Chapter Seven

Qrow and Raven were sitting on a ledge high up the side of Shade. There was a cloth napkin with a variety of dried foods on it between them, and Raven had a bottle of spiced Vacuan wine. Vacuo lay spread below them, golden with hints of green in the midday light. It was a wonderful view of the city, but neither Branwen was enjoying it. There was a palpable air of discomfort as the estranged siblings each tried to think of what to say to the other. Qrow eventually broke the silence, wishing for something stronger to drink than water, and trying not to think too hard about the wine Raven had.

"So, ah, what happened to the tribe? Hard to believe you would just leave them behind like this." He picked up a piece of dehydrated vegetable, something that had a vague resemblance to a carrot, if carrots were purple. The drying process had left it very chewy, and it tasted vaguely sweet.

"It fell apart. It's almost funny. Without the huntsmen keeping order in Vale and Mistral, we had fewer people to steal from. We required the stability that the kingdoms provided to have villages we could steal from. After Beacon fell, and Salem's methodical extermination of hunters in Mistral, a lot of towns packed up and moved into the cities or were destroyed by grimm." Raven unstopped her bottle, but didn't drink yet. She still hadn't touched the food.

Raven sighed. "There's not much of a tribe left, now. After Haven, and Vernal's death, there was a divide." She toyed with her untouched bottle of wine. "Vernal was the only person who knew I was the maiden. With her gone, I had no one to aid in the illusion. I also felt adrift. Yang had gotten to me in that vault, and I was questioning all the decisions I had made for the last two decades. Bandits are great at sensing weakness, as you know, and I was challenged. I didn't fight it. I let them go, just like that."

Qrow remained silent, and slowly started working his way through the medley of unfamiliar dried foods they had brought on their impromptu picnic. Vacuans would dehydrate anything they could, it seemed. Raven continued.

"My semblance forges bonds. Ironic, considering I ran from or broke every bond I had ever made. When Vernal died, I felt a hole open, where she had once been. It was… not a pleasant sensation. The tribe leaving didn't even register. What was that loss, compared to the void now inside of me? A matching hole to the one Summer had left. And then I lost Yang, too." She lapsed into silence, looking into the middle distance as she wandered through her thoughts. Qrow was content to let her, now examining a shriveled piece of whitish meat.

"My semblance doesn't cross worlds, I guess. When she fell into the Ever After, she disappeared, just like the others had. It nearly broke me. My daughter, gone. I felt more vulnerable than I ever had. My shield, that uncaring, strength above all else mentality, failed me. What had I been doing with my life? What had I done that was really worth the pain of losing her? I left her and Tai out of fear, fear of not wanting Salem to destroy what we had made. I told myself that Tai would have to give up Ozpin's crusade if he had a child to raise, and that my child would be safer that way. It had made terrible sense at the time. And what did it leave me? A daughter who doesn't think of me as her mother, Summer dead, my tribe gone, and Salem stronger than ever."

"Yeah, you made a pretty shitty call. Not gonna tell you otherwise," Qrow said, wiping his mouth and taking a drink of water. "But, y'know, I'm actually feeling pretty hopeful, with the kids back and you here. Never was much of an optimist, but I don't think it's too late to start repairing those bonds of yours."

Raven looked at him and sighed deeply. "I do have two more things I need to share. Can't start working on forgiveness until you all know the whole truth."

Qrow looked back, curiosity warring with wariness on his face. "Ok, I'm listening."

"First, about the Spring Maiden. Yang thinks I killed her to take her power. I did kill her, but it wasn't like that. She had run from Ozpin and Leo, and my tribe picked her up. We found common ground, both having run from the responsibility of standing against Salem." Raven paused here, thinking of those far off days.

"She wasn't a fighter. Couldn't stomach the thought of hurting anything, even grimm. I thought she was weak for it, but I persisted in trying to train her. Then, one day, the camp was attacked. It should have been easy for her, with her powers, but she couldn't even muster the strength to fight for her own life. When I found her, she was being eaten alive by a beowolf." Raven broke off at this, lost in that horrible memory. She shook her head slightly, then continued.

"She saw me and managed one word. 'Please,' she said. I killed her and the beowolf both with one sword stroke. And so, I got the maidens' powers, very much against my wishes." Raven finally lifted her wine bottle and took a long swallow.

Qrow let a long, slow breath out. "That's terrible, Raven. I'm sorry."

"Don't feel sorry for me yet. I still need to tell you about Summer." She swished the wine around and around, and then threw it back, throat working as she finished half of it off. She set the bottle down and took a deep, centering breath.

"She didn't disappear on a normal mission. She had gotten one of her ideas and roped me into it. I knew her and Tai had gotten together, and I knew they had a daughter, too. Little Ruby. Summer's idea wasn't to run, though. You know what she was like. She wanted to fight."

Qrow nodded, his eyes fixated on Raven, sudden grief making fathomless wells of them. "She was a fighter, yeah," he creaked out.

"She figured that since she had silver eyes, and Salem was the mistress of grimm, they should work on her, right? At that time, we didn't know where any of the Maidens were. She likely would have recruited them, if she could. She didn't tell Ozpin, or Tai, or you, because she knew you would all fight against it. And she didn't want to sit on it, she wanted to strike first. She felt she was ready, and instead of waiting for Salem to come for her and her family, she was determined to go to her. And I brought her."

Qrow continued staring, silent, eyes welling with tears. Raven wouldn't look at him. She continued speaking, addressing her clasped hands in her lap.

"We tracked her down. That place? The land of darkness? It's a horrible, horrible place. Craggy peaks, pools of shadowy darkness, a sky all red and black. Grimm are born there, you know. We watched as they climbed fully formed, still dripping black water, out of those pools. It didn't take Salem long to find us. Summers plan was simple. Start a fight, flash those eyes of hers, and wait for Salem to show her face. I wasn't going to stick around, but once I was there, I knew I couldn't leave her. She was so much better than me, in every way, how could I abandon her in this moment?"

Qrow was enthralled now, tears falling freely down his face.

"So we fought. We killed dozens of grimm on that battlefield, Summer and I fighting together like we used to. And, just like Summer had planned, Salem came." Raven stopped here, mustering her courage.

"Words were exchanged. Summer was going on about how we would stop her, and dammit, I believed her. Then the time for words was over, and we battled. We cut her with our weapons, again and again and again, and she wouldn't fall. Summer had used her eyes, twice, and both times it had hurt Salem, but she used magic to stop their full power somehow. She was weakening though, we could both sense it. However the power of the silver eyed warriors worked, it was draining her." Raven picked up the bottle again, considered the wine briefly, then set it back down.

"But Salem has terrible reserves of strength. The third time, Summer and I both fighting on with our own strength failing, we almost had her. She started to petrify, her limbs freezing in place and her skin flaking away as that silver light washed over her, and I thought we had her, we were so close. But then she broke out of it. My hope shattered and Summer collapsed. Salem seized Summer then, piercing her through the chest with a claw-like hand. She lifted Summer up, and Summer was silhouetted against that horrific sky, broken, her lifeblood running down Salem's arm, and my resolve broke. And I ran."

"Why, Raven?" Qrow's voice was husky, thick with emotion.

Raven looked her twin in the eyes for the first time since she had started her tale. "Because we had lost, and I didn't want to die." She looked away then, shame burning inside her. "I didn't want to die," she repeated in a small voice, tears dropping into her lap.

"Why didn't you take anyone else with you? That was madness, thinking two huntresses could take on Salem by themselves!"

"You know the answer to that, Qrow. You and Tai both would have gone to Ozpin, and Ozpin would have forbidden it. Summer was adamant that she could do it. And, fool that I was, I believed her."

"You left her to die! You left her with the most terrible evil this world has ever seen!" Qrow stood, shouting now, precariously perched on the high ledge they had sat upon.

"I did, Qrow! And I've lived with that eating away at me for fifteen years! If I was less of a coward, I would have killed myself. But I don't want to die. No matter how terrible life is, I'm too scared of death." Raven wrapped her arms over her chest, as though if she squeezed hard enough she could hold herself together.

Qrow sat again, pulling out his flask, then swore and put it back. "Are you sure she was dead? Salem does terrible things to people with silver eyes."

"There's a gaping void in my heart where she used to be connected to me with my semblance. If she isn't dead, I don't know what I'd call it."

"Did you hear about the hound?" Qrow asked. "Salem had used a person with silver eyes as a host for a grimm. It was an abomination, mix of grimm and man, with the intelligence of a man and completely beholden to Salem."

Raven was silent, contemplating this. "I don't know, Qrow. Summer was pierced through the heart, I'm sure of it. My connection to her was severed. Beyond that I can't say."

"How are you gonna tell Ruby about this? The kid deserves to know what happened to her mom," Qrow said.

Raven sighed, voice wavering. "I don't know. I agree, she needs to know, but I don't know if I can face her. She's so much like Summer it hurts to be around her."

"Tell her the truth. You're gonna have to face her judgement, it's the least you can do. You were there, at the end. You're the one who should tell her." Qrows anger and grief had subsided, and now he just felt tired.

"I will. But will you be there for her, after? She's not going to want anything to do with me, I think." Raven still hugged herself, voice small, a far cry from the bandit leader she had once been.

"You should tell her and Tai when you check in later. I'll be here when she gets back to Shade, but Tai needs to know too. Hell, her team should probably hear the whole story," Qrow said.

"Yeah, ok. I will. I just need to regather myself first. I've been dreading this conversation for years. Thank you for not just walking out on me." Raven rubbed the tears from her eyes, sniffing loudly.

"I thought about it. But those kids have really helped me get a new lease on life. Shown me the power of forgiveness, what can happen when you show support and understanding to someone." Qrow absently fingered the clover talisman on his chest. "They're better people than me and you, that's for sure."

"Don't sell yourself short, Qrow. You've been with them this entire time, and I ran."

"And you came back, Raven. It's a start, at least. It's a start."