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Requested By : Polemoduke

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For the fifth time that day, Yang undid the knots holding the empty provision crates against the end of the cargo hold and pushed them back, pulling the rope through another attempt at the knot the man watching had shown her. He was strong, but in a wiry sort of way, with dark skin covered in long lines and divots of pink scars. Some of them were highlighted in white and blue ink in the shapes of fish and, on his chest, a squid. It made him look scary, like a pirate with a bald, scarred head and a shaggy beard tied into braids pinned by bronze and copper rings. Even so, he was nice enough, and when Yang was satisfied he lumbered over quietly to tug at the ropes and check the metal rings on the wall they ran through.

"Better." He grunted after just long enough looking that Yang started to get nervous. He tapped the knots resting against the rings and grunted, "Ring fittings 're worn, but t'ain't on you. She's good for sittin' 'less we go tipsy. But won't matter much then, eh?"

"Right…" Honestly, she still couldn't parse half of what he said. But he was grinning instead of frowning, and seemed pleased.

"Done good work." He explained with a roll of his bright blue eyes and a sigh. "For all your lackin' in hearin' right an' good, you learn quick. I'd be happy to have you as one of my mates anytime. 'Least, when you're a wee bit older."

"I do fine now, though…"

"Yeah, but…" He shrugged, "Ship ain't no place for a kid. Least… Least, not one like this."

"Why not…?"

He only shrugged and waved her off in that way she'd learned really quickly translated to 'I'm not going to say and will send you away if you try and make me'. So, as much as she hated to… She let it go and turned to recheck her knots again, studying them. Trying to make sure she remembered what she'd done and how, exactly. It was almost exactly the same thing as what her dad had taught her to do after spars, miming and motioning to memorize each step.

Unlike normal, though, Basil grunted to cut her off, "Hey, kid, Boss wants you on-deck."

"Yeah?" She cocked her head, "Why?"

"Why else?" He chuckled, "Land-ho!"

She blinked in surprise - she'd been told they had another day at least that morning - and turned to run for the stairs when Basil waved her off with a laugh. She took them on all fours, more climbing than running up them, and had to duck around a woman trying to carry an empty box down into storage. She swore and stumbled and threw herself against the wall to catch her balance, but she didn't say much of anything to Yang. At least in a language she understood.

On deck, the crew was in a frenzy, stowing crates and washing their hair and checking swords and rifles in a chaotic mix. The two mid-ship officers she'd met were coming and going in the mess, barking orders, but only one paused long enough to speak to her.

"Up on deck." She barked, "Boss and her friend are waiting for you."

"Right! Uh, thanks!" She grunted, even though she'd figured as much - where else would they be? Raven was almost always up there, and her dad would want to see them come in, so it was obvious. Still, being polite was a good thing.

Her dad had stressed that more than once on their cruise.

The two were waiting up on the steering deck, but only Raven was facing her, leaning back against the railing and staring up at the clouds. For a second, Yang thought she looked… Angry. But she relaxed when Yang met her eyes and bumped her dad's arm as Yang came over and he turned, smiling and grunting, "Are you too big for uppies, young lass?"

"I mean…" She grumbled, flicking the railing he was tapping a look and shrugging. "If you could not call it that-"

"Sounds like you aren't too big for uppies!" He cut her off, grabbing her and ignoring the kick she planted in his Aura-shielded stomach. He set her down on the railing and she leaned back against him, crossing her arms.

But Menagerie… Kind of stole her anger away.

It was huge, with a wide, sandy coastline that stretched to either side and little clusters of houses scattered along hills that rolled up to short, green-topped mountains. Docks stuck out into the water along the beach, most of them only long enough for a few fishing boats. But a few wound out further, long enough for several larger boats she could see little blurs she took to be people working on, with walkways stretching between them dotted by buildings. Buildings too small to be warehouses…

"What are those…?"

"Sea-houses." Raven answered with a short, irritated grunt. "Houses built out on the water. Not the easiest to keep warm, but…"

"It's the tropics." Her dad grunted, "Getting warm isn't the real issue."

"Not typically." Raven grunted, something… Sour ekeing into her voice before she sighed and turned to leave. "I should make sure we're ready to land. They won't like Humans showing up and-"

"Come on, Rae, don't do-"

"Shut. Up. Tai." Raven growled, punctuating each word with a finger jabbing into his shoulder before she stalked away while her dad sighed and watched her head over to the man at the wheel, talking to him and watching the people on the deck below get ready.

"Well, this is going to be fun, with her like that…"

"What's going on?" She asked quietly, feeling the man behind her stiffen before he sighed and patted her head.

"Nothing you need to worry about, kiddo, just…" He snorted and gestured at the vast jungle slowly coming into view, where she could even see fruit now, dotted amongst the leaves. "Trouble in paradise?"

"Why…" She sighed, "Is everything a joke?"

"Dunno. Coping mechanism?" She thumped his stomach with an elbow and he sighed, pointing out a long, narrow ship as it pulled away from the docks and turned towards them. Like many of the others, it was wide and sat deep in the water, with patched sails and nets off the sides.

Unlike them, though, it had half a dozen people in black robes carrying shields on board…

"Daaaad…"

"Don't worry, kiddo." He grunted, playing with her hair idly like he would for Ruby when he wanted to calm her down. "Just the welcoming committee…"

"With spears?"

"Would you prefer the 'unwelcoming committee…?"

"It looks more accurate." She grimaced, worry bubbling up in the back of her throat. It tasted like acid, and made her feel stupid when she stammered, "W-We're okay… Right?"

"We're-"

"Just fine, brat." Raven cut in, rejoining them and leaning against the railing heavily on one hand while the other fingered the grip of her long sword, its heavy black sheath resting at an angle around her hip, almost across the back of her waist. "Menagerie's Faunus just want to be let alone, mostly. And the governors preach against violence, the fools.:

"There's nothing wrong with being peaceful, Rae."

"So," the woman scoffed, shaking her head, "since we won't start anything, they probably won't either."

She turned to give her dad a questioning look, and he smiled and nodded, "She's right about that… We should be able to get along just fine."

"Okay…"

She was still nervous as the fishing ship came along-side theirs and one of the soldiers, a broad-shouldered Faunus with a long, meaty lizard tail and scales along his bare forearms, called out, "Come to a stop and prepare for boarders!"

Yang heard a few people on the deck say something, and turned to see a couple who had come onto the steering deck lay their hands on their swords and their guns. But, for all their apparent anxiety, all Raven did was call back, "By all means. We have nothing to hide here."

That seemed to relax the crew near her and Yang hopped off the railing as Raven made her way over to the side. Her dad followed close behind and, when she tried to peek through the gaps, picked her up and tossed her up onto the railing in the corner by the stairs, where she could balance on her own. On the deck below, the mercenaries were making space. Most of them were still armed, like normal, but their hands weren't even near their weapons, even if they looked ready for a fight otherwise with their arms crossed and faces twisted into angry scowls. And a few looked angrier in a different way, glaring up at Raven's back and muttering to themselves.

Until they saw her looking and slipped away, further up the ship like…

Like they were scared of her for some reason?

She was jerked out of her thoughts by a heavy wooden thwack and turned as a long, wide board slid into place between the ships. A couple of the black-robed men climbed over first, carrying ropes they tied the board still with before they made space for another three men to come over. Two wore the same sort of uniform, but one… One was huge, with an open purple coat that trailed behind him and showed off a powerful looking chest.

He landed on the deck with a heavy thud and turned as a woman came to join him, taking his hand and letting him help her down before he turned and spoke up at Raven, "My name is Ghira Belladonna, Chieftain of Menagerie. And this is my wife."

"Kali." She nodded, smiling thinly as she turned and met Yang's gaze. She cocked her head and smiled just that bit wider as she added, "I didn't expect children…"

"Not from that flag, at least." Ghira added as Yang watched Raven descend the stairs to meet them, leaving her with her father who wrapped a protective arm around her. He pointed above them where a tattered red flag had been hung, with a raven sewn in black and silver onto it. "Normally I'd ask what brings Humans to our home out of curiosity, but…"

"You stirred up a bit more than that." His wife offered, gesturing at the guards they'd brought. "More than this, even."

"We didn't come for a fight." Raven promised, spreading her hands out to either side as if showing that her hands were empty would prove it. "We're just… Looking for someone."

"That doesn't sound ominous at all." The larger Faunus rumbled, "Please, do come right in."

"It isn't like that." Raven tried, "Not at all."

"And we're just to take your word on that?" The woman asked, pacing forward a step and frowning deeply. She was smaller than Raven, and far smaller than her husband, but both seemed to regard her with a sort of… Respect that Yang couldn't understand. Not really. Quietly, she went on, "Everyone knows you, Raven Branwen. One of the most feared so-called Chieftains in the whole of Mistral's South. Head of an old clan. A clan of killers, marauders…"

"We've changed."

"So the rumors go." Kali frowned, "Extortionists instead of thieves. 'Paid protection', I believe one of our liaisons in Mistral described it as… Among other ventures. And my, what a nice ship. I wonder how it ties into those, hm?"

"All we want is to look for-"

"Who?" Ghira demanded loudly, "And why? Give us their names, where they're likely to be, and why you want them. And maybe we'll consider it."

"Who we're looking for is… Complicated." Raven said, taking a long, deep breath like her dad did whenever he was trying not to snap at something. "But we don't want to hurt them. We just want to… To talk to them. They're-"

"My Bonded." Yang cut her off, turning and, when her dad tried to stop her, sliding off the corner and onto the stairs. She landed awkwardly, slid down a step, but caught herself and walked over to the dark-haired woman before her dad could get down the stairs to her. He only just managed to reach her as she did, grabbing her shoulder while Yang stammered, "W-We're here looking for her because"

"Yang, let the adults-"

"Because we're pretty sure she's in the White Fang!" She snapped, yanking her shoulder free and avoiding looking behind her. Quietly, she said, "I… Felt her get hurt, but no one that Mistral recorded being there was in our, uh, list. So…"

"You assumed it was someone that would have to escape." The woman murmured, taking a step closer to her and then flicking a look at Raven when she took a step to stop her. "Trust goes both ways, Branwen."

"...Fine." She grunted finally, "But if you try anything-"

"I won't." Kali smiled, "And I'm sure you can take my word for it."

"Tch…"

"Now…" Kali sighed, turning and kneeling in front of Yang so that Yang was actually taller than her. Smiling, she asked, "Why don't you tell me what happened? It must have been a rather big deal for you all to come so far."

"My sister…" Yang started, anxiety making the words catch in her throat. But a hand on her emblem calmed her, reminded her what she was doing and why, and she went on, "Her Bonded, she was hurt a lot. Growing up, we… Could just watch, and hope that we found some kind of- Of something to find her. When they did, and she left… I felt mine get hurt, too. It was so scary a-and I couldn't- All I could think about was Ruby a-and-"

"You couldn't leave your Bonded when she might be suffering…"

"Yeah." Yang nodded, "R-Right. It's dumb, a-and not fair to Ruby, I know, but- I couldn't just stay while Ruby went after hers."

"Ruby was young, I take it?" Kali asked, this time looking up to her dad. He nodded and she grimaced, turning back to Yang and sighing, "That must have been impossible to face…"

"Y-Yeah." It had almost felt like betraying her, somehow, but… "I just couldn't."

"It wasn't dumb of you, nor is it any kind of betrayal to your sister. I hope that, one day, you understand that." Kali smiled, standing while Yang blinked up at her in surprise. She paced over to speak to the Chieftain, who blinked in surprise at whatever she'd said. But, after a few more quiet words, she turned and said, "My husband will show you to a landing and dock further up the beach, and I will send someone along to show you what fruits are safe to eat and how to prepare them."

"You're free to stay until your business is done," the chieftain rumbled, "as long as you stay out of trouble."

"I wish you all the luck in the world." Kali called as she and her crew went back to their own ship, waving as it pulled away and Yang was left behind on the deck.

As it left, her father spun her around and thumped her shoulder, "What was that?!"

"W-What?"

"You can't just run off on your own without talking to us first, Sweetheart." He sighed, shaking his head, "What if things had gone bad, there? Or you'd hurt yourself when you fell on the stairs."

"I have Aura…"

"And you're dodging the point." He growled, standing and throwing his hands out to either side. She backed up a step as he spoke, voice flat and even in that way he always had it when he was mad at her, "What if any of these guys had started something? Or what if their guards had thought they were? It wouldn't have just been a fight, Yang! We would have to leave! All of this is for you, and you just risked it for no-"

"She did the right thing." A hand on her shoulder steadied her and she looked up at Raven, standing behind her and frowning deeply. "We're helping, Tai, but this is her mission."

"She's a kid, she can't have her own missions." Her dad argued quietly, shaking his head when Raven only cocked her head and hummed sarcastically, pulling Yang back to stand beside her and crossing her arms. Her dad scowled in answer and pointed a finger at her, "The Academies are different. Don't even try it, Rae-"

"Are they really?" She snapped, "Because I remember you leading a few missions when you were barely seventeen."

"That's still-"

"And how old were you when you were in pre-Academy?" She cut him off, stepping closer to get in his face. He backed up a step and Raven followed, leaving Yang behind to argue, "Children are trusted to make decisions every day, all over Remnant, with bigger risk than that. And it worked besides, didn't it?"

"Because that's all that matters!" Her dad shouted, "Right? The ends, not the means. Not the risk! She needs to think with her head!"

"It worked!" Raven pressed, "And what else could have happened? A scuffle? Oh boo hoo! We'd have been fine."

"And then what?"

"Then we'd have found another way and-"

"Would you to stop it!" Yang shouted, blood pounding in her ears as she forced herself between them and pushed them away from each other. Looking between them, she felt tears stinging at the edges of her eyes. "Why can't you just… Gods! Why can't you just be normal parents for once!?"

She stormed away, towards the storage decks, and ignored both of them calling after her, confused and startled. Basil was waiting when she got down there, but all he did was point towards a stack of crates that needed moved to the back and then he left her to it while he worked on something else. And, she was sure, kept an eye on her - she knew that was his job, too, after all. He hadn't even tried all that hard to hide that part.

A while later, she heard lighter footsteps come up behind her, but she ignored them and kept working. After a few seconds, Raven finally sighed and said, "Look, do you want to talk about it or-"

"What's to talk about?" She shrugged, "Just let me know when you're ready to look for a lead."

"I… How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"About-" She turned and Raven was staring at the floor, hands curling and uncurling at her side anxiously. She flicked Yang a pleading look, but she just crossed her arms and let her sit in the quiet. Finally, she asked, "How… How much do you even know?"

"Enough." Yang muttered, "You and dad used to be together."

"How can you-"

"The way you talk." She cut her off, "And fight. I'm not an expert, but… You two know each other really well. And the way you fight the, uh, other kind of fight… Plus we look alike."

"That all…?"

"No." She shook her head, "I… Have an old picture, hidden in my room, of you."

"A-Ah…" She sighed, "The team picture…?"

"Yeah." She nodded, "The one with you between dad and… And mom."

For another long while, Raven was quiet… Until she finally turned and pulled herself up onto a half empty crate to sit on. Resting her elbows on her knees, she spoke, sounding almost… Scared, somehow, "We were Bonded. The three of us."

"That can happen…?"

"Rarely, but yes." Raven nodded, "We met in Beacon, in fact. Sum- Your, ah, mom. She always said it was destiny. That we met like that. And we were… For a few years, it was good. Maybe five or seven years. Then you were- I-I mean, uh, we were- I was-"

"I know what pregnancy is." She sighed, chuckling under her breath. "School taught us."

"Right…" She sighed, hand curling and uncurling again. "Sum and your dad thought it was hilarious…"

"Why?"

"I was never the 'stay at home' type." She shrugged, gesturing at herself and sighing tiredly, "I needed to travel- To fight. It's how I was raised. What I am. We wanted a family, but… Well, Summer was supposed to be the mom-mom. Tai earned from Signal and I went on missions for extra money. It's how we bought our place- They paid the bills and I brought home the real money."

"I guess…"

"But then… Then Summer asked me to… To…" She sighed, took in a shuddering breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fuck, this is so hard. I can't believe your father left me to do this shit all on my own…"

Yang didn't say it, but she wasn't surprised. Unless there was something to fight, or someone was hurt, he wasn't great at a lot of things. Uncle Qrow tended to be the comforting type, and her dad followed his example, but as often as not her dad was…

Well, her dad.

"Ruby and I never knew how she died…" Yang murmured, changing the topic, "Mom, I mean. Do you…"

"Yeah." She sighed, "I was there. I… Do you want to know?"

"Ruby should be here…" Yang murmured, forcing herself to give Ruby that. After everything she'd been through that Yang couldn't help, she could give her this. It felt better. And besides, she… "I'm not ready for that. I'm already… It's already a lot, having it, you know. Confirmed."

"I understand…"

"Not really, you don't." She sighed, "But… Why did you leave us?"

"That's… Part of the story you want to wait for." She sighed, "But I can just tell you that part. If-If you want."

"I do." Yang nodded, turning and sitting on the floor, looking up at Raven and pursing her lips. Anxiety was churning in her stomach, but… She forced herself to ease back against the hull and asked, "What happened?"

"Well…" Raven sighed, "It was just after Sum… Just after what happened, and…"

Raven took a long, deep breath and started to talk, voice quiet and distant while she stared into the floor. Like she wasn't even there, with Yang, anymore.

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Raven Branwen was used to pain.

She'd been cut and stabbed and bludgeoned and shot more times than she could count, or even recall. She'd suffered burns and nearly frozen to death when she was young. All before she'd even left Mistral's lands behind. She'd suffered every kind of illness that couldn't kill her, growing up, and a few that very nearly had. She'd walked on broken bones, sat and grit her teeth while people - before and after Beacon - set the same, often with little more than a stiff drink for comfort. She'd even, once, been struck by a bandit's Semblance and been forced to feel like she was burning alive for hours - she and her Bonded had all needed weeks off from that.

But now…

Her chest burned, almost as bad as she'd felt when the bandit caught her, but it was a cold burn. Like ice, sliding out from her heart with every beat and dragging through her. Through arteries, through muscle, through bone. It made it hard to think, to move, to see - she only barely even had the wherewithal to open a portal, not even knowing the target and running on pure instinct, and stumble through it. Her foot caught on the edge of a table and she stumbled and collapsed onto the ground, leaving Omen where it lay and clutching at her chest, just trying to breathe past what felt like ice growing in her lungs. Trying to think past it crawling behind her eyes.

"R-Rae…" She heard from somewhere nearby and, simultaneously, so far away. Powerful hands pulled her up and she looked up at Qrow, his eyes wide, confused, and scared. "Tai is hurling in the bathroom, a-and I can't find Summer. I- What's going on?"

"Sum…" She murmured, barely able to get that much out before her stomach spun and she rolled over, throwing the nice sandwiches the woman had made for them up onto the rug.

"Summer…?" Qrow murmured, voice growing more and more distant until he finally murmured. "Oh fuck. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!"

She wasn't sure how long she lay on the floor, before she heard quiet footfalls and forced herself to roll onto her side and push herself up. Lavender eyes met hers as she came up, wide and confused and curious all at the same time. It made her chest ache all the more. She reached for her on instinct and Yang took a step closer, turning instead of spreading her arms for the hug, arms wrapped around a wriggling bundle that-

"W-Wah…"

Raven's eyes snapped down to the little bundle of former joy as the baby turned, blinking blearily up at her with those big… Silver… Eyes…

Her chest burned and she spun away, scrambling for something. Anything. Anything that might fend off the searing pain burning through her chest and up, along her spine and into her head. Her hand found Omen and she stumbled, turning and cutting a portal to- To somewhere. Anywhere that wasn't where those eyes were, ringing pain through her head like a gong. Humidity hit her before she realised she'd gone all the way through, and her shin hit a low trunk before she processed she was in a tent.

She fell, flailing and hurling Omen away to not hurt whoever it was, and heard a man grunt sleepily, "Fuggin' wha-"

Basil answered the way anyone in the Tribe would, turning and throwing her off him with a kick. He was looming over her before he recognized her and blinked, "R-Raven? What the-"

Finally, she broke down and screamed, hands clutching the side of her head like she could crush it - or the ice in her veins.

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"You… Ran from Ruby?" Yang murmured, staring into the floor and feeling… Something.

She wasn't sure what.

"It wasn't Ruby." Raven corrected her gently, voice… Frail, somehow. Like glass left out in the snow. Still intact, but it felt like the slightest push and Raven - the Huntress she'd seen scare what she was pretty sure were gangsters with her name - would fall apart. Rubbing her thumb and forefinger together, she explained, "Ruby was… It was your mother and father at the same time. All the best parts of both, mixed together, looking up at me at the same time. Wrong in all the perfect ways and… I couldn't look at that."

"I guess…" Yang murmured, "B-But why did you decide to stay away…?"

"It wasn't a decision." Raven grunted quietly, working her hand in a circle like she was motioning for something to hurry up. "It was… It was like one long moment- One great, long reaction, that was just- Just one long mistake- The worst in my life. And by the time that long moment felt like it was over, I- It had been years, Yang. And Ruby was suffering, and I didn't- I couldn't add to that. Couldn't be more."

"You were there, though…"

"I was." She nodded, "Out of sight- I figured you would both hate me for what I'd done."

"We don't-"

"You know who I am, and have for some time." Raven cut her off gently, turning a flat, almost hard look on her. "But I'm not 'Mom'. I'm 'Raven'. Right?"

"That's… Different."

"To you, maybe." She sighed, turning her gaze back on the floor, "Not to me. And certainly not to Tai- To your father. It wasn't just you I was too afraid of. Or even Ruby. Seeing him hurt just as much as seeing Ruby did, when I started coming back. It still does…"

"It does?"

"Like a cut on your arm." She offered, tapping her elbow, "It stings whenever you move- And reopens."

"Still…" Yang argued, for a reason she couldn't even explain, "Dad- I don't think he hates you."

"It's been a long, long time, Yang." Raven sighed, "Old, deep wounds become scars. And you don't feel them as much- But you never love a scar. Never enjoy a missing limb. And that's what I gave him- What feels like a missing limb, severed forever, and a deep, old scar he's learned to live with."

For a while, they were quiet, listening to the water outside and… Just thinking, Yang figured. Or maybe processing was the better word? She didn't know, really. She just knew that she… Really didn't know how she felt. Angry? A bit. But mostly just… Way more empty than she'd ever imagined this conversation leaving her, when she was younger.

"For… For what it's worth…" She murmured, looking at the side of Raven's head and frowning. "I don't. Um, hate you, I mean. And I'm sure Ruby wouldn't either- I don't think she's built with the hating brain juice."

"Hating brain juice…?"

"I dunno." Yang shrugged, "Where does hate come from?"

"The brain…?"

"Right." Yang nodded, "So hating brain juice. Ruby doesn't have it."

"Yes, well…" Raven sighed tiredly, "I can certainly hate myself for the three of us."

"But you shouldn't-"

"You'll understand regret when you get older, Yang." Raven cut her off again, just as gently as before. "The self-hate… It's built-in. Like the 'hating brain juice'."

"I guess…"

"You deserve better." Raven murmured, "I'm… I'm sorry."

"...dad always says we don't know what we deserve, so…" Yang sighed, "We should let life decide."

Raven shook her head and turned, "But-"

"My mom or not, y-you're here. In my life. And you're helping me- I would never be this close to her if not for you." Raven blinked, backing up a step when Yang stepped towards her. "Mom, Raven, I don't care, but- I need you in my life. As something. M-Maybe you and dad never get back together, maybe you only visit, but- I need you."

"Yang-" Raven grunted as Yang lunged forward, wrapping her arms around her and shaking as her head throbbed.

"Please…" She murmured, "Just try. I-I just want you to try."

A moment of silence passed before she felt a hand on her head and, distantly, Raven murmured a frail sounding, "O-Okay… If that's what you want."

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Tai leaned against the edge of the door, listening, and sighed as the silence that followed stretched on. Pressing a hand to a familiar throb on his chest, he looked out to the ocean and murmured, "Well… Couldn't be clean, eh, Sum?"

Distantly, a seagull cawed and Tai laughed.

Summer had hated sea-gulls…

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