RWBY: Am I your Teacher or Mother?
Chapter 5: Illusion
"I'm taking care of Ruby from now on." Qrow coldy said.
Glynda stood in the living frozen in shock at Qrow's declaration. She knew the drunkard was capable of some crazy shit in the past, but to tell her to hit the road with Weiss when Ruby needed them the most was inconceivable.
"I know your always drunk Qrow, but how much booze makes you think I'll just give her up?" Glynda bitterly asked him. Qrow narrowed his eyes and groaned at her statement.
"Her real parents are gone. Firecracker pulled some dumb shit and got herself arrested. She needs her REAL family Glynda." Qrow argued, but Glynda just shook her head in disproval.
"I am her real family. I have legal custody of her now, she is MY daughter!" Glynda yelled before catching her volume, she instantly darted her head towards Ruby's room; hopeful the girls did not hear her.
"COME ON YANG! STORYTIME! READ ME A BOOK!" Ruby cheered in a child-like tone with glee to who she thought was her sister.
"Yes, yes, cool your jets Ruby." Weiss groaned. The heiress's voice brought relief to Glynda who sighed, until she turned to see the bitter look on her friend's face before he pointed at the room.
"That's what I'm talking about. You're her legal mother, but that's the only truth to this bull crap charade." Qrow sneered. "You're a hunter teacher Glynda, you've taught kids to fight, but you've never raised a kid like Tai, Summer, or myself." Qrow sneered. Glynda just rolled her eyes unamused by the declaration.
"Oh yes, a drunkard like you raised her, look how that turned out." Glynda said sarcastically before her eyes widened, realizing by the angry look on Qrow's face she crossed the line.
"S-She's not well, I know but-" Glynda started to say nervously, feeling overwhelmed by Qrow's bitterness, until he cut her off.
"And I know, what those boys did to cause that under your school's watch." Qrow said with venom in his tone. The mere thought of his niece's attack made him instantly snatch his flask and chug the whole thing. The burn in his throat from the strong liquor was nothing to the one in his heart right now. He wasn't going to let Glynda "play pretend" when it came to Ruby's welfare, not when she and Ozpin failed to protect her once already. Glynda merely got infuriated that Qrow was drinking now of all times, it just made him less reliable as a guardian than her in that sense.
"Which is why she needs a mother to comfort her, not a drunkard who will probably throw her to the Grimm to fight her trauma away!" Glynda sternly said. Qrow just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly at that statement.
"I did that when she was 5 like she is now. Back then it helped her get over Summer's death." Qrow said somberly. Glynda's eyes widened as she heard him say that out loud.
"Shhh! She might hear you. The doctor's said her mind may reject her teenage self and never recover if she gets told that!" Glynda whispered frantically.
"Yeah? And when she does recover to that point you gonna leave her? Stop being Summer?" Qrow sneered sarcastically.
Glynda froze at that question. She honestly didn't consider that notion until just now. She knew for a fact the last part of what Qrow said was true, she would have to stop pretending to be someone she wasn't. The same went for Weiss, but what frightened Glynda was the storm she knew was going to come after.
"She would hate me and Weiss for lying to her wouldn't she?" Glynda said sadly and Qrow nodded.
"She wouldn't care you did it for her sake, she would just scream at you and drive you and her best friend away. Why bother stay and live a lie when your gonna be gone when she gets better, or at least a little bit?" Qrow asked her.
"I-I won't abandoned her, not like-*gasp*!" Glynda argued but was frightened as she realized something Qrow understood, having been confided in this once.
"Like your dad did to you." Qrow said, a bit of sadness in his tongue. Glynda just recoiled hearing this, flashes of that night she lost her parent's attacking her, drawing tears from her eyes.
"Ask yourself this Glynda before you reject me again. Are you doing this to help Ruby heal, or just to heal yourself?" Qrow asked her. Her eyes widened as she pondered this question, finding herself choking as she couldn't come up with a retort.
"Wha-What if that's true!? What if I am just doing this for me? Am I selfish? Do I really deserve to help her? Be her mother?" Glynda wondered to herself. The dark thought brought a chill to her spine as her legs shook, barely able to keep herself up. Qrow just sighed sadly at the sight, knowing he treaded upon very sensitive territory. After all, Glynda only told him this in confidence once, he hated using it as a weapon, but his niece came first always.
"Just go home now Glynda. Drunk or not I always know what's best for Ruby. She needs me now more than a shadow of her mom." Qrow demanded quietly but firmly.
"What do I do? Is he right? Will all I ever be is an illusion of a mother to this girl? Is there even a chance to be a real one?!" Glynda thought as her heart raced from her anxiety, she just didn't know what was right anymore. "What would Ozpin-" Glynda thought before her eyes widened in shock.
"Remember child, the pain will never go away. It's a curse you carry for all your life, it makes your heart bleed painfully. " Ozpin had said to her the night he adopted her. Back then she hadn't even spoken a word to the kind huntsman, yet he had taken her under his wing without anyone asking him to. Despite hating the world and wanting to ignore it and anyone like him, she just couldn't help but remember the kind words he said after his first lesson.
"But if you are willing to let others into your heart, the wound will close and only make it sore once in a while. You can't heal though if your alone." Ozpin said to her with a smile. It was from then on Glynda had taken his words to heart, it was in fact part of the reason she became a teacher, to guide others like he did for her. With that memory and lesson, Glynda found her inner fire reignited. She slapped her cheeks and gave Qrow a stern glare to his surprise.
"I won't let you or her drive me away. She needs a mother to help her heal and by God I'm to be the one she needs." Glynda firmly said, but Qrow scoffed at the notion.
"Does a mother just let her kid get beaten up by a grown man at the playground? Or get attacked by some perverts?!" Qrow hollered, his rage past its tipping point.
"*Sigh* I failed her once before, I know. It was my duty to protect my student-" Glynda said sadly before Qrow cut her off.
"Your just a teacher Glynda, a combat teacher, and your stern not motherly. I trusted you to train her in my absence to fight and protect herself from those horrors and you failed. I can't trust you with Ruby again, especially when you're just pretending to be Summer." Qrow said bitterly. The mere notion was insulting to him as he remembered his dead partner, she was a perfect mother in every way, pretending to be her was an impossible task, even for his friend Glynda.
Goodwitch bit her lip angrily at that declaration, almost reaching for her riding crop to fling this guy out of the house to settle this, but at that point, Ruby's door slammed shut as both hunters turned in shock to see a very angry Weiss in her pajamas glaring daggers at them.
"I am trying to get Ruby to sleep with a bedtime story, but can't concentrate because she keeps crying saying "Mommy and Uncle Qrow keep fighting. Make them stop Yang!"' Weiss scolded them.
While Glynda rubbed her shoulder awkwardly at the admonishment, Qrow was not moved in the slightest.
"Go home already Princess. Your no firecracker, you can't protect Ruby like Yang could." Qrow sneered.
"I know that. I know I couldn't protect my partner and best friend that day. I can't even really do it now. Sooner or later she'll remember and when she does she'll wish those Grimm or boys put her out of her misery." Weiss coldly said, catching them both off-guard at her bluntness.
"Weiss please not now." Glynda sternly said, trying to get her to go back to Ruby's room, but Weiss ignored her, walking straight up to Qrow. The older huntsman couldn't help but see Winter staring right at him, Weiss was her spitting image in both appearance and attitude, which made him know instantly this wasn't going to be pretty.
"My team couldn't save her, Professor Goodwitch couldn't save her….and you couldn't either." Weiss said with a sad frown on her face. Qrow gasped and doubled back hearing this, as did Glynda, shocked at Weiss's words.
"She is one of the strongest girls I have ever seen in all my life. You obviously knew how to train her but your not fit to raise her, especially when your hurting too much to do so. I can smell the booze on you, I know it will just get in the way." Weiss said firmly.
"I get drunk so what!? I was drunk when I trained Ruby. I can still protect her from Grimm unlike you brat!" Qrow yelled bitterly. His words made Weiss's eyes flood with tears as she smelled the booze on his breath.
Her mother Willow also succumbed to the temptations of the bottle, it having been the only coping mechanism for her shame of a marriage. But Weiss knew it soon became more important to the woman than her own daughters welfare, having not seen her sober in years. That's why she knew she couldn't trust Ruby to Qrow now.
"It was my fault she was weak and lost her virtue. I couldn't be there to protect my partner after, and I know that's how you feel now right?" Weiss tearfully asked him. Qrow's eyes widen as he heard those words, his body starting to shake up a bit, something Glynda noticed.
"Qrow? Is that true? Do you really blame yourself?" Glynda asked sadly, but her tone infuriated Qrow as he gritted his teeth and fixed her and Weiss and vicious glare.
"You know what, FORGET IT!" He yelled as he made for the door gripping the handle like a vice. Weiss trembled as she heard his angered voice, the veins on his red forehead especially unnerving. But soon Weiss found her will to remain firm as her heart calmed at the sight him paling as he oddly paused halfway out the door, as if wanting to say more.
But Qrow could only sigh as he slammed the door shut, actually breaking off the handle as he left. The impact made both Goodwitch and Weiss's hearts skip a beat before they sighed in relief.
"I think I'd honestly prefer a scolding from my father over doing that again." Weiss sighed as she fixed an awkward smile, one that descended as she saw Goodwitch sadly nod and plop to the ground with a bitter exhale.
"You okay professor?" Weiss asked her somberly.
"Thanks for sticking up for me Weiss but, I still can't help but wonder if this thing were doing is right." Glynda sadly said.
"I-I know this will hurt Ruby down the line, but we can't force things. She had to heal at her own pace, were just making it easier at the moment." Weiss nervously said, trying to fight her own discomfort the lie was bringing her. Her nervous tone did little to comfort Goodwitch who just rubbed her aching temple, her headache she would soon find out was going to worsen as a yell would soon startle them.
"Mommy! Yang! Where are you!" Ruby hollered from her room.
"Come on. Lets go comfort the baby." Weiss sighed as she grabbed Goodwitch's arm and forced her back off the ground, the older and taller woman much heavier than she seemed, not that Weiss dared to comment. A woman's weight and figure were sensitive subjects, and she didn't have the stones to face an offended Goodwitch after that debacle with Qrow.
Whatever uncertainty Goodwitch and Weiss had doubled as they entered Ruby's room, seeing the teenage girl dressed in red pajamas with a plushy Grimm logo on them and a stuffed Beowolf toy she held to her tearful face. Her sadness tugged at their heartstrings, along with a creeping fear she might have heard the truth come to light. Was that why she was crying for her mother and sister?
"Mommy? Yang? Why did Uncle Qrow leave? He usually gives me a goodnight hug." Ruby whined sadly. While Weiss just sighed with relief the truth didn't come out, Glynda's eyes widened in surprise as she heard about Qrow's usual routine with Ruby.
"Huh? Didn't think the drunk bastard had a soft spot like that, seeing as how he threw you to the beowolfs at 5." Glynda thought amused, allowing herself a smirk before she sat by Ruby on her bed.
"Your Uncle and me had a…disagreement Ruby. He got a little cranky and went to a bar tonight." Goodwitch said, deciding to lightened the reality of the fight to not worry Ruby.
"Will he come back?" Ruby asked fearfully. Goodwitch's eyes narrowed at the question.
"Knowing how stubborn this family of yours is, most definitely. But he's not taking you from me. No way in hell!" Goodwitch thought firmly.
"Maybe not tonight Ruby." Weiss interjected, seeing Goodwitch lost in thoughts. Ruby frowned heavily and sniffled at the declaration, causing Goodwitch to jolt as she scrambled to think of a way to alleviate the poor girl.
"B-But how about we do something fun while you wait for him. How about a story?" Goodwitch offered with a nervous smile. Ruby's eyes shined as she heard the idea, almost exploding out of her bed as she cheered at the idea.
"STORYTIME, STORYTIME, STORYTIME!" Ruby cheered. Weiss and Goodwitch smiled and felt a surge of relief at her behavior. They soon walked to the bookshelf to pick a story for Ruby, only for her skins to pale with fright as they saw the genres of the books Ruby had. While not surprising no children's books remained, likely in an attic as Yang and Ruby were teenagers at this point, the duo couldn't believe what they saw. Among the books were "Ninja's of love", a smut novel Blake was known to love reading, most of the others were war stories or romance type books, things not appropriate for a 5 year old, or in this case a teen with a 5 year old brain.
"My oh my! What a frightening child this one turned out to be. I certainly don't look forward to having "the talk" with her that's for sure." Goodwitch thought, shivering at the mere idea of it.
"Good Lord Ruby! I think Blake's been a bad influence on you." Weiss thought bitterly, almost tempted to waltz to the prison and slap the catgirl for corrupting this little "angel child" as she thought.
"Hurry up! I want to read book!" Ruby pouted impatiently. Weiss and Glynda frantically kept searching the bookshelf for a youth appropriate book at her request, but groaned as they had no such luck.
"BOOK NOW! BOOK NOW!" Ruby yelled with angry tears in her eyes, kicking her bed as her face reddened from her tantrum, only stopping when Weiss ran up and hugged her out of desperation.
"Okay, Okay! Big sis is gonna read! But Ruby these books I bought they….are not the right books for you." Weiss said nervously. Ruby raised an eyebrow as she calmed down, her confusion of those words overriding her frustration.
"Not right? But they're my books, what's wrong with them?" Ruby said a bit annoyed by the delay as well.
"Actually there….Moms books yeah lets go with that. Grown up books no no for kids right momma?" Weiss said with a mischievous grin as she saw Glynda get a bit flustered getting the blame pinned on her.
"Why would momma have bad books? And where's my books then momma?" Ruby innocently asked Glynda, whom she still saw as Summer, fidget in anger as she glared at Weiss for this.
"Oh your so getting double homework for that Schnee!" Glynda thought vindictively before sighing in exhaustion.
"I…have your books in the attic. I'll look for them tomorrow. For now since momma's dirty she's going to shower and go to bed. Yang….why don't you come up with a story to tell Ruby on your own?" Goodwitch said humming. Weiss was nervous as she felt the rage of Goodwitch's words, her smile lying to the heiress of her true emotions.
"Wha! B-But I don't…I mean can't you just…M-Mom!?" Weiss nervously stuttered as Goodwitch just hummed and left her to her taskwith a victorious smirk.
"YOU BITCH!" Weiss was very tempted to yell her thought out loud before Ruby tugged her pajamas impatiently.
"NEW STORY NOW!" Ruby yelled.
"Okay Ruby stop blowing up on me." Weiss sighed in frustration. Her patience was nearing its limit today as she tried to come up something before another tantrum could ensue. Suddenly those words she just said made Weiss's eyes widen as she got an idea.
"Okay Ruby, I've got a great new story for you" Weiss said in a soothing tone. Ruby's face shined as she heard this declaration.
"Is it romantic?! Is it action-packed?! Is it funny!?" Ruby inquired.
"Oh, it's a funny one alright." Weiss said honestly as she chuckled a bit as the nostalgia was a bit amusing looking back on it all.
"This is the story of the explosive princess." Weiss began. Ruby leaned her head forward, obviously intrigued by this title. Weiss couldn't help but smile a bit seeing those pure silver eyes of hers once more, having only seen them reddened from crying so much a week ago. It was a nice change of pace that made this somewhat embarrassing story a bit easier to tell.
"Once, there was a princess who loved to dress in red. Red glittery dresses, red slippers, red lipstick you name it she wore it if it was in red. Now, her parents didn't want her to leave her castle, fearing she would get into trouble for that." Weiss said.
"Why?" Ruby asked.
"Because in the kingdom she lived in, red wasn't viewed favorably upon." Weiss responded.
"Favor-what?" Ruby asked with her eyebrow raised, obviously confused by the wording Weiss could tell.
"*Sigh* it means liked. She wasn't liked for not dressing in colors others liked. In fact! One mean person especially didn't like it. She was known as the White Dust Witch!" Weiss said dramatically. Ruby retreated into her covers startled.
"A w-witch?" Ruby asked fearfully.
"Yes. A woman with magical powers or items she used to hurt others. It was why the red princess's parents tried to stop her from leaving home. They wanted her safe from the witch, but the princess's adventurous spirit couldn't be contained. She lived all her life in that castle, she had to explored the word. One night, she snuck out as her parent's slept, and made for the nearest city." Weiss said. Ruby lowered the covers a bit, still intrigued despite her fear.
"Then what happened?" Ruby asked. Weiss frowned a moment, obviously not liking this part. After all, white dust witch was obviously one of the things she was described back then considering her spoiled brat behavior, especially towards Ruby. Then again, it sure made for a good story.
"The dust witch soon found her, walking in the forest, lost on her way to the city. When the princess said she wanted to pass to go the city, the evil witch laughed. She said in return, "You don't deserve to go to a nice city! Only I deserve to be seen in pretty clothes and loved you dumb child, now hand them over!"' Weiss said as she squeaked her voice, blushing from embarrassment as Ruby laughed at her cute attempt to sound like a witch.
"Gah! The things I do for my partner." Weiss groaned in her mind, but still smiled at her partner's tension being eased.
"When the princess slapped the witch's hand away saying "Why should I give you my things you snotty brat!" The witch was furious. The witch then took out a magic white crystal and crushed it in her hands, and blew it on the princess's face saying "as punishment for denying what's rightfully mine, and sullying my presence with your foul breath, I'll make it so you can't ever go to the city. I'll make it so you can never even be seen in that dress again hehehe!" The witch snickered.
"At first, the princess was fine after breathing the white dust in, until her nose started to itch. She soon began to huff and puff and soon-" Weiss began dramatically chanting. Ruby leaned in, ever curious about what was to be said.
"Yeah! Yeah! Then what! Tell me!" Ruby said excited.
"The red princess earned her name, she sneezed and created a mighty explosion, BOOOOM!" Weiss yelled, knocking Ruby back onto her bed in surprise, but the teenage girl was excited nonetheless.
"The now explosive princess couldn't stop herself, she was sneezing and blowing up everything around her to the witch's glee. The witch said "now you can't go to the city and make friends or even go home to your parents. You'll just blow them all up hehehe! That's what you get for denying me my right!" Weiss snickered.
"Man! What a mean witch!" Ruby pouted. Weiss nodded in confirmation.
"Indeed. The princess was in tears; she couldn't ever go home or fulfill her dream of exploring the world. She would be cursed to be alone. That is…until a new friend came to save her." Weiss said warmly as she imagined a pair of black ears in her mind. Ruby stopped pouting as she grew curious at that development.
"She made a friend? Even when she blew everything up?" Ruby asked. Weiss honestly teared up a bit hearing that. She was now so grateful Blake told her off for blowing up at Ruby for that dust explosion in freshman year; it was what started her friendship with Ruby that touched Weiss's life and so many others.
"Yes, out of the ash's of the burned down forest survived a mysterious black talking cat. The cat saw what the witch had made the red princess do and cry. In its rage it pounced on the witch's face, scratching it and yelling "your mean! You don't deserve good things you spoiled brat leave her alone already!" Weiss said mimicking what Blake said, though omitted some harsher words towards her and her family name, careful not to expose a child to curse words or the ruse she was a schnee not Yang.
"Then the witch ran off in tears, vowing she would be back someday to make them both pay for this insult to her face. As the witch flew off in a huff, the cat jumped up on the princess's shoulder and said, "She's just a jerk, don't let her get to you friend." The girl was surprised and said "Why would you call me friend? I could blow you u…ugh…UGH…"Weiss said as she began exaggerating the buildup to a sneeze as Ruby covered her face with her bedsheets.
"NO SNEEZE. DON'T BLOW ME UP!" Ruby yelled. Weiss laughed in response, finding her reaction adorable.
"But then the cat used its tail to cover her nose, stopping the sneeze before it happened. With that, there was no explosion, so the princess got an idea. "Say, since your homes gone now, want to travel with me and keep my nose covered?" so the cat said "No problem for me. I'll keep you safe my new friend." And so the new friends set out to explore all that the world had to offer, keeping each other safe and warm with each other's comforting presence." Weiss said with a warm smile, Blake's own smile flashing before her mind.
"The end?" Ruby asked a bit sadly, not wanting such a fun tale to end.
"The end Rubes, but for not for hugs." Weiss said as she wrapped Ruby in a big hug, knowing that's what Yang said she always needed, which made the red head feel at ease.
"Thanks Yang, that was *yawn* nice." Ruby said as she let out a yawn, her eyelids growing heavy as exhaustion soon began to replace her excitement. Weiss took the chance to lay Ruby down in her bed and cover her with the sheets. Before she even got a second to think things through, Weiss planted a kiss on Ruby's cheek as she dozed off to sleep. Weiss recoiled a bit as her face reddened.
"Wait, What am I doing!? She's a girl! She's not even my family I can't be doing tha-" Weiss thought frantically as she fidgeted a bit in her chair, before she froze at the sound of another yawn from the drowsy Ruby.
"Night Yang. I love you." Ruby muttered as she finally dozed off to sleep. Her words made Weiss's heart flutter as she eyed the smile on the sleeping girls face. Strangely, it started to become a lure for the heiress as she drew her face closer to Ruby's.
"Why do I…feel this way? Why am I so…warm?" Weiss thought as she couldn't resist the pull, she planted another kiss on Ruby's cheek, the warm sensation on her lips soothing the flustered heiress as she warmly gazed upon her sleeping partner. Ruby's current peaceful state was infectious, Weiss couldn't hope to feel the embarrassment or uncertainty flooding her mind and body before, all she wanted was for this moment to last forever. But like the ending to her story, soon a call from Goodwitch put an end to a happy moment for Weiss as she bit her lip in frustration at having to leave. As she got up and walked towards the door, placing her finger on the room's light switch, she stole one more glance at her friend, her new sister, or perhaps….something else? She would figure this all out later, she was only certain now she wanted Ruby to get a peaceful sleep, she deserved it after all.
"Goodnight Rubes, I love you too." Weiss whispered with a smile as she turned off the lights and left.
Meanwhile….
On a stormy night in a bar in Vale, a television was showcasing the news channel, distracting the patrons from their usual rowdiness. The sight was at Beacon Academy where a layer of crime scene tape surrounded the forest of death. Normally this kind of news at a school wasn't shown unless someone had been killed. Some of the patron's whispered their thoughts on the matter.
"Perhaps a Grimm got a student?" One gator Faunus man uttered before a burp next to him startled the man. Qrow sat beside him, having just chugged down his 7th beer.
"Monsters *hic* got a kid alright. Just not the one's you think." Qrow bitterly said. He drowned out the words he heard on the tv for the most part, as well as the wide-eyed Gator man's urging to ease off the bottle. He just felt like total crap right now and for good reason. He had to get hammered after that horrible confrontation with Glynda and that Schnee brat.
"Why can't they just see it? They can't help Ruby after what those pigs did. She needs her family, not some illusion." Qrow bitterly thought before his eyes caught sight of the screen as he raised his head to chug his drink. He nearly spat it out at the sight, if not for his bodies desire to get even more hammered in depression at the horrible sight.
Beacon Student Assaulted by Group of Boys
"Oh shit! That poor girl. Can't imagine how bad her families taking this too." The gator man said, the other patron's nodding in return, fixing the image of the victim with sad eyes.
Qrow's own eyes watered as he read this and soon saw an image of Ruby's school photo appear above the title. Her photo had her smiling, those bright teeth as pure and clean as her eyes. But Qrow knew that was no longer the case. In just the span of a single day without his watch, those boys at school had sullied that bright light Ruby radiated each day, a light that made even the hardened Branwen want to smile himself despite all his losses.
"How could they have taken that from her?" Qrow thought bitterly as he saw the photo's of the killed Team CRDL. His blood boiled as he cracked his glass a bit from his tightened grip, his only wish right now being to slit the throats of those boys for what they did to Ruby.
"Too bad *hic* Firecracker beat me to the punch." Qrow chuckled. His joy was short lived however, as his eyes reddened at the sight of what was displayed on the captions next.
3 Beacon Student's charged with Murder
That's when the words finally began to return to Qrow, his eyes narrowed as he found he didn't like what he heard from the woman on the screen.
"4 boys attending Beacon Academy were found killed outside the forest of death. 3 students have been charged with first degree murder in response. A Professor at the school, Glynda Goodwitch, reported the 3 suspects, Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, and Nora Valyrie, murdered them in retaliation for-" The news reporter said before suddenly a glass bottle of booze soon shattered the screen to the shock of the barkeep and the patrons.
"Murdered!? Bullshit! How's it murder?!" Qrow roared. He couldn't believe what the media was doing, painting his niece and her friends as killers for doing what was right by Ruby, it mad his blood boil.
"Why care about those boys, THOSE RAPISTS?!" Qrow screeched. The barkeep's eyes widened at the declaration, it being the one thing keeping him from trying to grab the belligerent man and throw him out personally for the disruption. He realized from the yell and the whispers from the other patron's that this drunkard must have been a relative to those girls.
"H-Hey buddy. I think that's enough for tonight." The barkeep nervously said, trying to nudge Qrow's shoulder cautiously, not wanting a violent reaction. He could do without a tv but the barkeep didn't want to lose an arm. He recoiled as Qrow fixed him a death glare in response before groaning annoyed.
"Fine. Give me a to go bottle and *hic* sorry for the tv." Qrow said as he slammed a bunch of lien on the bar, grabbing a logger bottle and snakingly heading out the door.
As he walked out the bar, ignoring the sad glares from the patrons, Qrow eyed the tv store on the other side of the streets, all showing Ruby's image.
"How could this have happened? I trained you, raised you. You were supposed to be strong Ruby." Qrow thought. Ever since he lost Summer, he wanted nothing more than to make Ruby powerful so that she wouldn't meet the same fate. Granted, starting at age 5 was a bit nuts even for him, but he saw her potential, he saw the beauty in her form. But he also saw the beauty in her appearance. He knew pigs like those boys would try to take advantage of her, so he hoped he could raise her to keep herself safe from such a danger. But in just one moment, one hour he wasn't there to protect her while hurt, those boys undid all his efforts, all his expectations of her were shattered like the poor girls mind. Qrow felt weak on his knees even more thinking about Ruby's torment, plopping on them as he began chugging his bottle, a few tears in his eyes the rain masked by the downpour. But what chilled the drunkard worse then the cold water was a soul-piercing question he was desperate all night to drown out with booze flooding his head.
"Is it true Qrow? Do you really blame yourself?" Glynda's question echoed in his head, making him gasp. He began to choke on breaths as he kept eyeing Ruby's bright smile in the television photo's, memories of the days they trained together, ate together, and even Qrow reading together with her surging. His eyes flooded as he smashed his liquor bottle, knowing it couldn't keep the pain down anymore as he knew the truth to that horrible question Glynda asked him. Yet, Qrow couldn't bring himself to answer it, all he could do hope the storm would wash him away like all the filth in this world that tormented him and his family. All he could do now was scream in fury and sadness for what he felt was his failure to prevent to his beloved niece.
"RUBY!" He cried sorrowfully.
