorted. "Yeah, I bet your friend won't forget the time he was beaten within an inch of his life with his own weapon. I wouldn't forget that either." He ignored the duo and moved to Peter. "Are you two okay?"

"More than okay after your timely arrival, friend!" Peter offered his arm, and Qrow linked his with it. "A true huntsman, you are. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on you, of course, but now—"

"P—Peter," the young woman under him groaned. "You mind stepping off me before you talk with your friend…?"

"Ah!" Peter blushed and hopped off, then hurried back to help the girl to her feet. She was a pale-skinned young woman with hair halfway between blonde and orange, sort of a strawberry-blonde shade, tied up in a bun. She was limping and favouring one arm as well, and her weapon – a small hand-crossbow by the looks of it – was discarded nearby.

Qrow stooped for that and picked it up, then handed it back so she could attach it to her belt with a mumbled, "Thanks."

"What happened?" asked Qrow.

"Fiends," Peter replied, as the girl rolled her eyes. "Miss Peach and I had just met up and decided to help one another when those two came out the trees and asked if we wished to team up. We agreed, naturally, having little reason to say no, and they asked us if we'd found one of the books." Peter let out a furious sigh. "To my utter shame, I was foolish enough to admit that we had!"

"You couldn't have expected it," said Peach. "And the name is Nessa, but please just call me Peach. I hate my name and I hate Ness twice as much."

"Is it short for anything?"

"I wish." The girl puffed her cheeks out. "If I was called Vanessa I could at least stomach that. But no, it's just Nessa."

"Nessa—" Peter winced when the girl hit him over the head. "Peach is wounded," he said. "They were right by her when they showed their true colours and struck before she could even bring her aura up. I rushed in, of course, but I could do nothing more than push them aside and cover her. We're in no condition to fight, Qrow. If you wish our book, you can take it with our thanks and without a fight."

"I'm not interested in robbing you two." He noted their immense relief. Even if they'd offered, they obviously didn't want him to take it. "And I'm looking to meet up with some people I promised to team with. Will you two be okay…?"

"We shall be fin—ow!"

"We won't be fine," Peach said, tweaking Peter's ear with her good hand. "I'm sorry, but there's no point in lying. I can only hop around and contribute with a few crossbow bolts as I am, and Peter has to cover me."

Damn it. He'd known, of course, but he'd kind of hoped that bravado would win out and he could leave them to the rest of initiation without guilt. It almost worked with Peter being as he was, too.

Well, I can work with this.

"Look, there are six of us who are friends," said Qrow. "How about I help you two toward them and you can partner with my friends who are left over."

Gretchen and Willow needed teammates anyway, and there was no reason it shouldn't be these two. Peach was another future teacher of Beacon if he recalled correctly, though one for an elective subject solely for upper years. One around camp survival, botany, and cooking. A subject hated by most students, but regarded with a lot of gratitude by huntsmen in the field who relished the fact they could hunt and cook good food in the wild.

Peach smiled, and Peter looked thrilled. "That would be ideal," she said. "I'm sorry to be such a burden but we'll pay you back. We have at least one book between us."

"It's fine. Gretchen and Willow could use good teammates. Are you okay to support her, Peter? I'll take point."

Peter looped an arm under hers and held her wounded side against his, letting her balance on one leg and let him act as her crutch. It was awkward going, but it was movement, and since they had one of the books between them, they were as good as halfway done.

It shouldn't matter anyway. Summer knows to stay hidden, while Taiyang and Raven will be partnered. Raven won't accept anyone being on our team other than me and Summer, so she'll have them staying hidden as well.

What point was there in coming back to fix mistakes if he made new ones by ignoring those in trouble? Biting back his frustration, Qrow led the duo toward the low mountain where Summer was waiting.

/-/

Qrow was late.

Summer tried not to let that bother her, especially when he'd specifically called her to arrange for them to team up. Her. Not Willow, not Raven, not Taiyang, but her – Summer Rose. And that had to mean something, even with him friend zoning her at graduation and the school prom.

Yeah, it means something… her brain provided. It means he sees us as a friend and nothing more. Big whoop.

Scowling, she hunkered down and watched another duo walk by. It looked like the mountain was something of a meeting point for a lot of them, which made sense given it was the only real landmark to be seen. Summer stayed hidden anyway, just in case some of them got it in their heads to trim the competition.

It didn't feel right to her to attack other people like that.

But desperation made fools of people.

Love did, too, and not even her own this time – because Taiyang and Raven were being stupid enough to not have their scrolls turned on. Summer personally found them cute, but that was when she didn't have team assignments weighing on her mind. Those two idiots needed to stop flirting and start focusing.

"Qrooooow! Qrooowwwwww!"

And then there was this idiot. Summer's face twitched as Willow Schnee walked by for what must have been the fifth time, shouting out the name of her partner at the top of her voice. Talk about spoilt, acting like she could just call Qrow like a dog and have him as her teammate.

As if. It's been me, Ray and Qrow since… since forever. I'm not letting her come ruin it.

"Qrooooow!"

"Hey, I need a teammate," said a rather plan-looking guy with what he probably thought was a winning smile. "How about you and I team up?"

Willow turned to regard him, hands on her hips. "Is your name Qrow?"

"No. I'm—"

"Then do me a kindness and walk on. I already have my partner selected."

Summer felt bad for the guy, especially since all he'd done was try and flirt a little. There was turning someone down and then there was dismissing them. At least Ray… okay, maybe Ray was ten times worse, but at least Summer didn't treat people like that. Even the meatheads at the gym got a polite rejection from her where she could give it, not that it stopped some of them responding by calling her frigid or a teasing slut. Assholes.

This poor guy just looked depressed, however, trudging off with his head hanging low. Summer would have gone out to say something to him, but she had to wait for Qrow. Maybe she'd find the guy later, assuming he passed, and tell him Willow was just a bitch like that.

"Qrooooow!"

"Ugh, that idiot." Summer pressed her forehead to the bark of the tree she was hidden behind. "Are you seriously going to just keep shouting? And she's right in front of me, too. What if Qrow finds her before me? Should I start shouting as well? No, that's stupid."

"Qroooo—ah!"

Willow twirled as a Beowolf lunged from the treeline for her. The other girl might have been loud and a year younger than her, but she wasn't helpless. The spear Qrow had forged flicked out and sliced through half the beast's neck, and Willow hopped aside as it completed its lunge and fell to the floor bleeding out.

"Oi!" Willow snapped. "Don't interrupt me…" Her eyes met Summer's through the bushes. "Ugh. You."

Summer stood. "Me."

"Why are you creeping around in the undergrowth?"

"Because I am teaming up with Qrow," Summer said, proudly. "He called me and arranged to meet—" Her brain caught up with her, and Summer's lips sealed shut.

Too little too late.

"Meet here?" asked Willow, with a coy smile. "Is that what you were about to say?"

"…" Summer growled inside her head. "No."

"Then you won't mind if I just so happen to hang around here, will you?"

"There's a whole initiation out there," Summer hissed. "Go find a red book!"

Willow raised one hand.

And the red book in it.

"HOW!?" Summer hissed. "It's been less than fifteen minutes!"

"I landed next to it."

"Unfair! That's unfair! You can't just get by on nothing more than luck!"

"And yet here I am, getting by. Also, I landed next to this because I adjusted my falling path to land on a tree after arresting my fall, so it was technically skill that led me to this." Willow smirked. "But I can understand you being confused about that."

"Me? Confused? You're the one who seems to have confused Qrow choosing me as his partner!" Summer crossed her arms and enjoyed the look of panic on the younger girl's face. "Did he call you? Did he text you? Maybe it's time you wake up to the fact he doesn't want you."

Willow stomped forward and pushed the book into Summer's nose. "If that's true then why aren't you dating, huh? Just because he wants to be your partner in school doesn't mean he likes you."

Summer grabbed the book and pushed it aside. "Get out of my face."

"Get out of my lane!"

"Get out of my—"

"Give up the book!"

That hadn't come from Summer or Willow.

It came from the four – four! – students arranged in a circle around them, weapons drawn and pointed inward. They must have caught them arguing and encircled them without her or Willow noticing. Angry as they were, they quickly spun and slammed their backs together, two rivals back-to-back against greater numbers.

"This is all your fault," hissed Willow.

"You were the one shouting Qrow's name like a banshee!"

"Bitch—"

"Oi!" One of the boys in the enemy team let out a groan. "If you two just hand over the book, you can go back to fighting over whatever it is you're fighting over. We just want to get into Beacon."

"Don't interrupt us!" Willow and Summer shouted in unison.

The guy scowled. "Fine! Whatever! Take them down!"

/-/

Raven scowled.

"What is it?" asked Taiyang, obnoxiously close as always.

"It's you. You're the problem."

He smiled. "I don't believe that."

"Hah." Raven sighed. Why couldn't she have just partnered up with her brother? Damn it all. "I thought I heard two idiots who have replaced their brains with mush screaming in the distance."

"Good idiots or bad idiots?"

"Our idiots."

"Ah." Taiyang laughed, the sunlight reflecting off his face in a way that made Raven want to stab him, and then herself. "Then I guess we'd better go save our idiots from whatever trouble they've gotten themselves into, hadn't we?"

"Yes." Raven headed in that direction. "Maybe I'll get lucky and you'll die en route."

"It'd take more Grimm than this forest has to take me away from you."

"A girl can dream…"

Next Chapter: 17th August

Like my work? Please consider supporting me, even if it's only a little a month or even for a whole year, so I can keep writing so many stories as often as I do. Even a little means a lot and helps me dedicate more time and resources to my work.

P a treon . com (slash) Coeur